Mallory White

Mallory is a retired English teacher and professionally certified ghostwriter (CSULB, 2019). She has published both in print and online in New York Teacher, the NYC United Federation of Teachers newspaper. 

Born in Portland Oregon, Mallory grew up in Las Vegas after moving there as a toddler with her mother, Joan Mallory and her two siblings. Her mother found work as a chorus dancer on the mob-ruled Strip, and occasionally brought her children into the backstage dressing room where ravishing showgirls applied makeup and donned costumes before the show.  Joan met and married a percussionist at the Desert Inn and the family moved to Northern California when Mallory was 15 years old. However, the city of Las Vegas remains a cherished fixture of Mallory's early childhood memories that she brings to life in her writing. 

Untethered to full time teaching, Mallory's unapologetic checklist of creative endeavors includes writing, acting, dancing and comedy improvisation. She teaches Danceprov, a giddy mashup of dance and improv at the Playful Stage in Long Beach, California, where she lives. Mallory trains and performs with WE Dance Team in Orange County and recently played the role of Queen Margaret in Shakespeare's Richard III at Long Beach Shakespeare Company. 

Atomic bomb tests shatter the dawn in Las Vegas, 1957, where a young mother fleeing a broken marriage ekes out a livelihood as a dancer on the mob-ruled Strip.

ATOMIC ROULETTE (80000 words) my debut, memory-inspired, upmarket novel follows Annette Lake as she muscles through auditions, juggles babysitters, and grudgingly escorts high rollers at a roulette table. As the story begins, Annette--whose given name is Marianne before a pit boss assigns her a spicier upgrade—is evicted from her Portland apartment while her alcoholic husband Earl binges across Oregon. Penniless, she crams her two young children and their cat into a borrowed car destined for Vegas. They move into her best friend’s spare bedroom, and Annette lands a dancing gig in a chorus line.  

Annette kindles an attraction to forest ranger, Milton Ferguson, who she meets while hiking with the children. They grow closer after Milton shelters she and the children in his mountain cabin during a violent nuclear test. In Portland, Earl obsesses about reuniting his family, but driven by a festering childhood memory that bleeds him of confidence, he joins a crime ring in pursuit of easy money. After Earl visits Vegas, bringing hot electronics for the children, Annette vows to leave him for good. Her conviction falters after she is rashly fired to make room for a bigwig’s girlfriend in the chorus. Earl's substance-fueled recklessness spirals into murder forcing Annette and the children into hiding. 

Set in the Cold War era, Annette’s personal trials play out while the government tests its nuclear arsenal at the nearby Nevada Test Site. I wove actual detonations (a.k.a. shots) from Operation Plumbbob into the narrative, as local businesses promoted their alarming spectacle to attract visitors. Then, as now, the personal and the collective crowded the same emotional stage, demanding attention and energy from a captive audience of ordinary people.

Mallory is currently seeking literary representation. Please contact her if you are interested in hearing more about ATOMIC ROULETTE. 

Raised Vegas  on Tiktok, Insagram and Facebook

In her TikTok vlog, Raised Vegas, Mallory reads scenes and discusses topics relating to her memory-grounded, debut novel ATOMIC ROULETTE. She shares story elements such as characters and setting, along with relevant historical information. Her inspiration and insight flow from childhood experiences growing up in Las Vegas when the Strip was still run by the mafia, and the city's population was a fraction of what it is today. 

The daughter of a dancer and a longtime dancer herself, Mallory channels the joy and stamina characteristic of the practice into her protagonist Annette Lake as she tackles obstacles in the narrative. 

In Raised Vegas, Mallory also displays period artifacts, such as black and white photographs, tourist postcard images and show brochures to showcase the gritty vibrancy of Vintage Las Vegas. 

Mallory explains her thinking behind the choices she made on Raised Vegas as she stitched personal memories to storytelling. Though most of her interactions as a child were limited to cis-gender white people due to rigid sociopolitical strictures, she decided to flout the norms of the era, intentionally assembling  a diverse collection of lively characters who enrich the narrative with their unique insights and flair.  

mallorywhitecreative@gmail.com