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Q: So, it's a sequel to Thing My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About, then?
A: No. Not remotely. I know some authors make a damn fine living out of effectively writing the same book over and over again, but those authors must have a far more well-deleveloped work ethic than I have, because doing that would bore me to death. I said what I set out to say in TMGAIHAA (OK, so some people didn't quite see it - which caused them to yelp about the ending - but that happens: I said it anyway) and so there's entirely no point saying again.
Q: Wooooh... touchy. So, Mr I'm-So-Above-Sequels, what's this book about?
A: It's about the slippery notion of 'freewill' and what it means to be human. But forget I said that - it'll only scare you away. So... well, without wanting to give too much away, it also concerns the interesting gulf between what love is, and what we believe it is; between the objective reality on the one hand and the subjective mental picture we're more comfortable with seeing on the other. It's about the fundamental truth of love, basically.
Q: Which is?
A: Ah-ha. But, anyway, it demonstrates this truth by looking at infidelity: it tells the story of an affair - because affairs get everything in there quickly: they're the Reader's Digest versions of love.
Q: Is it supposed to be funny? It doesn't sound very funny, if you ask me.
A: Oh, yeah. As with TMGAIHAA, the point's serious, but the telling of it is funny. A Certain Chemistry is really funny - I even have somebody fall off a bicycle at one point, and you know how funny that is, right?
Q: OK - enough with the sickening sales pitch. When's it out.
A: Now.
Q: Got any review quotes? I'm a happy slave to the opinions of weary, self-loathing journalists, you see.
A: It's only just been publishered, so there aren't many reviews out yet. However, I've stuck what quotes there are here.
Q: Where can I get it, then? For my girlfriend, obviously. She likes your stuff, for some reason. I think you're a git, myself - no offence.
A: None taken. You can get it in pretty much any bookshop, and that's where you should get it, too. Bookshops are not simply lovely in themselves, but they also give employment to delightful misfits who would otherwise have no means of supporting themselves and would be forced to live in tunnels under the earth. And, anyway, once you've added the postage, they're usually at least as cheap as Amazon. However, if you insist on buying it for yourself online...
Q: For my girlfriend
A: Yes, sorry - for your girlfriend...
Q: I think you're a git.
A: OK, OK, yes - if you insist on buying it for your girlfriend online, then you can do so here, (here, for Americans) (or here, for Swedes) (or here, for Israelis) (or here, for Russians) or by clicking the cover pics at the top of this page.
Q: I see... And it's funny, you reckon?
A: Yes. It's funny.
Q: Right... Well... Well, it'd better be - that's all I'm going to say.
A: I bet you sometimes lie in bed at night and imagine what it'd be like if you had superpowers, don't you?
The 'Love and Other Near Death Experiences' Novel