1. When will Farthing be out?
A. The current date is supposed to be August 2006.
2. So, what genre is Farthing?
A. It's an alternate history mystery. I think that makes it SF.
3. What alternate history is it? Not boring old WWII, I hope?
A. Yes, WWII. It's set in Britain in a 1949 where WWII ended in May 1941, with the Hess mission, at the end of the Blitz. Socially, this means that in many ways the thirties are still going on. The Continent is dominated by the Nazis, from the Channel to the Ukraine, where the Nazis are still slogging it out with the Soviets.
4. So, is it about that?
A. It's about a murder that happens in a house party.
5. Did you leave out the Holocaust?
A. No, the Holocaust is absolutely central. I've been describing it as a cosy mystery, with fascists.
6. Does the book have "political relevance" then?
A. I prefer to think of applicability. I certainly wouldn't have written it if I hadn't been absolutely white hot furious about current politics.
7. Did you really write it in three weeks?
A. 17 days. See "white hot furious" above.