Questions and answers with the author

Soon after the publication of your first book, Take Me For a Ride, you were sued $30 million. How do you think The Monkey Bible will compare in controversy?
Mark: The Monkey Bible touches controversial subjects - such as how humans actually came to be - in ways that gently attempt to bridge seemingly incompatible worldviews. Is it controversial to explore, and ask questions about, the story of our creation?

The Monkey Bible tells the story of a young man who isn't fully human. Is something like that really possible?
Mark: Genetic transfer from one nonhuman species to another is hardly fiction and takes place each day in laboratories around the world. Genetic transfer from nonhumans to humans may not be legal or ethical but it's possible.

Each character in the book is on their own fascinating journey. How did you shape Emmanuel, Evelyn and Lucy? Is any one of them particularly your favorite?
Mark: Evelyn, Lucy, and Emmanuel are a part of me and their journeys resonate with journeys of my own. These characters are like my own children: if I had a favorite, I wouldn't admit it, not even to myself. I do have favorite moments, though, such as when Lucy jumps into the world of religion, and when Evelyn jumps into the world of science. I love when the characters move outside their respective zones of comfort.

You are bravely taking on the issue of evolution vs. creation and have received endorsements from many top religious leaders and scientists. How did you manage to get both sides on your team?
Mark: If people are supportive of the project, it may be that they support the core message, which is: we should work together to protect what some call the biosphere and others call God's creation.

The book features interesting projects like vEcotourism, story-telling groups and a protest against loud cell phone users. Are these things you are working on outside the fictitious world?
Mark: In real life, I'm leading a team of wildlife conservationists and technologists to ramp up virtual ecotourism or vEcotourism around the world. In real life, I founded and run the Traveler's Circle (tc), a monthly wildlife and travel storytelling gathering. In real life, I'm working to create a free iPhone app called iRude which may be used to educate rude cell phone users. While The Monkey Bible book is fiction, the line separating the fiction from the real world is thin in some places, porous in others.

So what does it mean to be human?
Mark: More importantly, what do you think it means to be human? The Monkey Bible raises mirrors, asks questions. I'd recommend looking to yourself, not me, for answers.

What do you hope people get out of reading The Monkey Bible?
Mark: That the line separating humans from all other creatures is not as thick, dark, and inflexible as some of us once believed.

As the Producer of The Monkey Bible Project, which includes a book, CD and stage production, as well as the cofounder and President of Chimp-n-Sea Wildlife Conservation Fund, what actions do you recommend people take after reading The Monkey Bible? Anything we can do to help save endangered species and protect our Earth?
Mark: The short answer: give money to Wildlife Conservation Society, the Jane Goodall Institute, The New Nature Foundation, or to a similar organization on an ongoing basis. The deeper answer: change attitudes, behaviors, and stories within society and within yourself. I once asked Jane Goodall a similar question and she encouraged me, in so many words, to look within and get creative about it. I pass along her words of wisdom.

Statistics: Posted by marklaxer — Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:12 am — Replies 0 — Views 10