James Moloney FAQs - Book of Lies Is there going to be a sequel? Yes! - please see Recent and Coming Publications Where did the idea for the book itself come from? I was listening to radio about some important court case. It sounded like the poor jury had to decide which side was telling the truth, which must be what happens in many court cases. But how could they know. Lie Detector machines make too many mistakes. So I got thinking about how you could have a lie detector that never makes mistakes – a magical one that could look into a person’s heart and mind and know for certain. Why did you chose to write a fantasy when you normally write ‘realism’? I was looking for the opportunity to write a rollicking adventure story. Many of my other books explore serious themes about life and humanity. I’m very proud of them and I still enjoy doing that. But I wanted a change, a new challenge. In fantasy, you can make anything happen, as long as you can convince the reader – flying horses, cats who turn into slavering monsters, elves who disappear once they step into shadow – easy. Who is your favourite character in The Book of Lies? Probably Bea. She is quite different, isn’t she. I like the way she is so quite and shy and yet she is very brave and also powerful in her own way. She also has a sad history which you get to know in the story and this adds an extra appeal to her. Many people who write to me say they like Bea. How did you come up with the big twist in the story? (Only read this answer if you have finished the book) I love stories that suddenly turn everything upside down, where everything you thought you knew about someone turns out to be wrong. I wanted to put a twist like this in the story right from the start. It also seemed to suit the story. It is about truth and lies, after all. Hardly anyone is really the person you think they are when you first meet them. That makes the reader work hard to follow the story and I always enjoy books myself when I have to work at understand what is going on. What fantasy stories influenced you when writing The Book of Lies? I haven’t read a lot of fantasy, but I have read what many consider to be the great, or classic, fantasy stories. I’ve read The Lord of the Rings, the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin, The His Dark Material trilogy by Phillip Pullman, some of Diana Wynne Jones books and Harry Potter, of course, but only the first one because I didn’t want to copy J.K’s style or steal her ideas.   Home