'Droplets of cold sweat used my spine like a rollercoaster. My hoodie was too loose and my track pants too tight...'

A review of Richard Flanagan's Question 7.

'When I think of Latinidad, I see colour and flavour. I feel it in making empanadas. Dicing onions while my eyes burn...'

'I grew up in a wilderness commune on Vancouver Island, so there was never any escaping bodies of water.'

'Melons are like that; they want to grow.'

'When I saw you at that book launch after all these years, I wanted to know if it was okay to still say hi.'

'I desire the freedom to dress, think and act as I please without the shackles of rules, guilt and punishment weighing me down.'