Alexander charmed
and entertained an audience of several hundred loyal fans - perhaps
97 percent being "women of a certain age". He spoke with
great affection for his characters and told hilarious stories of how
he incorporates his real friends into his novels and then brings them
together at "real-time" dinners. Despite the gentle tone of
his many novels, McCall Smith is an astute and deep philosophical
thinker. The recent riots in the UK have caused him to re-examine
much of his thinking in regard to the morality and values of modern
society. He spoke with great insight about the problems he saw facing
our society today.
A writer of over 90
books to date, Alexander discussed a typical day in his writing life
- rising at 3.00am to write for about 2 hours before popping back to
bed before breakfast - further hours of writing each afternoon and
early evening - producing between 3,000-4,000 words per day!!! He
has so far this year published 6 new novels, featuring all of his
popular characters - Mma Ramotswe, Isabel Dalhousie, Professor Dr
Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld and the characters from the Corduroy
Mansions and 44 Scotland Street. He is at present working on another
half dozen. On a recent 10 day trip thought the Australian outback
with his wife, Elizabeth, he managed to produce 6 short stories - a
feat that must cause despair in the hearts of other writers!
It was a privilege
to listen to a man of such integrity and humility; a man with so much
to share and a man who gives so generously to his readers and friends
in both the developed world and the developing countries of his
beloved Africa. I wait with eager anticipation for his next book -
The Unusual uses of olive oil.
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