http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/hector_happiness.html
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Q. Hector and the Search for Happiness was inspired by your own search for happiness in some measure. Can you explain how the book came to be?
At that time I felt a little exhausted by my professional practice, and not feeling like writing the new self-help book my publisher was waiting for.
During a trip in Hong Kong when I was questioning my personal and professional life directions, Hector character popped up in my mind. I wrote Hector's Journey with jubilation in a few weeks, not knowing exactly what kind of book I was writing, and why I had chosen at first this fairy-tale style.