I have been a big fan of Agatha Christie for a long time. She is the best and most popular mystery writer in history. I've always wanted to have a try at developing my own whodunnit story when reading Christie's classic novels like The Mousetrap, And Then There Were None and Sleeping Murder. In the past, I was busy working and making money. Writing a story was just an idea. However, when I was diagnosed with uraemia, I suddenly saw that life was too short. I knew I should make my wish come true before things got worse.

What did you do before the illness?

I worked for several news magazines in Shanghai as a reporter. My life was a mess because of my job. To make money, I pushed myself to work hard, writing at least 7,000 to 10,000 words for the magazine per week. I felt very stressed. Food tasted bland to me. I drank a lot of Coca-Cola every day and always stayed up all night. I also seldom did any exercise and often felt tired. I had a check-up at the doctor's in May 2005, and one month later, I was on the operating table for a kidney transplant. It was a terrible experience. But it also sent a jolt through my life and things totally changed. I call it a revival.

What is everyday life like for you?

I am a transplant patient. I can't live and work as hard as before. Now I spend most of the time at home. I also see a herbalist doctor and do yoga to recover. I write stories all the time. I'm full of inspiration. I want to write down all the ideas I have in my mind. Usually, I can get a novel done in a month. I am so happy living this way.

How many novels have you written so far?

I am developing two series and six mystery novels now. One series is about Mo Lan, a pretty girl who is not a detective but is good at piecing the clues together logically. She helps her boyfriend, a police officer, find murderers. I have already four written novels in the Mo Lan series: Soup of Human Bones, Revival of a Cat, Malice Aforethought by Wind and Another Funeral After the Funeral. The other series is about a young reporter solving cases.

How's the reaction online?

At first few people were interested in reading my stories, since I was just an unknown new writer online. I just updated my novels out of habit and wanted to make some friends online. Later, more and more netizens became my readers. My new novel, Home of Ladies, has had 1.2 million hits on one BBS. Thousands of readers posted comments and discussed who the murderer was. That's why I update my story online frequently. I really enjoy the experience of sharing life and mystery stories with them.

Why do your novels attract so many people?

I really have no idea. Chinese readers were already familiar with foreign mystery novels, like Murder on the Orient Express and the Sherlock Holmes series. But there are very few domestic writers in this field. My novels fill this gap. They are similar in style to Agatha Christie's in many ways. But now I'm beginning to have my own style, one marked by romance and mystery. Many white-collar workers in the cities love my novels. They think they could live like my characters.

What are your plans?

I will keep developing the two series. I also want to try to write non-fiction. I'd like to be a professional novelist. The only problem is that my health is not good. I've gained 20kg because of the hormones in the medication. My doctor warned me I might have diabetes.