You are at some point exposed to a wonderful story, and you really want to know what happens next, so you learn to read in order to find out.

Where I live, there is a group of fans who take me out to tea every year to pick my brains about what's coming up.

When I turned 35, I thought, 'Mozart was dead at 36, so I set the bar: I'm going to start writing a book on my next birthday.' I thought historical fiction would be easiest because I was a university professor and know my way around a library, and it seemed easier to look things up than make them up.

I happened to see a really old 'Doctor Who', the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, and he'd picked up a Scotsman from 1745. It was an 18 or 19-year-old man who appeared in a kilt, and I thought, 'That's rather fetching.'

I think characters are going to be, if not a reflection of the author, at least some refraction of some part of their personality.

Each book develops a strong organic shape. And when that shape is complete, the book is complete. I don't know where the end is. I don't start at the beginning. It's like playing Tetris in my head in a very slow kind of way. All the shapes join up.

People have been trying to make a two-hour feature film of 'Outlander' for years and years and years.

While you certainly will recognize 'Outlander' if you've been reading the books, there's also this wonderful sense of novelty and discovery about it because of all the little new touches and twists. I watch it in utter fascination waiting to see what will happen.

I'm not a team player. I'm used to having total control over everything I do.

I understand what it is that actors do. They embody someone that they aren't.

I'm a really slow writer. What I need to start writing on any given day, is a kernel, a line of dialogue, anything I can sense concretely.

When you're an artist, you can't write with the intent of affecting anyone.

I was writing 'Outlander' for practise and didn't want anyone to know I was doing it. So I couldn't very well announce to my husband that I was quitting my job and abandoning him with three small children to visit Scotland to do research for a novel that I hadn't told him I was writing.

I began writing 'Outlander' in 1988, so the Internet as we now know it didn't exist.

If you're writing something that's clearly labelled as an alternative history, of course it's perfectly legitimate to play with known historical characters and events, but less so when you're writing an essentially straight historical fiction.

Actors act... Their job is to become this character. And I have, in fact, seen Sam Heughan become Jamie and Caitriona Balfe become Claire right before my eyes. It was an astonishing transformation.

I've never been willing to commit to more than one at a time, because I just don't know - I don't plan the books out ahead of time. So I have no idea how much ground we'll cover.

All I had when I began writing the first book was rather vague images conjured up by the notion of a man in a kilt, so essentially I began with Jamie, although I had no idea what his name was at the time.

The media is always looking for a story of one kind or another.

You won't have a story unless you have conflict, which means if there's no conflict in a situation, people look for a way to make some.

I read some books, and I thought, 'This is better than sliced bread!' and a month later, I couldn't remember thinking about it. And I've read others that were kind of a slog, and I've put them down and come back six months later thinking, 'Wow, this is great.' So, you know, things change all the time.

I have friends who are writers who have had movies made of their books, and they are almost uniformly horrified about what's been done - or, at least, dissatisfied.

This is the beauty of Rajasthan; everything is so picturesque.

I like to do some research and learn about the destination before I travel there. I read up on its history, culture and food, which is most important. Being informed makes the travel so much better.

For me, 'Parmanu' was an awakening of sorts. The film is about a covert mission. It's sometimes unbelievable that we get to recreate a part of history and live an incident that made history and changed the way our country was perceived.

For me, my phone is a one-stop shop; I do everything on my phone - email, browsing, listening to music, reading, navigation and using smart apps. Maps, I use that a lot. I think that's the best app ever.

We deal with erratic travel and shooting schedules and it can be tough. It requires a little effort but if you want to be in a relationship you will find a way.

I would like all the trolls to look at their bodies instead of trolling others. What is ironic is the fact that it is easy to criticise sitting behind your computer, in complete anonymity, about other people. on the basis of their appearances but very difficult to introspect and look within themselves.

I have always aimed at maintaining a healthy balance with respect to all aspects of my life.

Each film has taught me something new - be it about myself, my craft, my profession, people.

The bonds of friendship that I forged in my college days are still going strong.

I'm a fiercely private person in general, and like to keep my personal life personal.

Sometimes you wake up with mini panic attacks where you feel like 'Oh my God! I don't have a film right now! Should I just do something that comes my way because I don't have another film?' But I feel at the end of the day, your gut takes over.

I think it is up to each one of us to find the time and strike a balance between work and our personal life.

Films are not a part-time job. They take months to make and require long-time commitment; so, you can't do a half-hearted job.

I think modelling comes naturally to me as I have done it for a long time.

I do mat or take floor Pilates class at home. I also take dance lessons at home.

I just want to act - commercial, mainstream, niche or art - my choices are not defined by labels.

I did modelling for five years, then I felt I wanted to do something different and challenging.

Essentially, Christmas has always been about spending time with family. We had one big lunch filled with banter, warmth, laughter and great food. Doing up the tree with my mom was another fun exercise.

I have roots in Jabalpur and that's as Indian as it can get.

It's partly true that I am not seen that often in public. Well, I'm just socially awkward, especially around people I'm not familiar with. But once you get to know me, I'm quite a chatterbox.

I'm generally soft spoken, very measured, and I think 500 times before I say something.

Box office success definitely matters. I will be lying if say it does not matter.

I love challenging myself; it's what keeps me going.

There are some films that you know will do well. Then there are others which have good stories that ought to be told. But because they are slightly risky, not everybody is willing to take that up. But I think it is important to take risks because at the end of the day, you want to explore new genres and new characters.

I signed 'Lucknow Central' because it was a story I wanted to be part of. I still stand by the fact that it was a well written, well directed film with some great performances.

I used to love doing the runway shows when I was a model and I miss that sometimes now. But it's great to go back to it every now and then as 'showstopper.'

Even something light, such as walking, jogging, cycling or swimming, and staying away from junk food is good enough to keep you healthy.

My strength lies in prepping. I'm not someone who can just walk onto the set and perform.