Sit Down With Worldwide Best-Selling Author Sir Alexander McCall Smith

Sir Alexander McCall Smith Reflects on Book Festivals and Literary Events

 Well, it's a particular pleasure to be in Falmouth, which is such a nice place. I visited it on a few occasions in the past. I did a literary event here previously. And to be here as part of the book festival makes it even better. Because book festivals are wonderful events. You meet people, you meet the readers of the books, you meet other authors. So I'm looking forward to it very much indeed.

Book festivals, I think, are really crucial. A very important part of the national conversation that we have, and particularly important in times when there's a great deal of confrontation and conflict and disagreement going on, because at book festivals, people can talk to one another, authors can talk to the public, public talk to them, and there can be debates at book festivals. So it's a really, really important part of the national conversation.

And it's interesting that book festivals have spread their wings, so to speak, to take into account a lot of the political, social, economic development. So it's not just about subjects which one might consider to be purely literary. As far as the book world is concerned, publishing and literature in general, book festivals are an absolutely crucial part of that, because I suppose they encourage interest in reading. They allow people to be introduced to new authors, new books and so on. So they’re great events and the very, very popular people love them. People will travel considerable distances to go to a book festival. And usually they have a very good time there and they go away inspired, I hope, by what they've heard.

Being by the Sea: Does it inspire you?

I think that most people rather like being close to the sea. Occasionally you meet people who look at the sea and shudder, but I certainly don't. I like being by the sea. I think there's something which is very refreshing about being by the sea in its various forms. I think that it's very nice when book festivals pay particular attention to the features of the landscape in which they are held. And so I should imagine that the Falmouth Book Festival has a great deal to offer in terms of looking at subjects

which pertain in some way to the sea, the health of the oceans for you, for example, seafaring subjects and so on and conservation subjects. So I think it's great when book festivals are integrated into the life and the concerns of the local community and the place. Place is very important to literature. When we read novels or short stories we’re very aware of place, and I think book festivals that look and somehow explore the characteristics of the place in which they occur are particularly interesting.

Writing can be solitary: How do you look after your wellbeing?

Most authors have practices that they observe in relation to their writing, and so they can be quite obsessive about writing in the in the right place, with the right sort of paper, the right sort of screen, or whatever it happens to be. I'm not too bothered about where I write. I wrote it, but I also write when I'm on tour. I go on tour a lot. I'll be writing a bit while I'm here, in Falmouth, because I've got to finish a book by Sunday. And so I take the manuscripts with me and, and work on them.

Writing is a solitary activity. It can be, I think, quite, lonely. Because you aren't necessarily in a position to discuss with somebody what you've just worked on. You are there, in the company of your characters though. So it's not as if you don't have contact with anybody. If you're writing fiction, you're in the company of the characters, in the book. I think one thing you have to do as a writer is have some sort of regime, because books, contrary to popular belief or wishes or the wishes of would be authors, don't write themselves. So you have to sit down and work. The muse isn't going to appear and tap you on the shoulder, as she has other things to do.

Personal Favourite Book or Character?

It's quite difficult for an author to say that a particular character or a particular book is his or her favourite.
It's rather like asking a parent, which is your favourite child, which is the question parents tend not to like to respond to. So I think I'm probably inclined to, to say that I like all my books and my characters. I'm particularly fond, I suppose, of one of the characters in my Scotland Street novels, a little boy called Bertie, who has become very popular with the readers. He has major problems with his pushy mother. And I enjoy writing about Bertie. I tend to smile a lot when I write about him. I'm also very fond of the Botswana books. The number one ladies detective agencies, there is Mma Ramotswe, is obviously somebody who's very important for me. I feel her presence. I've been writing about her for 26 books, so for many years and.

Seasonal Inspiration: Do Autumn & Winter Inspire You?

For me, I don't think that I find it easier to write any particular time of the year. I do like Autumn. Autumn, I think is a wonderful season. If you get a clear, crisp autumnal day. It's gorgeous and I probably prefer those days to summer days. I know most people prefer the summer and warm weather, but autumn is a very stimulating time. It's a very thoughtful time. I think I find myself thinking quite seriously during the autumn. It's a time when I certainly can work, work very well.

Jam, or Cream First?

Well, you're talking about scones. I would say I would put the cream on first, and then you put the jam on. And I think that's the right way to do it. I'm sure that the must be a definitive answer to that. And I suspect that's it. It's rather like milking first with tea. Everybody knows that you should put the milk in first.

When I'm offered a cream tea, as you are sometimes in very grand hotels - St Michaels Resort.
I just use the cream. I tend not to use the jam. And that's a question of guilt, that the whole thing is a guilt inducing experience anyway. You shouldn't be eating these things. You feel that if you've taken the cream but held back on the jam, your conscience is not quite as burdened as if you had both cream and jam. So that's another thing to think about in relation to scones. But we could talk about scones for a long time. I wrote a book with scones in the title The Unbearable Lightness of Scones. So I do have views on scones. What else do I want to say? Well, I could, address the very interesting issue of whether men should wear facial moisturizer.