Contemporary fiction with a speculative element
Date Published: May 14, 2020
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
No one knew it at the time, but April 19, 2011, was the most important day in the history of the world.
After his only friend and colleague, John Manta, disappears without a word, Dave Randall further entrenches himself in the humdrum life of an unenthusiastic lawyer. But once he begins to understand what happened, he embarks on a journey to uncover the deeper meanings and implications of John's fate.
Accompanied by Peaches the cat, Dave uproots his life and reinvents himself in the midst of his search. Along the way, he is haunted by his piecemeal understanding of John's fate and what it means for his existence. Little does Dave know, his journey of self-discovery will have ramifications that extend far beyond the borders of his own little life.
Interview
with Daniel Maunz
For
those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book,
where should they start?
This
story dives into some fairly old philosophical questions (What
is the meaning of life? Why
does God let bad things happen to good people?)
but I don’t think any degree of expertise in philosophy is needed
to enjoy this story. Aside from an introductory philosophy class
that I took during my freshman year of college, I’m not
particularly versed in matters of philosophy. The way this story
progressed just inevitably led to a disgruntled attorney having a
bit of an existential crisis that forced him to ask himself some
tough questions. Unfortunately, having spent a few years as a
disgruntled attorney myself, I felt more than qualified to tackle
these types of philosophical questions from that particular
perspective.
How
did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
The
book isn’t autobiographical, but it did draw heavily from a lot of
the frustrations and challenges I faced during the decade I spent as
a commercial litigator. Working tirelessly to the point of
exhaustion with no clear endgame in sight, for example. I tapped
into that experience, and how it slowly transformed me into a more
bitter and cynical person than I wanted to be, as the starting point
for my narrator/protagonist, Dave Randall.
What
were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you
feel you achieved them?
Above
all else, I wanted to create a grounded story that lent itself to
address some very real aspects of the human condition through a
speculative event. I thought that by untethering myself from
“reality,” I’d be able to address some stale questions from a
fresh perspective. A number of reviewers have already noted that
reading this book has changed how they view the world, which has
exceeded my wildest expectations.
This
story also squarely addresses the concept of God. I thought it was
possible to craft this story in a way that was not alienating to any
particular religion (or to those who are not religious at all). The
reaction in that regard has been interesting. People with strong
religious backgrounds who have read this book acknowledged having a
fear, at the beginning of the story, that this would end up mocking
religions or be otherwise sacrilegious, and seemed somewhat relieved
that the book does not ultimately go in that direction. Atheists who
have read the book also acknowledged an early wariness at some of the
God-related concepts, fearing a story that would try to force
religious beliefs down their throat, only to come out at the end
satisfied that this is not
“religious fiction.” So I think, if nothing else, I managed to
successfully walk that middle ground in writing this novel.
Anything
you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I
think I mention this in the acknowledgments section of the book, but
this novel was about five years in the making. I started it
believing, if nothing else, that I would have a story that my wife
might enjoy reading. And that was enough to motivate me to finish
it. Now that it is published, and being read by strangers across the
world … that is just an indescribable feeling. It’s not always
easy for a debut author to find readers brave enough to jump into an
unknown book, and I’m so appreciative of those who have and shared
their thoughts about it (whether good, bad or indifferent).
What
did you enjoy most about writing this book?
One
thing I’ve learned about myself in the course of writing this book
is that my mental health is much stronger when I am in the midst of
doing something creative. There were times in my life when my
thoughts during moments of downtime would race to topics that
inevitably led to depression or anxiety. While writing this book,
however, when I had a moment to just stop and think, my thoughts
tended to drift more towards potential plot points, or how to
adequately convey an idea in text. It was just a much healthier
state of mind and writing this story was worth it for that alone.
Can
you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have
planned for the future?
As
with Questions of Perspective,
my next book (and, I anticipate, all of my future books) will start
with themes I want to tackle, with the appropriate plot to address
those themes following. In the case of Questions
of Perspective, some of the themes I
wanted to address were the meaning of life and the overall notion of
empathy. The next book (which will have a female protagonist)
focuses on the concepts of family and loss.
I’m
also currently working on the second draft of a screenplay that I am
co-writing with a friend. The hope is to start filming on that once
this pandemic situation finally settles down. It’s a
comedy-mystery; I think it’s really funny thus far. I absolutely
can’t wait to see it on film.
How
long have you been writing?
In
high school, my friend Ed and I got in the habit of writing
screenplays together during physics class. I would write a scene and
pass it to him when the teacher’s back was turned, and then he
would do the same. That was about the time I learned that writing
could be more than a chore: it could be fun.
Since then, I’ve written a bunch of scripts and short stories just
to entertain my friends, or to gift my wife. Questions
of Perspective, which I started in
mid-2015, was the first time I set out to write something that would
be read by strangers outside of my social circle.
Can
you tell us a little bit about the characters in Questions
of Perspective?
The
main character and narrator is Dave Randall, who is, at the outset
of the novel, a cynical, bitter, introverted attorney going through
the motions of his career (and his life). His best and only friend
at the firm is John Manta, who shares Dave’s disdain for their
job, but is a bit more open with his distaste (often slipping into
the realm of insubordination). Dave’s journey starts after John
inexplicably disappears. Once Dave learns of John’s fate, his
entire view of his existence is altered, and he sets out to reclaim
a life that is consistent with his newfound perception of the world.
Along
the way, Dave adopts John’s cat named Peaches, who he quickly
realizes is a bit of an over-achiever as far as cats go. There are
other characters who come and go as the story progresses, but those
are the big three that kick off this story.
If
you could spend the day with one of the characters from Questions
of Perspective who would it be?
Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you
would go and what you would do.
Peaches
the cat seems to be universally recognized as the best character in
the story, and I tend to agree. Even some reviewers who have
acknowledged having an aversion to cats admit that Peaches was their
favorite character. Peaches’ strongest attribute is his loyalty,
which is a trait not commonly associated with cats.
As
I mentioned, Peaches kind of represents the “best case scenario”
for cats. In that regard, Dave learns that Peaches can be trusted to
be let loose, without having to fear that he will run away. Dave
takes to going on regular hikes with Peaches dutifully staying by his
side. I think that would be an amazing experience: going on day hikes
with a loyal cat. So that is certainly what Peaches and I would be
doing on our day together.
About the Author
When he is not writing, Daniel Maunz works as in-house counsel for a major insurance company. He currently lives in Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, with his wife Lynne, their son Patrick, and their two cats: Admiral Meowy McWhiskers and Captain Cutie (or "Admiral" and "Captain" for short). Questions of Perspective is his first novel.
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