Hey, just thought I would send you a note as I am here on your site. Yesterday I bought “Harlequin”. I had resisted buying into the whole historical novel franchise for a long time because a) the book covers on the Sharpe series seem so kitsch and b) I had thought them quite populist and c) potentially academic in detail. Well, I read a lot, and upon reading Master and Commander (hastily before the film came out) I realised that, hell this stuff is interesting. That said I was nearly put off by Patrick O’Brien’s oft tedious detailing of British naval history. But I managed to read a couple of different authors until I happened upon your series in Waterstones. What a read! I’m pleased to say that Harlequin is definately the best story telling I’ve come across for a while. I’ll be reading the whole series, I expect, now that I am over some of my prejudices. . This may be premature as I haven’t even finished my first BC book yet (!!) but I think you combine history and storytelling better than any I have read, and the story on its own merits is as enthralling as any of the classic page turners. . Well done! Now about the covers. . . All the best Nikolai