Writing is a very lonely occupation. To write you need to concentrate, to concentrate you need to lock yourself away. No distractions; you want your stream of thought uninterrupted.

For me, the day job comes first. That's why I call myself a diplomat who writes, not a writer who masquerades as a diplomat. If the day job demands it, I won't write at all. I write in what I call 'the crevices of my day job', and that comes only on weekends.

My first novel was a challenge to myself. No one had an inkling that I was working on it.

I want to show that the underdog can win. I believe we're all the same: you, a slum girl, my mother.

It was not hard for me to find guidance and motivation. I'm very blessed, and my parents were always so supportive of myself and my brother. Whatever you wanted to do, you just had to give 110 percent. So whatever that was, they supported it.

Inspiration comes from everywhere: books, art, people on the street. It is an interior process for me.

The truth is, even those who think Dreams only happen to someone else carry a Dream hidden deep in their heart, just hoping it can come true.

You keep dreaming big, never put the limit on your dreams, and believe that everything can come true.