Peter Schutes

Peter Schutes is the nom de plume of a prolific and acclaimed novelist. As Peter Schutes, he is the author of The Slaves of Rome, Dark as a Dungeon, The Gospel of Priapus, and Panama Heat. He writes in the style of vintage pulp authors from the 1960s and 1970s. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband and a very cute dog.

The character Peter Schutes, subject of The Autobiography of Peter Schutes, is the person I always imagined would have written the gay pulp novels of the 1960s and 1970s. Peter Schutes is a gay historical figure with a rich backstory. He was born in the United States in 1896. After a brief study period at Harvard University, he enlisted and fought in World War I. After the war, he was incarcerated at Napa State Mental Hospital because of his homosexuality. When he was released, he came to Hollywood, where he became a hustler.

Arrested for drug dealing, Peter escaped and fled to Kentucky. There, he worked in a coal mine, where he met his first real love. After the death of his lover, Peter retired to a Bunkhouse in Montana, where he found an old typewriter and began exploring his fantasies in writing. Eventually, after laws changed, he was able to publish his gay pulp fiction books in Denmark and then the United States.

Peter returned to Los Angeles and lived out his days in the increasingly accepting society of that city. He died in Santa Monica, CA, in 1981.