Wilbur Smith to visit India

Dark plots, pretty much all set in Africa or centred around Africa, family sagas, action-packed thrillers, devilish villains and larger-than-life heroes — author Wilbur Smith has, over the years, created a parallel world of adventure for his fans. Juxtaposing fiction with reality, Smith has kept his readers engrossed right from the first page; be it Eagle In The Sky, Cry Wolf, Gold Mine, Hungry As The Sea or even Dark Of The Sun or A Sparrow Falls.

And now, the author is going to be in India — to meet and interact with his fans. A road trip that begins on December 3 in Mumbai, Smith is going to be in Bangalore on December 6. Incidentally, this is his first book tour in India where he will promote his latest bestseller — Those In Peril. 

Talking to DNA, from Cape Town, Wilbur Smith says, “This is not my first trip to India. I have come here about five or six times before and the first time was nearly 20 years ago and the last time was about four months ago. But this is the first time I am coming to India as an author on a book tour. It feels different; the excitement is different,” he says.

This is the first time Smith will be interacting with his fans in India and says, “I have friends in India, but I have never been able to connect with my readers there on a personal level; so it should be an interesting experience. I have heard from a few other authors who’ve come to India with their books that Indians love to read and they read a lot — so I know it is going to be fun!”

Those In Peril is an interesting blend of fact and fiction, which deals with pirates, and the author says that the timing of the book is very interesting.

“Only sometime back we all read about how pirates hijacked a ship and kidnapped its crew from the West Coast of India; back in East Africa, these pirates are considered heroes because they’ve invested millions of dollars in the country. It’s interesting to see how crime is considered to be a virtue in some parts of the world. In fact, in Seychelles, where I used to own an island, I have interacted with pirates who used to operate out of that area as well. It really helped me to shape the characters in the book,” says the author.

This much is all you are going to get for now. To meet the author, wait your turn as he comes to our city with his latest book — armed with his sense of humour and his answers to any questions you might have.