Even with your tremendous success, you still have to do book tours. How much did the sales of your books increase after Oprah Winfrey profiled Daughter of Fortune on her American TV show? By appearing in Oprah’s show, my book Daughter of Fortune sold 500,000 copies more in the United States! You only write in Spanish. Do you feel that a translation can ever capture the essence of what you are trying to say? My books are translated into more than 30 languages. I don’t think that the subtleties are well translated in every case, but I cannot worry about that. I trust that my publishers do the best they can and that the readers are forgiving. Do you have any indulgences like a sports car or a yatch? Are there any material things that give you joy? I am not attached to things. I love my family and my friends. I enjoy family dinners, our garden, my dog, the movies. My life is really very simple. Writing has a certain mystique about it. Are writers more subtle and introspective as people? Does this creativity also have a dark side? Do writers suffer emotions like love and jealousy more strongly than others? This is a very complicated question. I cannot answer for other writers. I can say about myself that I am not particularly introspective, but I am very intuitive and I have a pathological imagination. My emotions are usually under control. I have such an interesting job that there is no time or energy left for the ‘dark side’. I feel that my life is transparent and full of light. People in poorer countries feel that they should not have to pay the same price for software and books that the western countries can afford. What do you think of book piracy? My books are pirated everywhere. In Chile the pirated copies are released before the official launch. Personally, I am glad that my books are so widely read and do not mind it much. But piracy harms writers who are just starting out. Also, you have to keep in mind that the people doing the pirating do not care for the readers but only their profits. The world has made great strides towards equality for women. Do you feel that in some western countries the pendulum has actually swung the other way in relationships? That now it is the men who feel guilty and afraid in relationships? The roles of men and women have changed in industrialised western countries, however in most of the world the situation of women is still subordinate to men. Women are still sold into marriage, prostitution, labour, etc. They are the poorest of the poor. Men and women are being forced to adjust to modern ways of life. Men are scared and women are overworked, tired and frustrated. But our children and grandchildren have much better relationships than we did before feminism.

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