Edinburgh used to be a haughty city.

Dogs are in on our human silliness; lions are not.

One of the most destructive things that's happening in modern society is that we are losing our sense of the bonds that bind people together - which can lead to nightmares of social collapse.

Every novel presents a slice of life. A noir policier for example presents one slice, one that perhaps addresses social dysfunction or some sort of pathology, while mine present a slice that is more upbeat and affirmative.

But don't we often lie to people we love, or not tell them things, precisely because we love them?

None of us knows how we will cope with snakes until the moment arises, and then most of us find out that we do not do it very well.

A very powerful theme in fiction is that of loss.