Ask Thomas Mullen discussion

Welcome to the group! If you have a question for Thomas, feel free to ask it in this thread or create a new one.

Thomas will start answering questions Monday, October 10.

Loved The Last Town on Earth!!

I am so intrigued by the idea of the "Perfect Present". I wonder what Thomas Mullen thinks it would be like to live in a "perfect present" and would it actually be worth it to preserve the sins of the past to create it?

Elizabeth wrote: "Loved The Last Town on Earth!!"

Thanks, Elizabeth! Glad to hear it.

Mike wrote: "Several years after reading The Last Town on Earth, the words "desolate" and "gray" still come to mind immediately when I think of it. To me this speaks well of your ability as author ..."

You mean desolate and gray in a good way, right? :)
Seriously, thanks for the compliment. No, I didn't have to sequester myself away in the Cascades to write "Last Town" -- I would have loved to, as it's a beautiful area, and there's a certain romanticism to the idea of hiding away someplace remote to write (I'm not certain, but I believe Kerouac spent some time in N. Cascades National Park as a campsite keeper). But it wasn't feasible for me to do that, so the entire book was written in the very unrustic, unforested downtown of Washington, DC, where I lived at the time. I think that imagination is a very underappreciated aspect of writing fiction. Having certain real world experience is obviously important (I had traveled in WA State), as is research (I read a lot of books set about 1918-era America, the flu epidemic, the labor movement, and the Pacific Northwest of that era, and more), but ultimately a novelist needs to be able to use his or her imagination, and that's what I had to do. The kind of Method Acting style of writing, ie only writing in a similar place to where the book is set, would be fun, but I don't think it's necessary.

Lisa wrote: "To Mr. Mullen; if you were writing your autobiography, what would you want the last line to be?

Thank you for your time and "The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers"."

My autobiography? Already? I'm not even 40!
As I hope/expect that I have a lot more life to live, I'd say that if forced to write an autobiography now, the last line would be: "Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter!"

Glad to hear you liked "Firefly Brothers." I love those guys.

Mr. Mullen,
First - thank you for your writing. Of the many books I have read, your characters stick out in my mind as some of the most memorable. ESPECIALLY the Firefly Brothers. Do you have any favorite characters from your own writing? Any characters you became more personally attached to than others? Also... I know you JUST released a new book (which is amazing by the way, I'm almost done) but any hints you can drop about what you're thinking of working on next? I can't wait for the day I purchase another Thomas Mullen book. :)

What do you like to read? Do you read speculative fiction? What are you enjoying right now?

During your writing process are you conscious of the themes, allegory and meaning that some readers may take from your work or do you think these are generally misinterpretations or over-analyzing? For instance, what was your reason for using the recurring deaths and subsequent resurrections to tell the story of the Firefly Brothers?

When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer and what did you do to prepare for it?

Who are your favorite writers, why and what impact have they had on you as a writer, if any?

I loved the The Last Town on Earth and I am looking forward to reading more of your books.

Thank you for taking the time to chat with us.

Shane wrote: "Mr. Mullen,
First - thank you for your writing. Of the many books I have read, your characters stick out in my mind as some of the most memorable. ESPECIALLY the Firefly Brothers. Do you have any f..."

Hey Shane, thanks for the compliments. It's hard to pick a favorite character because, as the old saying goes, they're all my babies and I love them equally. Especially with "Last Town" and "The Revisionists," there are characters with very different opinions pitted against each other, even though they all feel they're doing the right thing, so it was important for me not to take sides. If I had favored Philip over Graham, or Tasha over Leo, the books would have felt skewed, and the characters flatter. That said, it was a lot of fun to write about the three Firefly Brothers. Jason in particular, because he was so charismatic and charming, was more exhilerating to write about, as was Darcy, because she was so opinionated and wild and daring (and sometimes drunk). Writing that book was a bit more fun than the other two, partially because of the bizarre premise and also the romanticism of the Thirties bank robbers. Zed I'm particularly proud of, because writing that character was a big challenge, for reasons I can't discuss or I might spoil the new book for people.
As for what's next, the good news is that I hope to finish a rough draft next week! So hopefully the wait won't be too long. I'm going to play this close to the vest for now, but I'll say that it takes place in the mid-20th Century, does not employ magical realism or time travelers, but that in terms of tone and style it's probably closest to "Firefly Brothers."

Luke wrote: "During your writing process are you conscious of the themes, allegory and meaning that some readers may take from your work or do you think these are generally misinterpretations or over-analyzing?..."

How conscious I am of themes/allegory/meaning when I write is different with every book, honestly. With "Last Town," the initial germ of an idea was the premise that some healthy towns forbade outsiders to enter during the flu outbreak, which begged the question, What would happen if two guards faced the moral dilemma of a tired, freezing, starving traveler begging for shelter? So from the very outset I knew I was dealing with things like individual v. society, what our moral duty is to our neighbor and to our family, etc. These all of course deepened and became more complicated the more I wrote, and the more I learned about the time period, and the more ingredients I added. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't know they were there. Of course, people often bring other ideas and issues and interpretations into it, too, which is great. Just last week I visited a college whose freshmen had read and debated that book, and I heard a lot of new ideas and thoughts that I hadn't necessarily considered, but that doesn't mean they're wrong. It's just the craziness of art and the many differences we all bring to something due to our own vastly varied backgrounds and opinions and experiences.
Since you mentioned the conceit of "Firefly Brothers," that was a very different process. I knew I wanted to write about a family struggling with financial issues and couch that in a Thirties bankrobber story, but I couldn't think of an original idea. Then I thought of the bank robbers coming back to life--and I have no clue where I got that. But I liked it. It was totally theme/meaning/allegory-free, at least at first. But I liked it. It was unique, it was fun, it was challenging, and it echoed the fact that so many tall tales and myths were told about the real Thirties bankrobbers, like Bonnie & Clyde and Dillinger. So I ran with it, and decided the meaning and themes would come later.

Sera wrote: "When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer and what did you do to prepare for it?

Who are your favorite writers, why and what impact have they had on you as a writer, if any?

I loved the..."

I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. Seriously. You know those "Mister" kids' books, like "Mr. Happy" and "Mr. Messy?" I remember, when I was maybe 5 or 6 and my parents were readng those books to my younger brothers, I sat down and wrote my own, "Mr. Invisible." Then when I was older and reading Hardy Boys books, I wrote bad imitation kid-detective stories. I just went from there, trying and trying, practicing and practicing. That practice, as well as lots of reading and a good education, were really my only preparation -- I never took writing classes or workshops. Just read a lot of good stuff and tried to figure it out.
I'd say that some of my favorite contemporary authors are David Mitchell, Michael Chabon, Jess Walter, Philip Roth, Jonathan Franzen, and Dave Eggers. Hard to say what "impact" they've had on me, other than making me happy, and inspiring me, and pushing me to try harder by raising the bar.

Carolyn wrote: "What do you like to read? Do you read speculative fiction? What are you enjoying right now?"

I just typed out my favorite writers for the last answer, but as for speculative fiction, a term that is admittedly vague and hard to pinpoint, I love Margaret Atwood's last two, and I think David Mitchell's "Ghostwritten" and "Cloud Atlas" would fit the bill. Loved both of those, and thought of them a lot when I wrote "The Revisionists."
Right now I'm reading "The Night Circus" -- I'll be presenting on a panel soon at the Texas Book Festival with her, as well as with Lev Grossman, whose "The Magician King" is next on my list (I loved his last one). So I'll be having rabbits coming out of my hats for the next few days.

Thomas wrote: "Luke wrote: "During your writing process are you conscious of the themes, allegory and meaning that some readers may take from your work or do you think these are generally misinterpretations or ov..."

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. I've been reading through all your answers which have given us a fantastic insight into your creative process and thoughts. "Firefly Brothers" is one of my favorite novels, so I really appreciate the opportunity to ask you some questions. When preparing to write a new novel what process will you go through in order to generate ideas? What inspires you?

Last Town on Earth was a definite five star must read for me. Still it resonates over a year after having read it. But you wrote it in Downtown DC!? As I write this in my cubicle at 3rd and E streets S.W., I can't even start to imagine the ability to transport myself to the Cascades of Washington State. But you certainly did. But what I took most from the book was your exploration of the labor movements of the time. And the exposure of a time when not every American was trying to get rich on Wall Street but actually did indulge in some very communal and, dare I say it, socialistic efforts toward community development. Did you spend a lot of time researching this forgotten past? Did you know or hear perhaps second generation stories of participants in what would now be considered a radical movement?

William wrote: "Last Town on Earth was a definite five star must read for me. Still it resonates over a year after having read it. But you wrote it in Downtown DC!? As I write this in my cubicle at 3rd and E stree..."
Hey William. I lived at 15th and E SE. Worked out at a gym just a few blocks from your cube, in fact. "Transporting" myself to a different time and place is just part of the job description; I'm very flattered that you felt that way and I love it when people say that, but honestly I never sat down and said "ok, gotta transport them, gotta think hard to recreate the place" etc. I think I just concentrated on getting the people right, the issues of their day, their hopes and dreams and obstacles, etc, and let the rest fall into place. But I'm very glad to hear it worked. As for research, I did read some books on the labor movement, but also I went to a very progressive college (Oberlin) in which students and professors debated issues like community development, capitalism and its discontents, utopias and dystopias, etc, so this was something I'd already thought about a lot. It wasn't as much as a leap for me to write about people who would drop out of society and form their new world deep in the woods, as I did know people like that, and these philsophical arguments have always interested me.

Luke wrote: "Thomas wrote: "Luke wrote: "During your writing process are you conscious of the themes, allegory and meaning that some readers may take from your work or do you think these are generally misinterp..."

Deciding what to write next is the single hardest part of being a writer, no lie. I may have lots of different ideas, but deciding which idea is THE ONE that I want to spend the next year or two focussed on is a tough, tough call. As someone who has wasted time on ideas that ultimately never went anywhere, I'm gun-shy about committing to something at first. Part of "The Revisionists" is a plotline that I experimented with after my first novel, but it wasn't working, so I put it aside, then I thought up the Firefly Brothers and let them take me away. Years later, I had an idea that shed new light on that old plotline, and I was able to turn it into "The Revisionists." The new book I'm working on came to me when I read an intriguing sentence in a newspaper article (which is exactly how I got the idea for "Last Town"). So I feel a lot of pressure to read a lot, not only novels but newspapers and magazines, because I never know when I might stumble upon something that makes me thing, Hmmm, there's a novel in there.

Hey all-
Thanks so much for the questions so far. I'm happy to answer more, but I'll be offline for the next three days. I'll come back and answer any new ones on Monday.
-TM

If you could go back in time and give yourself writing advice at the very beginning of your writing career, what would that advice be?

Thanks,
Anjali

Anjali wrote: "If you could go back in time and give yourself writing advice at the very beginning of your writing career, what would that advice be?

Thanks,
Anjali"

Hi Anjali,
My advice would be not to despair at the rejections and inevitable disappointments along the way. That's actually good practice for being a published writer, because even then there will be plenty of roadblocks, bad reviews, and other random down notes. Just focus on enjoying what you do, and capturing momentum wherever you find it. Ultimately, I just plain enjoy writing, and always try to find ways to do it. I think if aspiring writers commit to it and find the time for it, and listen to others' feedback and constructive criticism about their work, you'll do fine. It's not easy, but what worthwhile thing is?