"Ah," he says, suddenly understanding, "it's all about good press. Or bad press. Which is good press, although I've never exactly been sure how that's possible." He shrugs.

"I'm a writer. The minute the reviews start to tank, my publisher sends the book off to one of those hoity toity art rags in the suburbs. They're so far up themselves that they think any negative review means they're not trying hard enough. So --" he dusts his hands "-- back on top."