ANYONE READING MY BOOKS will find themes which reflect my dual heritage: my love of India and England, and the way both have merged in the England which is my home. But there is travel, magic, history, myth and legend. They also reflect my concern that children see their mirror image; understand their own ethnicities, sometimes having to deal with the clash of cultures.

On a more personal level, there is also the anxiety of separation throughout my books, a quest for identity and themes about family relationships. But above all, I hope these themes are just the cloth I have used to cut and shape my stories – for in the end, without good stories the books will be meaningless.