It's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Linda Holmes. Author Thomas Mallin's new historical novel

Up with the Sun is fiction, but the murder it talks about really happened. The book is based on the

real story of an actor named Dick Coleman, who was murdered, along with his partner in their

New York apartment in 1980. He had never been hugely famous,

but he worked, and in his personal life, he was Mallin tells NPR Scott Simon, sort of half in

and half out, like a lot of artists at the time. Malin says that despite some ugly behavior

he portrays in the book, he wanted to show empathy for Kalman because like every character in every book a real historical figure asks a

writer for some understanding. In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from

daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show Sources and Methods, NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

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Let's put it this way.

Dick Coleman was no Lawrence Olivier or Elvis or even Tab Hunter, name you might have to look up.

Dick Coleman was an actor and singer in the 1950s and 60s who had a few star turns on stage and in sitcoms and recorded a few songs.

You... and in sitcoms and recorded a few songs. The Dick Coleman star never quite rose. He left showbiz, sold high-ticket antiques, and then his life took a most tragic turn.

He was murdered, together with Stevens Lottick, his business and life partner in their Manhattan

apartment in 1980. Thomas Mallon, who's been praised for his historical novels, including

Henry and Clara, Watergate, and fellow travelers, as a new

novel that centers on that relatively unremembered life.

It's called Up with the Sun.

Tom Ballin joins us now from Washington, D.C.

Thanks so much for being with us.

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