Dear Mr. Cornwell: I recently attended your lecture at the Science Center in Vancouver, B.C. I had a silly comment about smeared smoke. Remember? May I say what a pleasure it was to hear you speak and to watch you sign your name to three of my books. You have a remarkable ability to distill history down to the exciting bits, and you have a very keen grasp of human nature. Your body of work is truly the most entertaining fiction I have ever read. Well, I think Conan Doyle’s “The White Company” is just as good, but frankly he’s dead and I’ve shaken your hand, so there you go. With unending admiration, David G. Medlock