Isabel Allende, writer

I've been enjoying Isabel Allende's books for years and loved this interview from New Zealand's Sunday Star Times.

Her interview caused me to laugh out loud a few times, with statements like:
"Of course I had cosmetic surgery!" she says. "Why would I want grey hair, sagging wrinkles, and warts with whiskers growing out of them? I will always fight the ugliness of old age. But as my mother says, there comes a point where you have to give up, and just be happy that you don't smell!"

If you haven't heard of her, this gives you something of an idea about what she writes: Indeed this sharp, fiery, bossy, yet warm and generous benefactor is mobbed like a rock star when she returns to Latin America. She's thronged, wherever she tours anywhere in the world, by adoring fans who've bought more than 30 million copies of her books, printed in 28 languages. "The crowds are for what I represent, as much as for my books; and because my name is Allende," she says frankly. "People see me as a symbol for The Disappeared, the torture victims. I've written so much about politics, people know I'm never afraid to speak out about oppression and injustice."