Malcolm Follows Dream of Writing

When M.L. Malcolm graduated from Harvard Law School, she went forth into the real world to be an attorney. Oh, how the years go by and things change. Now, Malcolm is a freelance journalist and the author of “Silent Lies,” a novel that follows the far-flung exploits of a protagonist burdened by dark secrets. She recently spoke over the telephone with The Crimson.

The Harvard Crimson (THC): When did you decide to become a writer?

Malcolm: I should have started out as a writer. My original career plan was to go to the Columbia School of Journalism, but I decided I really needed to make money so I went to law school instead. As a storyteller I found it very frustrating to do a lot of research—interview the witnesses, ask all the questions, and then never really be able to tell the story.

THC: How would you characterize your writing process?

Malcolm: I’m a binge writer. I write a lot of the scenes and everything for the dialogue and the descriptions in my head, often when I doing things like driving, which explains why I’m always late and always lost.

THC: What inspired you to write “Silent Lies”?

Malcolm: It was inspired by a very true story that happened in my husband’s family. He did have an aunt whose parents went to Shanghai and completely reinvented themselves. It was Hemingway who said all good fiction is autobiographical—I didn’t realize until the novel was finished how much of me was in it.

THC: Your story continues in a second volume. Can you provide a preview?

Malcolm: A big part of the second half of the book is that Madeline discovers the true story of her past, her father’s decision to abandon their Jewish heritage, and what impact that has on her own life. Madeline in some ways lives a parallel life to her father. She ends up getting caught up in the Kennedy investigation of the Mafia. I’ve been calling it “The Thornbirds” meets “the Godfather.”

THC: Do you have advice for aspiring authors?

Malcolm: If someone’s serious about getting published, never give up. From the time I started thinking about writing this novel to the time I saw it in print was 10 years, and that’s not an unusual story.

—Staff writer Natalie I. Sherman can be reached at nsherman@fas.harvard.edu.