Dear Bernard (if I may be so personal), Surely dear old Nate’s blisters and jawbone have recovered by now. You say you have sent him on holiday. Well, bring him back! He has unfinished business, not just on behalf of the Confederacy but with that triple stinker Billy Blythe. Thanks for the wonderful entertainment you have given us all. Yours in anticipation. Regards, Graham Cliff

Dear Sir. I know you get countless requests trying to ascertain when, if at all you will be writing a new part of the Starbuck chronicles. Don’t get me wrong, i have loved everything you have written ( i read Sharpe’s Rifles when i was nine and the series is probably the catalyst that has led to my current position as a history student at university) but as a result of reading Starbucks exploits again for the umpteenth time i can’t help but hope you will soon return to it, even if it is (but preferably not) to tie up this phenomenal series which has provided me with countless happy hours, please give us long suffering fans of Nate, Truslow and the others a shred of hope. yours Dan