I like to joke that I probably hold the world record for rejection letters. Yes, the truth is that I was fed up of being rejected repeatedly, and self-publicatio n was an act of defiance at traditional publishing. But life works in strange ways.

After writing each novel, I would spend days poring over suggestions from my editor.

When working on a period, it is the finer details that evoke imagery that helps in cinematic adaptations.

What is divine? It is simply that which man has not been able to understand. Once you do, it loses its divinity.

My attention span is very limited, and I watch just one or two movies a year.

A book and a movie are different animals. You need a cinematic perspective to be involved in the motion pictures. And this is something I lack.

Mythology works... because Indians have been bred on myths.