Mr. Cornwell, thank you for writing the Saxon stories. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading them. I was reading through some of the comments on your web page, and was disappointed to see some people giving you a hard time about the way Christians are generally depicted throughout the series. Being a strong Christian myself I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate the views expressed in your novels. I feel that you did an excellent job balancing out your characters whether they are Christian or pagan. I found there were a lot of admirable qualities in many of the priests and in my opinion those who are offended or feel that you are picking on the Christians need to take a deeper look at many of the characters. Beocca for example might appear as a weak and lame character but continually shows up throughout the series and is a loyal and important friend to Uhtred. Although he might not be a warrior he is a courageous character. I was wondering if you use personal feelings and experiences to make your characters or if you simply create them? I feel that Uhtred is really someone I can relate to. I feel his inner battle and am frustrated by his situation. He receives no credit from Alfred and the English nobles despite the fact that he has continually led them to victory in battle and is someone the common people look up to. He would love to go off and fight his personal battle for Bebbanburg. Or join forces with Ragnar and forge his own path but he has sworn oaths to Alfred. Without him Alfred would be dead. I am somewhat the opposite of Uhtred. I am Christian and go to church regularly and am perfectly happy with my personal convictions. I on the other hand prefer the company of the rowdy crowd who often are not religious. I enjoy how Uhtred sticks to what he believes and lives his life the way he wants to. I love your characters and feel that you have done an extraordinary job developing them and have captured a lot of emotion in your books. For many its just a good story but for some of your readers like me it’s something we can relate to. Thank you again I look forward to the next book. Sincerely Cody Lauscher