Macromere Press

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.

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….