Larry was born in Los Angeles and educated in literature, political science, and life at the University of California, Berkeley. He has worked as a typographer, journalist, and teacher in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, St. Paul, and Venice. Larry also worked with Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground on the Exploding Plastic Inevitable in NY, Provincetown, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, was mentored by Dean Koontz, and shared a palazzo in Venice with international opera singer Erika Sunnegårdh.

While living in Venice for five years, Larry also taught English, led tours, hosted a B&B, and immersed himself in the history and art of the Venetian Republic. The Ballot Boy was born in Venice and completed in St. Paul.

Larry is a lifelong social activist and writer, a voracious reader and researcher, an opera fan, and devoted walker. He currently lives in St. Paul with his partner of twenty-one years, his ex-wife of twenty-five years, and two miniature dachshunds, Mona and Buddy. His son Luke is a pianist devoted to blues and jazz.

“The heart of the novel is a coming-of-age story in period dress that follows Nico’s coming to terms with his own sexuality—and the danger that it may bring him. Mellman’s tale shines when it interrogates the ways sex and gender impact the lives of ordinary people...”
– Kirkus Reviews