1.   And whatever else it is, it seems to be an increasingly common ploy in contemporary fiction.

2.   As the general population ages, the protagonists of most contemporary fiction stay stubbornly, glamorously young.

3.   All but unheard-of eight years ago, they are among the better-known writers in contemporary fiction.

4.   Although contemporary fiction has its share of bad guys, dastardly female characters are few and far between.

5.   But that hardly makes Moody unique among contemporary fiction writers.

6.   Contemporary fiction does not make heroes out of mad outsiders, even though the theme of alienation is still around.

7.   Her greatest contribution to contemporary fiction is the irrepressible character of Rhoda Manning, a thinly veiled autobiographical heroine.

8.   If much contemporary fiction is written by women and read by women, its luminaries nonetheless are men.

9.   It needed to exist, and any student of contemporary fiction will need to understand its place in the pantheon of modern American letters.

10.   Later, he studied Roman history and contemporary fiction at Oxford University.