Just wanted to let you know you have an avid Latvian fan. I first discovered you thru the Starbuck Chronicles when I was living in the US and fascinated by the Civil War. But what hooked me was you and your remarkable ability to tell a riveting, rollicking, humanely heroic story. Went on to the Sharpe books (still reading), and just finished Heretic in the Grail Quest trilogy. Although I grew up in Chicago I later became Latvia’s ambassador to the US and now live in Riga. I love history, especially historic novels, and you are beyond a doubt the greatest contemporary writer of such I have ever encountered. Yours are the books I would tell any young person to read, to learn not only about history, but about honour, courage, committment and integrity. Today I am the Director of the Latvian Institute, a state agency that promotes Latvia around the world, and one of my missions is to get more Latvian stories and novels into translation so that others can learn something about our history. I wish I could find a Bernard Cornwell in Latvia who could write the story of the Latvian Riflemen in WWI. But of course, you don’t need story ideas… So thanks again. I marvel at your capacity to keep creating at such a pace. And I thank the muses for keeping you inspired. Ojars Kalnins Riga, Latvia