Photo by Tara Murphy"Eighty percent of success is just showing up," Woody Allen once said.
And to that I'll add, opportunities sometimes arise just because you're around when somebody else isn't.
The arts reporter where I work went on vacation during a week when an interview with author Alexander McCall Smith was offered to our newspaper. Smith will be speaking here in Jackson Hole on April 23, so I got to interview him (by phone to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he lives) and write a story previewing his appearance.
I've read quite a few of the books in his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and Isabel Dalhousie series, so I felt pretty comfortable talking to him. He's smart (obviously), nice and well-spoken. And prolific. He has two books at a time going and fortunately for him is one of those people who can write on planes and trains.
One thing he said that particularly struck me was that when he writes, he doesn't have a picture in his mind of how Precious Ramotswe, Isabel Dalhousie or any of his other characters look. Even now that Jill Scott is playing Ramotswe in HBO's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, he still doesn't "see" the character.
This was one assignment that didn't feel like work. And it's nice to know people can achieve fame and fortune without turning into jerks.
One thing he said that particularly struck me was that when he writes, he doesn't have a picture in his mind of how Precious Ramotswe, Isabel Dalhousie or any of his other characters look. Even now that Jill Scott is playing Ramotswe in HBO's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, he still doesn't "see" the character.
This was one assignment that didn't feel like work. And it's nice to know people can achieve fame and fortune without turning into jerks.
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