LONDON, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Salman Rushdie, whose 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses" caused the Iranian ayatollah to threaten his life, now lives in London a changed man, a report said.
Hiding for years after the fatwa -- essentially a death sentence -- was issued, Rushdie lives in a trendy London neighborhood with his fourth wife, actress Padma Lakshmi, 32, whom he married in 2004, The Telegraph reported.
The 59-year-old Rushdie claims to be both lucky and changed. "Her big criticism of me is that I am too intense and that I need to chill. Good advice," Rushdie said. "But she has made me happy and that's nice."
Lakshmi's career has taken off and she is currently in Los Angeles making a TV series.
"It is the hardest thing because the person you want to talk to is the person who is not there. But at the same time I am very proud of her," he said.
Rushdie is at work on a new novel about Renaissance Florence and 16th century India.
At one time, being under a fundamentalist threat was Rushdie's unique situation; now everyone is, the Telegraph reported.
"You just have to get on with your life. You know, in the end, that is all you can do," he said.