Your novel The Alchemist, which came into being in the space of two weeks, is one of the most amazing sales successes in literary history. How long did it take you to write your novel Eleven minutes which will appear in the coming weeks?
Three weeks. After ten years I wanted to once again write about sexuality but I had neither a workable story nor main character. Therefore, several attempts failed. At a book signing session in Geneva a Brazilian woman said to me: “I have read The Alchemist. Your book changed my life because I decided to move to Europe.” As I thanked her, she interrupted me: “I became a high-class prostitute here.” Then, out of curiosity, I met with her several times. Around sixty per cent of my book is based on her life story.
I loved this book and Maria .It was divine timing when she showed up for you to write this book .Blessings Tania
I read recently the ‘11 minutes’ and I am re-reading it now. I liked the diary, the fact that is a nowadays story taking place in Switzerland [that I visited last year, and felt as re-visiting it with ..Maria]. Sex is the big story, behind Maria’s life, maybe because it was so easy for her to speak about it. I wonder, how could she come out of the ‘mud’ without feeling ‘dirty’? She was lucky and her story had a happy-end. How many girls have not been so lucky? I feel so old-fashioned, romantic old-lady, because I still cannot separate sex from love, and ‘being in love’ tale! LOVE Thelma