Dear Bernard,
It has been a while since I had a question for you, but thought I would ask your opinion on a matter or homage or plagiarism.
I am a huge fan of Sharpe as I am of GMF's Flashman, and on the latter subject have noticed a vast amount of books come out from other authors, from the new Flashman series about an equally cowardly relative through to someone even reinventing Flashman for the modern age and placing him in the Gulf War, someone else has written a book making him a WW1 pilot and now we have 'The Speedicut Papers' which is, in my opinion, a whole load of cashing in on someone else's hard work.
I wondered what you thought of this yourself, and also what your thoughts might be (I am horrified to even suggest this, mind you!) if someone did the same to you, such as inventing Sharpe's brother to do the same feats, or writing a Lassan series, putting Sharpe in the Crimea or writing 'The Patrick Harper Diaries'...the list could be endless.
Would you be angry, sue someone, or accept that imitation was a form of flattery?
Personally I think the whole practice abhorrent, but would be keen to know your thoughts?
Kind regards, as ever,
Ricky Phillips