A publishing sensation like no other, ex-con and British MP Lord Jeffrey Archer is in Mumbai to kick-start the five-city India launch of his latest, 'Mightier than the Sword', the fifth in the Clifton Chronicles (CC) series. dna’s Yogesh Pawar caught up with the irrepressible international best-seller for a chat. Excerpts:
A publishing sensation like no other, ex-con and British MP Lord Jeffrey Archer is in Mumbai to kick-start the five-city India launch of his latest, 'Mightier than the Sword', the fifth in the Clifton Chronicles (CC) series. dna’s Yogesh Pawar caught up with the irrepressible international best-seller for a chat. Excerpts:
Q. Your fifth novel in the CC series, 'Mightier than the Sword', brings the world of intrigue, politics and crime together once again. Did you plan the plots before beginning the series?
A. I can’t. Because I’m basically a story teller. I just begin, ‘Once upon a time...” and hope for the best. I’m in the fifth book now. It begins to take itself forward, because (of) the characters Harris Clifton, Emma Clifton and wicked Virginia Fenwick. They all have their lives cut out. I just follow them. I write in longhand every single word and it goes through several drafts, the first one taking even up to 40 days. I have even done up to 14 drafts. I need my pencils, sharpeners and my favourite kind of paper, all neatly arranged in a line with my wife’s picture, and a sand clock she gave me beside it, so that I sit and write for two-hour stretches with breaks in between.
Q. You are working on a film script based on the CC series?
A. Yes, I was working on it today till a while ago. This is based on the first book in the CC series 'Only Time Will Tell'. It's in pre-production. We have the first draft of the script, the budget, actors- no, I can’t tell you the names!- all nearly finalised. Although next week we’re meeting several companies in Hollywood who want it, on this trip I am looking for an interested Indian partner.
And that does not mean some second rate Bollywood idiot (guffaws) who goes around saying he’s a Bollywood star producer and then he is not! (Laughing) It's true! What can I say? Such has been my Indian experience many times.
Q. Many feel your own life story will make for an international bestseller. Have you ever contemplated writing an autobiography?
A. The truth is, I’m already using so much of me in my work. In the CC series, for example, there’s so much of me in Harry, and so much of my wife Mary in Emma. I am, of course, not willing to say who the wicked Virginia is (chuckles).
See, I want to do more books in this series, then go back to writing a collection of short stories and come back to a big novel I’ve been carrying in my mind. I’m nearly 75. Hang on till I push 80, and then if I’m still alive, you can ask me that question again.
Q. Your mother wrote a regular column 'Over the teacups,' for the local paper. Did that inspire you to write?
A. It must have considering she was very fond of literature and wrote columns. I was also influenced by a master in school called Alan Walter who gave me my love of Shakespeare.
Q. You have published three volumes of your Prison Diary based on your two years in prison following the perjury case. Have you used any of the characters you met to embellish your books since?
A. Every author uses characters they meet. And I have met my own fair share of interesting characters both outside and in prison.
Q. You have the biggest readership compared to anyone outside of India. Why haven’t you yet set a book in India?
A. Many feel that just because I’ve sold 50 million books in India, I should do an Indian novel, and I say no. All writers should write about milieus they know and understand, or the writing will suffer. Yet, let me tell you that in the next book in the CC series, eight chapters will be set in Bombay around a Bollywood heroine.
Q. You raised funds for a Kurdish charity once, As the world is watching the Kurds and ISIS face off in the Middle-East. What is your take on the issue?
A. I think the world should help arm the Kurds. It would be a disaster if ISIS took over all of the region I call Kurdistan. The British government must ensure that never happens.
Q. You are now a non-affiliated member of the House of Lords. Do you see yourself running for office again?
A. I am seventy-four. 270 million people have read my books and it's the biggest and most central thing of my life. I can’t now make that secondary and start chasing other things.
Q. Whom would you count among those who’ve stuck by you despite all the ups and downs in your life?
A. Everybody, mostly. I had a party last year and 400 people came. Except for the half-a-dozen who left me, I’d say most of my friends are good, they stand by me no matter what.
Q. You’ve written 21 books, three plays, nine short story anthologies and four books for children. What is the secret behind your prolific output?
A. Well I have God’s gift of energy and the gift to tell a story. It's the combination of these that allows me to go on.
Q. Your books give the impressions that they’ll translate into great racy Hollywood thrillers. Do you agree?
A. Well, forget Hollywood, just look at your Bollywood! These bunch of thieves have stolen several of my books without so much as a 'by your leave'. Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl ('Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less') and Khudgarz ('Kane and Able') and several others.
Q. Can you think of any actors who would be best suited to reprise some of your characters?
A. You know, I once thought Damian Lewis suited a character of mine, but the thing is, he has since grown very old. That’s the irony. One has to wait for a producer to come up and give you a chance. Now it looks like I may be closer to that happening in the next few weeks.
Q. What does it feel like not to be under the constant glare of the scandal-obsessed tabloids in your country any more?
A. Well, they’ve not shown interest in me for the last 15 years. Frankly, I give a damn what they or anyone thinks. When I’ve sold as many copies of my books as I have, why would I need to?
Q. Who are some of your favourite writers?
A. John Steinbeck, John Buchan and RK Narayan.
Q. Have you read any Indian writers in English? What do you think of them?
A. Well, many are quite brilliant and have gone on to be honoured with the Nobel Prize and several other awards. But my favourite will always be R K Narayan, because he can tell a story like few others can.
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