Dear Mr. Cornwell, How the hell are ya? My name’s Andy. I’m from Wayland, MA, and I’m a student in the acting/writing/filmmaking fields… and I love history. The independent films I’ve made with my friends and colleagues reflect this love… including (coincidentally) a blood soaked, rip roaring Viking movie, which we made back in 2008. It was a blast. We grew our hair and beards to monstrous lengths, we wore chainmail constantly, and built a boat in the style of the northmen. We even had the wrap party in our tiny mead hall, and we toasted the gods and downed enough mead to drown the Lothbrok brothers. So you can imagine my glee when I discovered “The Saxon Stories”… Uhtred is my kind of guy. I gobbled up his adventures at an alarming rate. I can’t thank you enough, my friend. Skip ahead a few years… Currently I’m in pre-production for a thriller taking place during the American Civil War. We’re going to shoot the movie this summer. While putting the final touches on the script, I was simultaneously doing research. And lo and behold! I picked up Nate Starbuck. While our film and your books are entirely different besides the setting, you still inspired me to think… I mean, what were those battles really like? The smell of blood, the sounds of screams, and taste of black powder on your tongue… So not only did you inspire me, but also informed me. It was a bloody good read. And as our skills as storytellers mature, we thank God that there are inspirations like you to guide the way… And I guess since I just moved from Massachusetts down to North Carolina, I clicked with Nate (wasn’t for an actress though. plenty of those at home…) Also like him, I am a rebel. Regards, Andy Rakich