Macromere Press

Macromere: Today, July 15th, is the 37th anniversary of the death of Christine Chubbuck, whose ghost happens to be the second the hero and narrator of He Who Shall Remain Shameless encounters. To give us some insight into this story, we talked to the author himself….

—

Macromere: This is the one that started it all.

David: That’s right. I wrote “Chris”, the second story in He Who Shall Remain Shameless, back in 2007 before any of the others. For years I had been taken, like many people, with the story of Christine Chubbuck’s on-air suicide, but I hadn’t been able to find much of anything at first. A rendering of her face, a few tidbits here and there, but it wasn’t until late ‘06-early ‘07 that I began to find more information about her. I knew that the footage of the incident had either been lost or destroyed or was well-hidden, never to be revealed, and this footage seemed to be what the majority of people on the Internet were talking about. They all wanted to see it.

M: And that led you to the story….

D: What actually led me to the story was the death of Anna Nicole Smith. I remember it was February 8, 2007, and I was working for a public relations firm in Palo Alto. There was a bar in the offices, a “keginator” as they called it, and also a television above the bar playing CNN that late afternoon. I remember standing at the bar watching the TV when no one else would. They had already seen it, I suppose. But I watched, and I wondered about how much attention Anna Nicole Smith was getting. And I thought also then of Christine Chubbuck, and how she’d died in Florida too, and then I went back to my cubicle, opened my notebook and started writing. I didn’t want to write about Anna Nicole Smith; I wanted to write about Christine Chubbuck. Not just Christine Chubbuck—I wanted to write about the people who wanted to see the footage, I wanted to write about us. And so I went at it…I got some stares from coworkers who walked by, but I had a draft by the time I left work that day. 

M: “Chris” was originally published in The Bend in 2007….

D: It was. The story went through some changes after that, but a lot of it’s stayed the same. David Michael Ewald’s mission in Sarasota, Florida, hasn’t changed from that first draft I wrote in February of ‘07 to what readers will see in He Who Shall Remain Shameless.

M: “I was in Sarasota to find the footage….”

D: I wanted to convey the sadness of what happened that day in July of 1974, but I also wanted to explore the aftermath, the obsession.

M: We believe you have, and we think readers will agree. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, David.

D: Thank you.

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.