When I started writing Tales of the City I was one year away from being a mental illness. It wasn't until 1975 that the American Psychiatric Association took homosexuality off the list of mental illnesses - and in many states, including the state of North Carolina where I grew up, homosexuality was a crime. An arrestable crime. It still is, in many parts of the world.
Armistead MaupinI think many writers write because it's a convenient way to explain themselves to themselves. We take the chaos and the turmoil and the bullshit of our lives, and we make it into something that has a harmonious shape and sound.
Armistead MaupinThe world changes in direct proportion to the number of people willing to be honest about their lives.
Armistead MaupinMona knocked at the wrong time. โUhโฆyeahโฆwait a minute, Mona -- โ Mona shouted through the door. โRoom service, gentlemen. Just pull the covers up.โ Michael grinned at Jon. โMy roommate. Brace yourself.โ Seconds later, Mona burst through the doorway with a tray of coffee and croissants. โHi! Iโm Nancy Drew! You must be the Hardy Boys!
Armistead Maupin