Arching towards India

Jeffery Archer’s current India tour was only to be expected. The writer has made it a sort of an annual ritual,in recent years to tour Indian cities every time he comes up with a new book. With his Indian fans turning up in good numbers for his book launches — at least they did so again last Sunday at Crossword,Kemps Corner,Mumbai — he has a reason to undertake these book promotion exercises. “Indians treat me so well. It always feels nice to come back,” says the author,who is also travelling to Chennai,Kolkata and Delhi.

This time,the British author is in India to promote Only Time Will Tell — the first volume of his ambitious five-book The Clifton Chronicles. The five books will tell the story of Harry Clifton,spanning 1920-2020. “Harry has taken over my life for the time being,” he says.

However,for all his love for India and frequent trips,if his Indian fans are expecting him to come up with a book set in the sub-continent,there’s some bad news. The author doesn’t want to attempt writing about a milieu he is not too familiar with. But on the bright side,the draft for the second book in the The Clifton Chronicles is ready. So it won’t be long before the 71-year-old author returns.