India has got beneath my skin: Diana Preston

Married to fellow writer Michael Preston, British author Diana Preston reveals that travel is always on their cards. The couple chose India as the first faraway destination to visit, knowing little that the country would eventually become the centre of many novels they would pen together. Diana admits, “I have lost count of the number of times I have visited India since then. The country has just got beneath my skin. From the shore temples of the South to the Northern fringes of the country, we have seen it all. Every time we come back, we go away learning a lot.” 

It was on her first trip to India that Diana developed her interest in the Mughal history of India, gazing at the majestic Taj Mahal and walking down the Fatehpur Sikri corridors. Diana adds, “It led us further back into the chronicles of the Mughal era. Five years ago, we wrote our book on the Taj Mahal.”

Writing novels exclusively centred around this glorious historical period required several research trips. The author laughs as she recounts, “We had so much travel to do that we even got ourselves round trip railway passes. To capture all the sights and sounds of the country, we preferred travelling at night.” They also decided to do all their traveling by train.

Full report here DNA