Hi Bernard

This is not the first time I have written on here so I apologise if once more it is like the Spanish Inquisition.

Firstly it is my birthday soon and once more my present list is made up mainly of your books.
I notice often that you mention the influence of Hornblower in your work (particularly Sharpe) and it made me wonder 2 things, do you still read the books often, and secondly were you ever tempted to cheekily have Sharpe and Hornblower meeting in one of your novels? Would be an interesting meet though am unsure if the two would get on :-/.
When it comes to your novels do you normally have an idea come to mind, eg Starbuck – a Yankee fighting for the south, and then simply start writing or will you do some extensive research in the Civil war and the background, maybe even social surroundings of the era to give you a solid foundation to work with and potential situations/battles/campaigns to place your character in?

One final question, I recently read Redcoat and it reminded me of History A-Level at college. We did a module on America and our teacher was of the opinion that the War of Independence could have easily been won by the British (before France and Spain entered the war) had we had more compotent commanders. What are your views on that?

Look forward to your reply and no doubt will continue to enjoy your novels

Yours
Liam Murphy