Any Human Heart writing again of a whole-life view: "I don't think there's anything wrong with going back over territory you've previously covered." Though avowedly not an (auto-)biographical novelist, Boyd acknowledged that personal experiences often subconsciously affect a writer's fiction. As in several of Boyd's novels there are parallels with the author's life: both Boyd and Mountstuart lived in Africa and France, studied at Oxford, worked in literary London and had a taste of New York. Boyd usually splits the creation of a novel into two phases: research and writing. The first phase of "Any Human Heart" took 30 months as he carefully
How Many Licks? Neptunes has additional vocals from American artists Kelis, Lil' Cease, and Snoop Dogg. "How Many Licks?" was praised by music critics after its release and in retrospective reviews; the Neptunes remix also received positive reviews. However, African-American studies professor Mark Anthony Neal criticized the song's treatment of black female sexuality. Commentators compared its content to Trinidadian-American rapper Nicki Minaj's 2014 single, "Anaconda". "How Many Licks?" peaked at number 75 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and charted in several other countries, but was not as commercially successful as Lil' Kim's previous releases. The song's music video was directed by Francis