Your Questions

Q

Hello MR. Cornwelll, I am a new fan. I was turned onto your Sharpe series by my dad and my uncle. Tried to watch the BBC movies after reading the series, however, i could not. Have you thought of marketing your books for higher budget film production? The Sharpe series could easily out-sequel the James Bond franchise. I believe "A View to a Kill" was a 4 page teaser. Your books are prime for my generation! Thank you for writing such killer novels, and thank you for adding the historical notes for those of us who care!
Billy Heidt

Submitted October 15, 2010

A

I leave all that to my agent. Glad to know you like the books!

Q

Hello Mr. Cornwell, just received my copy of The Fort and plan to dive in ASAP. I had a question about your writing style. Do you write all your descriptive material related to the five senses as you write the story or do you go back and add it in later? I'm about 99,000 words into my first novel (the one I promised to send you a free copy of when I accidentally shorted the postage on the last book you signed for me), and I basically started with dialogue and action description, but initially very little related to the five senses or aside material. Of course it's easy for me to find where I need to make changes once I've written a rough draft of a chapter. I just didn't know if you had the same issue or if you're so used to writing now that it comes naturally. Thanks!

Charles Curtis

Submitted October 15, 2010

A

I always start with a stick figure . . but there ain't no rules. I like to get the story straight so I write fast, pushing the story line ahead, but I revise constantly. I always think that writing a novel (for me! not for everyone!) is like climbing a mountain - I get a quarter of the way up, look back and see a better route, so it's back to the beginning and start again and that better route takes me halfway up, I look back, and so on and so on. Once that 'first' draft is finished I rewrite the whole thing maybe two times, and it's then that I add lots of detail.

Q

Sir,I have read all your Arthur,Stonehenge,Grail Quest & Saxon Stories.They are absolutely first rate;I appreciate the research & the historical accuracy you achieve in your books. Question:Does Uhtred of Bebbenbang ever get back to his ancestral home in Northumbria? I have not been able to find a book covering this phase of Uhtred's travels.Is such a book envisaged? My wife & I visited Bamburgh Castle(Bebbenbang)on a trip to the UK..What an awesome place it must have been in Uhtred's time! Thank you for your great historical novels Regards; Ron Leeds

Submitted October 15, 2010

A

Well, I'm writing the next book of the series now, so I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell; In one of the ''saxon stories'' Uhtred has a meal of cows udder,I want to use that word in a report but have scanned in vane to find it. I don't have time to reread all the series plus i am not sure which book it is in. Could you please tell me what that word is before I go crazy? Thank you so much. I look forward to finding out what happens to Uhtred next.Bob

Submitted October 15, 2010

A

Udder? The cow's teats. Where the milk comes from.

Q

Hello, I left a comment a few months ago asking about the best battlefields in the Peninsular War to go and visit and when I looked back at that list you gave me, my dad (who's now reading Sharpe's Enemy) asked about the "Gate way of God". Would you be so kind to let me know if it's worth visiting and if anything is still there (if it wasn't something from the imagination)? Dave J

Submitted October 15, 2010

A

I'm afraid the Gateway of God was entirely fictional! But if you have time do go to Salamanca, and from there it isn't too far to Ciudad Rodrigo and Fuentes d'Onoro (and make sure you visit Fort Concepcion!). If you can get hold of a copy of Julian Paget's 'Wellington's Peninsular War' then take it with you - it's a terrific guide!

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I'm sure you'll probably not respond to this because I'm breaking one of your principles, but I've read the Grail Quest Trilogy and Azincourt and find myself wanting to know how Thomas of Hookton became Lord of 1000 acres! I'm thoroughly enjoying the Saxon Stories now, and can't wait until the Arthur Books are available for the Kindle in the U.S! Sincerely, Ron Jones

Submitted October 15, 2010

A

Oh, almost certainly by taking a great deal of plunder in the wars. Many men of lowly birth became wealthy either through plunder or else by taking and ransoming prisoners. Maybe it's a tale I should tell . .

Q

Hello Bernard. Is Sharpe's northern accent in the films an oversight given that he is an Essex lad? Or did they simply think it made him sound more manly and gruff (which was better for his character than an essex rude boy? You are the only author I read that isn't of the Fantasy genre. Hope everything is going well and have a lovely day. Kind regards Daniel Cronin

Submitted October 15, 2010

A

It never worries me - in the books I say that Sharpe spent the latter part of his childhood in Yorkshire, and children have an extraordinary facility for picking up accents. Many thanks for your message.

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell, I'm a huge fan of your work. Reading your books always inspires me to pursue my own childhood dream and write a historic novel. My problem is that everything I know about history is from school, free time reading and documentaries. Do you think it's possible to write historic novels without having studied history? I have no idea where to start my research. The giant amount of sources is simply overwhelming me and I have an urge to write, not to read 6 months about the topic before I can start. I hope you can help me. Greetings from Germany! Respectfully, Philipp

Submitted October 15, 2010

A

You ask 'Do you think it's possible to write historic novels without having studied history?' No. Which doesn't mean you need to study it at school or college, merely that you need to immerse yourself in it, read everything you can, and stop thinking you need to know everything to write a novel!

Q

Mr. Cornwell, I was wondering if there is any plans to film Sharpe 's Trafalgar, as it is a fantastic story that I think would look epic on the silver screen. Also, will you ever continue Sharpe's story chronologically, as in post Devil, as I would like to see a bit more of Sharpe and know how he fared in peacetime.

Owen Duffy

Submitted October 15, 2010

A

No plans to film 'Trafalgar', but I'm glad you liked the book. There will be more Sharpe books, but probably not post-'Devil'.

Q

Mr Cornwell, I recently spent a 6 month tour in Afghanistan and got really into your books after a friend gave me a loan of the the saxon stories, I preceded to buy all of them and all the grail quests. I am currently reading through the Arthur books and I have read the Sharpe books and own all the TV series. To cut a long story short, will you be doing any books on Scottish figures or anything on the British army's conquests in your future writings? Sorry if this seems trivial, you probably get asked this all a lot. thanks

Alexander Reid

Submitted October 15, 2010

A

I don't think I'll be writing books based solely on Scotsmen, although I never say never....The British Army (other than Sharpe?) - I guess we'll have to wait and see!