I've long been interested in the role of 'minor characters' in major events. This has been the focus of a lot of the fiction and nonfiction I've written. Thomas Mallon charactereventfiction Change image and share on social
Letters had always defeated distance, but with the coming of e-mail, time seemed to be vanquished as well. Thomas Mallon comedefeatdistance Change image and share on social
I was raised - and still consider myself to be - Catholic, though I'm non-practicing and haven't fulfilled my Easter duty since sometime during the Nixon years. I'm assailed by all kinds of stimulating doubts, but I do believe in God. Thomas Mallon assailcatholicdoubt share on social
One's politics are part of one even when one is writing. But if I want to say anything about the state of civil society, I will write an essay. The responsibilities you feel as a novelist are literary ones, I think, not civic ones. And I think politicians are interesting to write about. Thomas Mallon civiccivilessay share on social
The romantic appeal of solar sailing has ensured that its advocates consistently come from the worlds of both science fiction and science fact. Thomas Mallon advocateappealconsistently Change image and share on social
With 'Fellow Travelers,' I think I was consciously trying to imagine what my own life as a gay man might have been like if I'd been born exactly 20 years earlier. Thomas Mallon bearconsciouslyearly Change image and share on social
My house in Connecticut is very quiet, and when I'm trying to concentrate, I don't even allow the cat inside my second-floor study. Thomas Mallon catconcentrateconnecticut Change image and share on social
Cell phones, alas, have pretty much ruined train travel, which I used to love. I could read or even sketch notes for what I was working on. Thomas Mallon alacelllove Change image and share on social
I've always got a novel under way, but if I try to work on it every day, exclusively, I falter. So I always keep more than one thing going. Thomas Mallon dayexclusivelyfalter Change image and share on social
Nixon had been to China. He had been to Russia doing arms negotiation. And so, he was on his way toward what happened in November, which was an electoral win with 49 states. And the sheer unnecessariness of the Watergate break-in is something that must have tormented him and his allies in all of the years that followed. Thomas Mallon allyarmbreak share on social