![]() ![]() ![]() I began writing in 2014 and went through multiple versions, but maybe it needed that amount of time to evolve. What does your writing process look like? Do you type or write in longhand? Are there multiple drafts, long pauses, sudden bursts of activity? How long did The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida take to write? A ghost story where the dead could offer their perspective seemed a bizarre enough idea to pursue, but I wasn’t brave enough to write about the present, so I went back 20 years, to the dark days of 1989. ![]() I began thinking about it in 2009, after the end of our civil war, when there was a raging debate over how many civilians died and whose fault it was. What was the starting point for The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida? Was it a slowburn idea or a moment of clarity? What made you want to write this particular book now? ![]() So I don’t expect to roll two more sixes, though I will scream with joy if I do. Unlike my protagonist Maali Almeida, I don’t gamble. To have a novel about Sri Lanka’s chaotic past come out just when the world is watching Sri Lanka’s chaotic present also requires an alignment of dark forces. To get longlisted before the UK launch of your book is an extra bit of fortune. How does it feel to be longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022, and what would winning mean to you? ![]()
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