Mike Rimmer quizzed MARTIN AND ANNA SMITH about their new autobiographical books

Mike: Moving on. Another pivotal moment for the two of you has got to be the whole experience in India, in changing you and changing the direction of the things that you do. So tell us about that, because that's something that both of you bought into together, wasn't it?

Martin: Yes, and it was a great journey because it started with me going there to play, doing some of the Joyce Meyer events there, and then meeting this little girl Farin in one of the red light districts. Her mother was a prostitute, a really difficult situation. We had the crazy concept of wanting to bring her home, which brought loads of big discussions for us in the house, and with the kids. In the end that didn't happen because of certain circumstances. But it definitely changed our world and it made us really have serious discussions about was there any way we could help more; can we help all the kids in that project, can we do something on a bigger scale that's not just for one child but for many? Out of that came the CompassionArt project. We were involved in that together and that was definitely the beginning of a season for us of working a bit more closely together and that was brilliant.

Mike: A lot of people think that that's one of the reasons why you broke up the band, Martin, that you got carried away with that kind of stuff and wanted to move on into something different.

Anna Smith

Martin: I can see why that would be a perception, but that wasn't the reason because I think that these things can carry on a long time. Once things are established and you find people to run things as well, I think that's fine. So no, there were other reasons. I think simply it was time; it was just time to end the band. I think we're so glad we did it, though, because it's set something in motion now, it's inspired a lot of artists and musicians out there to reproduce that model and so "job done" really in that sense.

Mike: One of the things that's struck me about both books is how many paradoxes there are in your lives that are expressed in the books; and the way in which you manage to balance together the things that are incongruous. That appears to be a constant thing for you, Anna.

Anna: Absolutely and even today, I just struggle with those sorts of things. It's just an every day tug on me, whatever I'm doing, I just feel that tug of, "God, what are you saying? Talk to me." So I haven't got to the bottom of that. It's a journey, I think, and I can't work it out.

Mike: What were you both hoping to achieve by writing and publishing your books? Martin, first of all.

Martin: I think it just felt like a great time to tell the story. It was a logical ending to Delirious? and I had a bit of space and the publisher approached me and said, "Why don't you write the story?" I think that it's not so much about Delirious? but it's almost about the transition out of that and about how do you cope with that; how do you cope with the loss of something and how do you then carry on and focus on the next part of the journey? So for me it's more about shift and change and encouraging people to really find God in that space, as I am trying to do. I think that's more the theme of the book, to be honest.

Mike: What about you, Anna? What were you hoping to achieve in communicating with the book?

Anna: I think first of all I started off by just journaling some thoughts and notes. A lot of people used to come up to me and say, "How do you do this, what are your thoughts on this, what do you pack for going away, how do you do that with six?" I just thought if I can document this these things wouldn't feel so huge for people. The world is quite a small place and if you just put a few things in order and [use your] organisation skills, you can do stuff that, in your head, you somehow build up this illusion that you can't. So I think my aim is just to encourage women, men, and mothers - obviously - in particular, to just push yourself a little bit more; go the extra mile and you can actually do things. But also, that it doesn't have to be going abroad or going off to a third world country, but that in your own villages, homes, what you're doing on an everyday basis, to do that with all your heart as well. Martin was often away on a stadium tour, singing to thousands of people and I knew that my role, even though I was washing laundry at home, I was just as important as he was. Just encouraging women all over the world to have that "come on girls, we can do it" unity is probably one of my main aims of the book.

Martin: The thing that I've got from Anna's book which I've loved is that it's going to be brilliant for loads of guys as well, especially who are in business and travel and are focussed on stuff that's away [from home]. I think it's going to be really helpful to those people to get a bit of a glimpse of what it's like to leave someone at home. So I think it's not really a girls' book, I think it's going to be for everybody actually.

Mike: At the end Anna, though, there's a whole list of questions. You do actually have a question and answer session at the end of the book.

Anna: Yes, that's right. I like questions and answers. I find that quite therapeutic.

Mike: And that's very practical, those questions: they're focussed on practical, family things.