There are those critics in the literary world that have accused Scottish writer Alexander McCall Smith of being just a little too cheerful. The author of the hit crime series, "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" is all too happy to live with that label.

"In Scottish literary circles the thing to do is be miserable," McCall Smith told Canada AM co-host Seamus O'Regan Wednesday.

"In fact, there is a whole school in Scottish literature called Scottish miserablism. That encourages you to write bleak books. I don't want to do that," said McCall Smith.

The 62-year-old author was willing to venture more into violence for his new book, "The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party," the 12th instalment in his bestselling series. That escalation introduced a whole new element of risk.

But the delicious mix of crime and comedy still remains in this crime caper.

As with all of McCall Smith's books, "The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party" combines several intertwining plot lines.

There is also a strong slice-of-life factor involved in the story, where heroes, villains and people who are a bit of both, try to coexist in a difficult world.

But in this new case, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's first female private detective, tries to unravel the night-time killing of cattle that belonged to a former mining recruitment officer who owns a farm.

It's clear that this character is a bad lot right from the start. He also puts Mma Ramotswe in compromising position. In the process of solving the crime, she promises not to reveal its perpetrator. Concealing a crime is, of course, a crime in itself.

That moral quandary presents Mma Ramotswe with some unusual challenges. It also gives McCall Smith new room to showcase his affinity for female characters.

"I do like writing about women," said McCall Smith.

"I have several books where the principal protagonists are women. I find the conversation of women interesting."

Getting that conversation right has been an ongoing challenge.

"You have to be extremely careful," said McCall Smith, whose fans include First Lady Laura Bush and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

"As an author you have to be able to empathize with people whose historical and personal experience is different from your own. I try to do that."

Born in Southern Rhodesia in 1948, McCall Smith grew up in a British colony where his father worked as a public prosecutor. He later moved to Scotland to study at the University of Edinburgh, where he received a doctorate in law.

While teaching at Queen's University Belfast, McCall Smith entered a literary competition. He submitted a children's book and a novel for adults. McCall Smith won in the children's category.

That turning point encouraged the prolific writer, who writes four to five books a year.

McCall Smith went on to write 30 books in the 1980s and 1990s.

In 2007, "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" became the inspiration for a TV series starring American singer Jill Scott, produced by BBC TV in conjunction with HBO.

Much like McCall Smith's books, the TV show touched on the social and political problems in Botswana. But the characters' humanity, not politics, remained the primary focus.

"If you read my Botswana books I do deal with social problems and I do refer to things that are serious. But there are ways of doing that without putting them centre stage," said McCall Smith.

"I think that you can, in fact, make very powerful points through humour. You can make a lot of points about the world we live in without putting it on too heavy."