Literary Indiana: Scratch Pads

Thomas French, nonfiction writer:
“The wall I face is a collage made up of things I love and things that have worked their way inside me. A photo-booth shot of two high-school girls I wrote about decades ago in South of Heaven; press passes from around the world; a story my son Sam wrote in fourth grade about falling asleep in our apartment to the sound of neighbors yelling in the unit below; a fortune cookie note that says, ‘To be a man means constant revision like correcting a writing.’”

Michael Shelden, biographer: “We live in a very wooded area, and this room is at the back of our house. I’ve been a big fan my whole life of Henry David Thoreau, and I love that idea of writers working as close as they can to nature. Deer will routinely walk right past the window.”

James Alexander Thom, historical fiction author: “Any window I look out, I see trees and hills and countryside. I love the beauty of it. I love to watch the squirrels. They run around through the treetops constantly, and they always amaze me—aerial acrobats.”

Margaret McMullan, novelist: “Coffee and being able to get to the desk are important. My dog Samantha sleeping nearby is important, too. Samantha usually rests under the desk so that I can tuck my feet near her.”