Laughter comes easy for Alexander McCall Smith and his sense of humor drew his audience into continual bursts of laughter at the seminar he held at the Book and Library Fair in Gothenburg, Sweden. Smith is author of the well-known No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. He is a tall jovial man with friendly and inquiring eyes.
The Zimbabwean-born, Scottish writer and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law has written a variety of novels and series over the years, of which the most widely known is about Precious Ramotswe and her No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, set in Botswana.
Smith described himself as a prolific writer. Writing thousand words per hour is common place to him and he produces four to five books a year.
“I suppose I get a lot of pleasure from what I am doing. I enjoy writing, and it gives me a great pleasure to write these books,” said Smith in an interview with The Epoch Times after the seminar.
Part of the delight comes from the good contact with his readers, many of whom write to him.
“I am also getting a lot of energy and a great satisfaction from meeting the readers, and that is very important. When I meet people who read the books, and who are kind enough to say that they have enjoyed them, that actually somehow encourages me and that is important.”
In the Ladies’ Detective stories, the main character is the private investigator, Mma Precious Ramotswe, the first woman detective in the area. Her character is inspired by the people of Botswana.
“I suppose she came from the people I have met in Botswana, over the years, I think that as an author you have various experiences as you go through life, and you put them altogether.”
What Smith likes most about Mma Ramotswe is her “extreme kindness” and because she is “a giving woman who would make a very good company.”
Sometimes Smith’s characters are so true to life that Botswanans can point to the people in their communities who inspired the characters. According to some of his readers, there is a prominent woman in Botswana who resembles Mma Ramotswe.
“Yes, there is a lady in Botswana who played the role of Mma Ramotswe in an amateur drama theatre, and yes, she used to be the minister of health in the government, and I can say that she is Mma Ramotswe but she also isn’t all together,” he says with laughter.
Smith likes all of his series for different reasons and they were each written in “different moods” and with “different voices.”
“All the series have their own readership and obviously the one which is most widely sold throughout the world is Mma Ramotswe, the Botswana novels; but my Scottish novels are also very popular,” he added.
The jovial writer possesses a kind of free-flowing imagination that comes so easily that subsequent incidents in his stories sometimes even take him by surprise.
“I think that it is all made up in the subconscious mind and therefore the subconscious mind does things that one had not anticipated doing, so it can be surprising,” he said.
Smith started a new project recently with the British publication, The Daily Telegraph.
“Daily Telegraph asked me if I could write a novel series for them. It would also be published on the Internet, which is indeed a powerful way to interact with the readers. It is a quite tough job and I have to write every day, a chapter a day, even when I travel,” said Smith.
The series, which is called Corduroy Mansions, revolves around eccentric characters in Pimlico area of London. The volume he is currently working on is called “Conspiracy of Friends.”
The day before he visited the Book and Library Fair in Gothenburg, he wrote one chapter in his hotel room. Smith says, a bit mischievously, that readers could find something related to Gothenburg in Chapter 28 of the series, because he usually includes something from the places he visits.
Alexander McCall Smith was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad. His highly successful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series has sold over twenty million copies and his books have been translated into over forty languages and become best sellers around the world.
The Zimbabwean-born, Scottish writer and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law has written a variety of novels and series over the years, of which the most widely known is about Precious Ramotswe and her No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, set in Botswana.
A Thousand Words Per Hour
Smith described himself as a prolific writer. Writing thousand words per hour is common place to him and he produces four to five books a year.
“I suppose I get a lot of pleasure from what I am doing. I enjoy writing, and it gives me a great pleasure to write these books,” said Smith in an interview with The Epoch Times after the seminar.
Part of the delight comes from the good contact with his readers, many of whom write to him.
“I am also getting a lot of energy and a great satisfaction from meeting the readers, and that is very important. When I meet people who read the books, and who are kind enough to say that they have enjoyed them, that actually somehow encourages me and that is important.”
Mma Precious Ramotswe
In the Ladies’ Detective stories, the main character is the private investigator, Mma Precious Ramotswe, the first woman detective in the area. Her character is inspired by the people of Botswana.
“I suppose she came from the people I have met in Botswana, over the years, I think that as an author you have various experiences as you go through life, and you put them altogether.”
What Smith likes most about Mma Ramotswe is her “extreme kindness” and because she is “a giving woman who would make a very good company.”
Sometimes Smith’s characters are so true to life that Botswanans can point to the people in their communities who inspired the characters. According to some of his readers, there is a prominent woman in Botswana who resembles Mma Ramotswe.
“Yes, there is a lady in Botswana who played the role of Mma Ramotswe in an amateur drama theatre, and yes, she used to be the minister of health in the government, and I can say that she is Mma Ramotswe but she also isn’t all together,” he says with laughter.
A Series for Everyone
Smith likes all of his series for different reasons and they were each written in “different moods” and with “different voices.”
“All the series have their own readership and obviously the one which is most widely sold throughout the world is Mma Ramotswe, the Botswana novels; but my Scottish novels are also very popular,” he added.
The jovial writer possesses a kind of free-flowing imagination that comes so easily that subsequent incidents in his stories sometimes even take him by surprise.
“I think that it is all made up in the subconscious mind and therefore the subconscious mind does things that one had not anticipated doing, so it can be surprising,” he said.
New Exciting Series
Smith started a new project recently with the British publication, The Daily Telegraph.
“Daily Telegraph asked me if I could write a novel series for them. It would also be published on the Internet, which is indeed a powerful way to interact with the readers. It is a quite tough job and I have to write every day, a chapter a day, even when I travel,” said Smith.
The series, which is called Corduroy Mansions, revolves around eccentric characters in Pimlico area of London. The volume he is currently working on is called “Conspiracy of Friends.”
The day before he visited the Book and Library Fair in Gothenburg, he wrote one chapter in his hotel room. Smith says, a bit mischievously, that readers could find something related to Gothenburg in Chapter 28 of the series, because he usually includes something from the places he visits.
Alexander McCall Smith was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad. His highly successful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series has sold over twenty million copies and his books have been translated into over forty languages and become best sellers around the world.
