Goodreads asked R. Munro:

What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

R. Munro Thanks for asking. Now I've stopped laughing so much I could barely type, I'll have a crack at answering this.

My life is not one big mystery. It is a plethora of mysteries, a litany of questions, many simply impossible to answer (at this time, at any rate). Some mysteries have been delved into with enormous gusto, as to explore those paradigms is to challenge the difficulties I've faced head-on and perhaps—in the fullness of time—conquer them.

Issues—such as having Asperger's—are addressed by researching the topic, which has unveiled answers I wish I knew when I was young (but could never have, as Asperger's was not even defined until I was in my late teens—far too late for interventional behavioural therapies). The way I talked, the lack of friends, the social marginalisation, the struggles and difficulties layered on top of the regular challenges faced by all growing youngsters was a recipe for ... well ... me.

I'm not sure I'd really ever want to write about having Asperger's, mystery or not. Perhaps I will one day. I would certainly need to be in a completely different headspace to achieve something like that. Associated with my Asperger's is an appalling love life. If I were to approach the topic of Asperger's, perhaps it could be through the perspective of a young man looking for love but struggling to accept his mental health is the reason those he approach (or approach him) turn away or run away or abuse him. His challenge is then to face his difficulties, come to terms with them and determine different pathways, different approaches. It's extremely difficult when trying to deal with normal people, because so many are prone to adverse reactions when faced with abnormality. Some even become quite abusive.

That's one thing above all I've had to deal with in my life that is no mystery. Abuse. I really don't like abuse. I don't like being abused (despite being abused since I was very small - you'd think I'd be used to it by now), and I certainly have no interest in abusing others. I have infused into much of my writing threads of abuse in one form or another. One of my novels features abuse in its entirety, though the main character in that one responds in a fashion far removed from how I would have dealt with it had it been me (then again, he's no "Aspie").

The mystery then is how to deal with abuse in constructive rather than destructive ways. In a society where pretty much all abuse is addressed in one form or another with punitive measures (therefore failing miserably to address root causes, leading to relapses and other dysfunctions), such issues are frequently treated at large as taboo, tossed in the too-hard basket or ignored. Perhaps that is where my book plots need to focus, albeit in subtle enough ways to prevent feeling didactic while still being entertaining and thought-provoking.

I guess the greatest mystery of all is if I could write a book like that.

Time will tell.

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