Your Questions

Mr. Cornwell,

I am an attorney--but not the suing kind Abraham Lincoln disparaged.  I have an idea and a lot of research for a book set in pre-revolutionary North America.  I would like to find a ghost writer to help me with my project.  Do you have any ideas on where I could look?  I've searched on-line and only find ghost writers who are willing to help folks write their autobiographies.

Regards,
Dan Cornette

Dear Mr Cornwell -

thanks for your superb efforts in promoting our history - if only history was taught like this in schools... I look forward to a continuation of the Uhtred series through to the all too short reign of Athelstan and hope you will carry it forward to the Norman 'conquest' in much the same manner as the Uhtred tale picks up the threads from the Arthurian series...?

I believe that the Danes, Saxons, Angles and Jutes were all closely related groups emanating from the same area of Europe / Scandinavia and that even the Normans before they settled in France also formed part of this largely Scandinavian people who migrated to Engaland over a period of some 500 years.  Do you have any views on this or do you see them as quite distinct peoples with entirely different cultures?

many thanks - I really love your work,

John

Hello Mr. Cornwell,
I have been reading your material since I was in my early 20's. I believe the first book of yours that I read was the Winter King and I have been hooked since. I am dying to ask about one scene in the Saxon Chronicles though. I believe it is early in the second book, The Pale Horseman, where Uhtred is forced to grovel on his knees to the king. Did you intend for that scene to be so funny? Or did it just kinda come out that way? It does seem slightly out of place in regards to the overall tone and feel of the rest of the series, which is the only reason I ask. The comic relief there is seriously one of my favorites of all the reading I have ever done, if not the absolute favorite. I shared the series with my dad, who also thought it was hilarious and we still mention it to this day each time you release a new installment in the series.  And to top it off, my wife also thought it was hysterical. To take up just a few more moments of your time, I have to tell you how she read it. She was sitting in one of my children's classrooms reading in the back. When she got to that scene she literally laughed out loud and had to excuse herself from the classroom because then the "you're not supposed to laugh, but I can't stop laughing" effect kicked in. I then got a text half chiding me for not preparing her for the scene, but only half :). Anyway, thank you for the quality books throughout the years. So long as you keep weaving the tales, my family and I will continue to read them.
Joe

Hi Mr. Cornwell,

Your books have slayed A Song of Ice and Fire for me. I have shared The Warlord Chronicles/ Warrior Chronicles with everyone I know who has equally been blown away.

I have really been wondering who you could ever envision to play Uhtred, if something like that ever came to be. I would've gone through the other questions on the site but I decided to avoid all spoilers and just ask.

Thank you for making my life better with your words!

Jenn

Dear Bernard
I know in the past you have said you are reluctant to back again in regards the Sharpe series. However I wondered if you would reconsider if only once to write about  the fight at Obidos where the 95th got there nickname the Grasshoppers and Wellingtons first fight against the French at Rolica, which ironically considering his reputation as a defensive general,was an offensive victory.
Yours sincerely
Geraint

Mr Cornwell,

I enjoy your work immensely and I am thinking of basing a story of my own in the Viking Age.  My question is, during your research, have you come across any tangible evidence of shield maidens?  I've consulted with some local professors, but they either have a very broad knowledge of the dark ages or simply ignore my inquiries.  Any help you can offer, or potential sources, is much appreciated.

Thank you for your time in advance,
Ben Lee

Hi again, Mr. Cornwell.

Is your upcoming Elizabethan series going to cover the Spanish Armada?  After your masterful treatment of Trafalgar, I'd love to see how you'd tell the story of that key naval battle.

Alan Kempner

Hello mr.Cornwell,

As an amateur with an interest in everything related to history, I very rarely read fiction, so I only discovered your books recently by chance (my wife, knowing my passsion for history, bought me the Warlord Chronicles trilogy for our wedding anniversary). And I must say that I loved these books immediately and was barely able to put them away. And that, as far as fiction is concerned, makes you one of the rare few writers that managed to grip me (the others being Stephen King, terry Pratchett, and Agatha Christie).

Now, my next planned reading of your books will be the "Starbuck" books. I see that there are 4, but I was wondering: are you planning to revisit the American Civil war era in the future?
I may be interested in history in general, but the American Civil War and the American Old west hold a special interest for me, so you can imagine I'm looking forward a lot towards these books (as a matter of fact, my wife took the Warlord Chronicles, but would have bought me the Starbuck books had they been in stock).

Also (you will probably have heard this question hundreds of times before), but is the name Starbuck a nod to the Battlestar Galactica character?

I hope I didn't take too much of your time. Anyway, thanks for reading me.

Kind regards,

Patrick Stevens.

PS: My apologies if my English is not up to par, but it is not my native language.

Two books out this year, just like the old days, can't wait.  Does John Shaw get a mention in your Waterloo book?  http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Shaw,_John_(1789-1815)_(DNB01)

Also Samuel Godley http://www.wlhg.co.uk/Other_documents/samgodly.htm?
Looking forward to a good read
Best wishes
Peter Brown

Hi Mr. Cornwell.

I need you to speculate a little here.  Based on the number of writing years you probably have left, would you say that the odds are still good that you'll be able finish out the Starbuck series?  I'm figuring it would take about another 10 novels to get him to Appomattox.

Alan Kempner