01. Tell me a little about the inspiration behind The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

The idea of writing about a Botswana lady came to me many years ago. I was living that year in Swaziland, but I spent some time over in Botswana. On a walk through Mochudi, north of Gaborone, I met a woman who gave a chicken to the people with whom I was staying. I remember thinking at the time: This is a remarkable woman – I wonder what her life story is.
 
I never found out, but this meeting made me think that one day I would like to write about such a woman – resourceful, amusing, and intelligent. Then, out of my subconscious, knocking on the door so to speak, came Precious Ramotswe. I wrote a short story about her, and then discovered that I liked her and wanted to continue to record her life.
 
02. How do you pronounce Mma and Ra and what is the English translation for these terms?

Mma and Rra are the formal terms of greeting and respect in Botswana. Mma is pronounced ‘Ma’, with a gentle m sound and a shortish a. Rra is exactly as it is spelt, with a rolling R.

03. Why did you choose to write about Botswana?

I suppose that the main reason is that I find Botswana a very interesting and admirable country. I respect the people who live there – they have built up their country very carefully and successfully. I admire their patience and their decency.
 
I thought, too, that it was a great pity that there are so many negative books and articles about Africa. I wanted to show readers in the rest of the world that there are many great and remarkable people living in southern Africa – people who lead good lives, with honour and integrity. Mma Ramotswe is one such person. There are many people like her – fine people, people with great gifts of intuition, intelligence, and humour. This is not to say that there are not many problems in that part of the world - there are. But the problems are only one side of the story - there is another, more positive side.
 
04. Do you visit Botswana?

Yes, I try to go every year.
 
05. You write about Scotland too. Is that correct?

It is. I have two series of books set in Edinburgh, 44 Scotland Street and The Sunday Philosophy Club. The 44 Scotland Street series started as a serial novel written in daily episodes through the pages of the Scotsman newspaper.
 
06. Who is your favourite character in that series?

Bertie. He’s only six you know. He plays the saxophone and speaks fluent Italian. We have a problem with pushy mothers in Edinburgh, and Bertie’s mother, Irene, is extremely pushy. Bertie’s story is really about freedom (and the issues that boys have with their mothers).
 
07. How do you keep the two series apart in your head? Do you write them at different times?

I try to but it is difficult with 44 Scotland Street as it is written in daily episodes. One has to take care that the characters from one series don’t stray onto the pages of another. My American editor did point out an instance where Mma Ramotswe was beginning to sound a little too like Isabel Dalhousie. And he was right. Corrective action was taken.
 
08. What inspired the character of Isabel Dalhousie in the Sunday Philosophy Club series?

The desire to write more about Edinburgh, which is an interesting city and provides an ideal setting for fiction.
 
09. Is there any news on the filming of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency?

Yes. My visit to Botswana in July might coincide with the filming. The film industry moves very slowly but summer filming does now look very likely. The director is Anthony Minghella, which means that the filming is in safe hands.

10. And who will play Mma Ramotswe?

I don’t know that yet.
 
11. Do you have any input in the filming or casting? Do they take note of your opinion?

They are very nice to me. And they do keep in touch. I give them my views - when asked!

12. Which authors have been the biggest influences on your work?

The poet W. H. Auden. A wonderful poet.
R.K. Naryan, the Indian novelist.  
The great comic writer. E.F. Benson, author of the Mapp and Lucia novels.
 
13. What comes next? Are there more Precious Ramotswe books to come?

Yes. Three more under contract and then I’ll sit down and think about it all.
We have a new 44 Scotland Street novel in the summer, The World According to Bertie. And a new Isabel Dalhousie novel in the autumn, The Careful Use of Compliments.
 
14. And Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, will we hear more from him?

Yes. I am about to start writing a fourth book in that series. There are many more humiliations awaiting poor von Igelfeld.