A new Young Adult Fiction novel takes readers into the world of Charlie Stewart, and his final year at a Richmond-area prep school.
While themes explored in Charlie-Man – like first love, peer pressure, and college admissions are nothing new, the source of the story is a bit unusual.
It’s the first venture into fiction for Thomas Cullen, federal US District Judge for the Western District of Virginia, and a former attorney.
His first love has always been writing, and has always found outlets for it. That includes op-eds and essays in high school and for the college newspaper. As a lawyer, Cullen wrote on a variety of topics, including politics and law enforcement.
But he long wanted to take a stab at writing a novel. Charlie-Man is fiction, but Cullen said the characters are composites of people he knew growing up. It also takes place in Richmond, with long descriptions of local neighborhoods and waterways.
“I spent my formative years, including as a teen, in Richmond in the near west end, with a lot of times on the banks of the James River, doing things I shudder to tell my own children today,” he said.
Before he attended law school at William and Mary, Judge Cullen was a 10th grade English teacher, where he was able to teach a couple of his favorite novels, including All The King’s Men and The Catcher in the Rye.
“I think it’s hard to overstate the importance of reading,” he said. “I’ve never met a writer, who’s a good writer, who was not also an avid reader, and I subscribe to that philosophy religiously.”
Charlie-Man takes place in the 90’s, before email, cell phones and social media, when teens had to reach out with a phone call or face to face.
“The challenges and the themes that Charlie faces, and the other characters, I think are timeless,” he said. “Whether we’re talking about first love, complicated friendships, the fierce, competitive nature of college admissions, and helping a loved one who’s battling addiction. Whether we’re talking about the mid-90’s the 1960’s, or 2025, I think those challenges resonate with a lot of people.”'
The Young Adult fiction novel tracks a year in the life of Charlie Stewart, who attends an all-boys prep school in Richmond. The book focuses primarily on relationships with his best friend, Beau, and on-and-off again relationship with girlfriend Katy. Charlie-Man also devotes a lot of time to academics, and Charlie competing in football and track.
Cullen also said he identifies with the title character.
“Charlie faces adversity, but he does so with aplomb,” he said. “He does it with, I think, a healthy sense of cynicism, wry humor, and ultimately, he’s resilient. He perseveres, and he ends up in a pretty good place.”
Cullen said he has no immediate plans to publish another book, but given how much he enjoyed the process, says Charlie-Man is probably not his last.
