“Crime is a social system, not an aberrant individual, but in character-led novels it always comes down to two individuals.”
“Narrative is political because available narrative shapes the way we see the world. If there are no stories about you, you can’t even imagine yourself. When I was young all gay characters were victims and all trans characters were murderers.”
“I’ve never read a discussion of the high art/low art distinction, however complex and philosophical, that doesn’t come down to class.”
“If we’re claiming we’re high art, we’re supporting that class system.”
“We’re saying we should have high status as well, because we’re better then sci-fi or romance.”
“We’re not. I don’t believe in class distinctions like that in life or art. We should judge a book not by the marketing category, but by the content of its pages. But while we have those classifications …
I write crime because it’s regarded as low art.”
“I’m not interested in writing books people read as a self-improving obligation. I want people to read because they’re ill, to get through a holiday with people they hate, because they have a long commute.”
“It’s such an intimate, delicious interaction with a reader. The books I read that way are books I adore — they include some very classy literary novels.”
“If we give up our special genre status, here is what we lose: No one will read us because they deserve a treat. No one will stop reading because they don’t like it. No one will read us because they have flu.”