What inspired you to create the concept of ' the Big Lie' in City of Lies?

Lian Tanner Hi Hannah, it can be quite hard to tell where an idea came from, but one of the first things I wrote in my 'City of Lies' notebook was, 'People in this city are renowned liars. They have Liars Week, when everything has to be a lie.' So the idea of the Big Lie obviously came from that, but where did the original idea come from? It probably just popped into my head when I was walking along the beach one day.

A bit later in the notebook I've written, 'There's a Curtain of Lies that marches through the city like a wave. And everyone's watching out for it.' And later still, 'The first part of the week is just ordinary lying, but then comes a time where you start to live your lie. And if your lies are interesting enough, the city picks them up and draws other people in.'

So you see, I started with a small idea, and it gradually changed and grew more interesting. That's how things seem to work for me.

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