Hanging with the author of the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

"The books, like their author, have charm. You cannot overstate the power of this - it's the missing ingredient in contemporary fiction. It is impossible not to love Mma Ramotswe, the Botswanan lady detective. She is morally vigorous, but more sloth than sleuth as she settles down to red bush tea with her admirer, Mr JLB Matekoni, mechanic at Speedy Motors. Mma Ramotswe, who can scarcely be accommodated by a size 22 blouse, was always going to be big, but no one could have predicted how big. 'In America, I have millions of readers,' McCall Smith - Sandy to his friends - tells me, lowering his voice as if this were still news to him. 'I have to pinch myself.' The books have been translated into 30 languages and have sold more than 7.5 million copies in English editions alone. Fans include Mrs George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld.' More.