Alexander McCall Smith

Edinburgh used to be a haughty city. ”

I'm very interested in tea. I wouldn't mind being involved in some aspect of the tea industry. ”

Oh I love gadgets and I pride myself on keeping at the cutting edge of technology. ”

Every single day, I get letters - very moving, overwhelming letters - testifying how much my books have meant to people in times of crisis in their lives, when they were very ill, say. If I ever doubted that writing could play an important part in people's lives, I don't doubt that now. ”

The local community is very important in one's life; the feelings of identification with a place and people. ”

I write four books a year. I'm very fortunate that I write quickly; around 3,500 words a day. Being strict about delineating my writing time and personal life, as well as keeping distractions at bay, is the only way I can accomplish this. ”

As a writer I've learned certain lessons. One of them is to be careful about how you put a view, and to bear in mind how easily and readily you'll be misinterpreted. ”

I would certainly never consider myself a Renaissance Man; I'm not fit to look at the dust from the chariot wheels of many of those who have gone before me. ”

Serial novels have an unexpected effect; they hook the writer as well as the reader. ”

I think people in Botswana are pleased that my books paint a positive picture of their lives and portray the country as being very special. They've made a great success of their country, and the people are fed up with the constant reporting of only the problems and poverty of the continent. They welcome something which puts the positive side. ”