Your book Paula had its genesis in the letters you wrote to your mother and daughter, Paula, when she was gravely ill. Many have been touched by its honesty and emotion but did your family members object to opening their lives up? Before I published Paula I sent the manuscript to all the people mentioned by name in the book and all of them authorised me to publish it. Paula’s husband helped me with many details. He even shared with me the love letters that he had exchanged with Paula when they were courting. Have you ever been to India? I have been to India twice. It is the most fascinating country in the world. It would take a lifetime to understand its complexity. I went to India after my daughter Paula died and I was in deep depression. My friend suggested that I go to India. The visit pulled me out of my depression. The beauty of the country is so much more than the poverty. I hope to return many more times because in each trip I learn so much more. You are into meditation. Do you think countries (like people) have a consciousness — or spirit if you like? And do you feel more comfortable with some people and in some countries? If there is karma and spirit for individuals, may be there is karma and spirit for nations too. If a nation carries on a genocide, for example, in time it will have to pay for that crime. I feel at ease in many places and I think I could live almost anywhere if I had my family and my husband with me. I like Chile but I also like my life in California. Which Indian writers have you read? I like Pico Iyer. Have read most books by Salman Rushdie. Have liked Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry and Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I have Brick Lane by Monica Ali on my night table, but I have not started it yet. Do you feel that people are not their usual self around writers because they feel they might land up in a future book? I hope that is not true! I never feel that people are afraid of me. Sometimes people come to me and tell me their lives because they want to be in a book. Your books have an underlying thread of people who are outsiders and have been marginalised. Do you think that people’s lives are better with every generation? I think that the world is progressing slowly; it is a better place now than one hundred years ago. I am not naïve. I know how corrupt the system is everywhere, but I am an optimist. I am convinced that our children are better than us. Your first book, now considered a brilliant piece of work, was rejected by everyone till a receptionist put you in touch with an agent in Spain. Is being discovered all luck and karma? I believe in good luck. There are thousands of wonderful manuscripts that will never be published. There are too many writers and few people read. Publishers look for commercial projects, they seldom take risks with a new writer. I was very fortunate that The House of the Spirits got so much attention. That paved the road for all my other books.

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