Macromere Press

Macromere: Today is July 1st, the 99th anniversary of Harriet Quimby’s death and, not coincidentally, the day He Who Shall Remain Shameless really begins. Any thoughts on Harriet—and “Harriet”?

David: “Harriet” was the second story I wrote for what would eventually become He Who Shall Remain Shameless. At that time I didn’t know I was putting together a novel in stories…I just knew that the first story, “Chris”, had been successful, and I thought I’d run with this idea of a guy going around the United States—and soon the rest of the world—seeking out deceased people who could be found on the Internet but who may not have the staying power they could have. The concept was still in its early stages, but at the time I was reading up a lot on early aviation, and I was fascinated by Harriet Quimby, the first American woman to get her pilot’s license, and I thought, Why not have the same narrator from “Chris” encounter the ghost of Ms. Quimby in Boston? Her face haunted me…especially the one of her in her monoplane, smiling, with the amulets around her neck. She had such dark eyes, I felt I was there with her, in that plane, when I looked at that picture.

M: She was a beautiful woman.

D: Definitely. But what struck me was that she was 37 when she died, and she died, according to everything I read, childless, unmarried, which was surprising to me. A woman at that time, I had thought, would be married and have children by the time she was 37. A stereotype, I know, but I did see a connection between Harriet Quimby and Christine Chubbuck, who had also died childless and unmarried—but at 29.

M: Harriet Quimby was different than the majority of women at the time….

D: She was independent, strong-willed, ambitious. She wrote for Hollywood, she wrote articles for magazines, and she wanted a career in aviation. She was on her way to solidifying that career when she died tragically, under mysterious circumstances.

M: How much research did you do to write “Harriet” in particular?

D: A significant amount. I went to the library and checked out books on early aviation…the one that ended up being the most helpful was a Time Life book…It was helpful mostly because of the pictures, which gave me a better sense of what it was like then, how people dressed, how they might have interacted. Taking in those pictures I got a better sense of being there, and this strong sense of time and place helped me to write “Harriet”.

M: You mentioned you received an e-mail from a stranger shortly after “Harriet” was published in The Harrow….

D: Yes. He wasn’t a descendant of Harriet Quimby but rather of William Willard, Harriet’s passenger on that tragic day of July 1, 1912 and a key figure in the story. I was surprised and touched when this descendant, William Willard’s great-great grandson, wrote me to say how much he liked the story and to ask if I had found any further information on his great-great grandfather through my research. We exchanged e-mails, and I found out more about William Willard. He too has a fascinating—and sad—history.

M: Well, David, we appreciate you taking the time to give us some insight on your process for “Harriet”. Until next time…

D: That would be July 15th.

M: July 15th it will be.

Macromere: The protagonist of He Who Shall Remain Shameless is named David Michael Ewald, which just happens to be your name too. From the outset did you intend the novel to have this metafictional aspect? 

David: It’s not really metafiction, because I’m not the David Michael Ewald in this novel. The David Michael Ewald in this novel is younger than me, for one, and he has more hair on his head than I have. We have a similarity in that we’re both tall, but beyond that….I was never in a bike accident like the one he mentions, nor did I ever work for a company in San Diego the way he did before he embarked on his series of missions to save or somehow help the deceased. Not to mention, if I discovered my cellphone could fly and hover and shoot lasers and talk in a British accent, I’d react differently. I’d run away.

M: So…this protagonist is a fictional creation.

D: Most definitely fictional. There are plenty of other David Michael Ewalds out there, and who’s to say some of them aren’t fictional too? We can only go on what the Internet gives us, unless I move to North Carolina and replace the David Michael Ewald who’s living there now. But I wouldn’t want to do that. I like living here in Denver.

M: But you are mentioned in the novel….

D: A few times. “That little-known writer who lives in Denver,” I believe the Meritocrat puts it in the fourth story, “David”, which is also about another David Michael Ewald—only this David Michael Ewald is no longer with us in the flesh, unfortunately.

M: So you are something of a character in He Who Shall Remain Shameless.

D: Not really. I never make an appearance. I set about writing He Who Shall Remain Shameless with the intention of keeping myself out of it as much as possible. I succeeded.

M: Well. This really has been an informative interview sesh, David. Thanks for dialoging with us today.

Audio Reborn!

Macromere: Um…We see the Audio page is back up on your website.

http://davidmichaelewald.com/audio.html

David: It’s back all right. My wife, who reminds me often of why she’s my better half, asked me why I’d taken the page down in the first place (she doesn’t go to this site). I explained to her that almost all the stories had undergone significant revision since the recordings, including the one I’ve just made available once more, “Arthur”. But “Arthur” isn’t altered as heavily as many of the other stories, and it really is some of the best work Matt Gunnison did. How can his version of “Sweet Arthur Conley” not win over listeners?

M: “Arthur” is the eleventh story out of fourteen, though….

D: I admit it does come a bit late in the narrative, but it’ll still give listeners a good idea of what the book is about, a good feel for the material, the style, all that. As my wife pointed out, it can’t hurt to put up one recording, and even though the final version of “Arthur” has new material not in the recording, listeners can still enjoy Matt’s narration—not to mention his singing—and then purchase the e-book for the full, unabridged, final version.

M: Speaking of the e-book, the release is close….

D: Very close. A few days away at most, right?

M: That’s right. We’ll put up a new post when it’s out on Amazon and B&N, and elsewhere.

D: Great. Looking forward to it.

David Ewald’s thoughts on June 30th, and beyond….

Macromere: Now that it’s looking like the release date for He Who Shall Remain Shameless will be moved up just a little, will you be okay with the book not coming out on June 30th? Why June 30th for the release date, anyway? 

David: Call me crazy, which you would be entirely justified doing because I am, but I had this idea when discussing the release date that June 30th would work best because that’s the day He Who Shall Remain Shameless begins. As you’ve done a good job pointing out on this site, “Harriet”, the first story in the novel, takes place on that day, night, and the following morning, July 1st, to coincide with Harriet Quimby’s date of passing. 

M: But how important is this date for the book’s release, really? 

D: I’ve come to terms with the idea that June 30th is not all that crucial of a date to have the book come out on. The book can come out a bit before then, as it looks like it will, and it could even come out a little bit after…The idea we discussed was to have the reader follow the protagonist’s adventures as they happen….

M: But….

D: I know what you’re going to say. ‘But the next story, ‘Chris’, starts around mid-July. Should the reader wait to read that story then?’”

M: ….Well?

D: Of course not. The reader should read the book as a whole at whatever pace suits him or her. It is a novel, after all. As a whole, the book takes place over exactly half a year, from June 30th to year’s end, and a reader can’t be expected to abide by that timeline when reading.

M: We have to admit the adherence doesn’t make much sense. Especially if the book’s ready to be released sooner. 

D: Yes, crazy, like I said. June 30th is just June 30th—in our world, anyway. In the world of He Who Shall Remain Shameless it has a greater significance, of course. The same with July 15th, and the end of July, and August 18th, and so on. But when the book comes out sooner—in our world—my hope is that readers will dive right in and just keep going.

M: That’s our hope too. Did you have any thoughts of having the book’s narrative play out for longer than half a year?

D: I had thoughts, sure, but it just seemed that half a year—and fourteen stories, or encounters—was enough.

M: We certainly think so. The book is looking good as we near the finish line.

D: Thanks. I’m looking forward to it being out there soon. 

Here at Macromere, we celebrated Memorial Day the old-fashioned way: by watching our neighbors raise the American flag outside their front door and stand before it with their hands held proudly over their hearts, John Philip Sousa pounding over their heads, their standard poodle wagging by their side….The American flag was upside-down, but since they didn’t notice, we decided not to point it out. 

Memorial Day got us thinking about all those who have passed on…especially the soldiers. We decided to get David Ewald, whose novel in stories, He Who Shall Remain Shameless, will be released later this summer, on the horn and ask his impression of this holiday.

Macromere: We noticed there aren’t any soldiers in He Who Shall Remain Shameless. Was this a conscious decision?

David: Unconscious, or, I suppose to be more accurate, subconscious. The story “Ai’dah” has something of a war theme going on in much of it, and a case could be made for “Aegeus” and maybe even “Leo”. But, no, ultimately I didn’t include any spirits of veterans or soldiers or anybody from that walk of life.

M: Are you tempted to now?

D: Seriously?

M: Not really.

D: Oh, good. You had me breaking out there for a moment.

M: We admit it’s a little late to add in another story—or mission, as the narrator calls them.

D: I’ll say.

M: So, what do you think is the best way to celebrate Memorial Day? Flying the flag and playing John Philip Sousa? Barbequing with friends in the park? What about—

D: Going to a cemetery, IMHO.

M: IMHO?

D: In my humble opinion.

M: Oh.

D: It doesn’t have to be Arlington, or a cemetery with even a single soldier’s headstone in it. It could just be a cemetery—any cemetery. Just go, and pick a headstone, and look at it, gather its details, and think, and imagine….

M: Or go online?

D: There’s always that option, too.

M: Thanks, David. We’ll let you go for now. Until next time….

First Interview with David Ewald

Macromere: Tell us about the audio files you’ve made available on your website for He Who Shall Remain Shameless. Is there any logic to them? Why, for example, is story number four in the book available to listen to but not the first three stories?

David: The stories you see now on the Audio page of davidmichaelewald.com were recorded without having first been published. The first three stories, “Harriet”, “Chris”, and “Ai’dah” were published in The Harrow and The Bend respectively. The fifth and sixth stories, “Christopher” and “Aegeus”, were also published (in Morbid Outlook and The Chimaera). When I realized the stories were coming together to form a book, an interconnected novel, I decided to not attempt to publish any more of the stories individually but rather get the words out in another way….I’d always thought of trying my hand at recording audio versions of these stories, but I’m no actor, and I’m certainly not able to pull off anything resembling a British accent—or any other accent for that matter. I felt that in order for these recordings to have any success an actual actor would have to be brought in. Matt Gunnison was up to the challenge. Over several months, he and I worked together to get the recordings right. Even then I decided to let the published stories remain unrecorded. 

M: Stories eight, thirteen and fourteen are also not available. Does this mean they were previously published?

D: No. “Linda” is a story that has gone through plenty of revision, and so I’ve taken down Matt’s recording since it’s significantly different from the version that will end up in the published book this summer. As for “Radu” and “Colleen”, well, by not making those available I’m hoping listeners will be interested enough to know how the book ends to read the book itself. 

M: Thanks for clearing that up. We were wondering.

D: I understand that anyone who goes to the Audio page may be hesitant to dive in. My suggestion is to start with the earliest story available, “David”, and go from there (“Andrew” followed by “Alice” and so on). It’s helpful to have read the first three stories before “David”, but “David” is also a good introduction to other aspects of the book—namely the protagonist’s archnemesis, who makes his first real appearance in that story.

M: The Meritocrat.

D: Right. The Meritocrat.

M: So, any plans of making the entire book available in audio?

D: At some point, yes. I’d like to make He Who Shall Remain Shameless available in as many different formats as possible. After the e-book release, I’ll likely look into releasing the novel as a podiobook. 

M: Thanks for taking time to talk with us, David. Until next time.