“It’s not a lie. It’s a gift for fiction.”

“Diego considered while he stroked the thick ruff of fur around Finn’s neck. "Fiction isn’t lying. Everyone knows it’s imaginary. It’s not as if the writer’s being dishonest and misleading the reader.""Though it’s still not true.""Well...no, it’s not.""Honest lying." Finn laid his head on Diego’s thigh. "I like that.”

“It's not a lie. It's a gift for fiction.”

“Fiction is just that–fiction. Yes, it is serious business, but it should also be taken for face value. It’s entertainment. It’s escapism. It’s 365 pages of relaxation.”

“It’s not lying, it’s flirting.”

“The Booker thing was a catalyst for me in a bizarre way. It’s perceived as an accolade to be published as a ‘literary’ writer, but, actually, it’s pompous and it’s fake. Literary fiction is often nothing more than a genre in itself. I’d always read omnivorously and often thought much literary fiction is read by young men and women in their 20s, as substitutes for experience.”