Good afternoon Mr. Cornwell,

 

Firstly, I’m a huge fan of the Uhtred series, very excited for War of the Wolf.

Actually, everything I’ve read of yours I’ve loved. Unfortunately, I once opened my Kindle to finish Agincourt on the Eurostar to Paris… my french neighbour did not look too impressed!

I’ve got a slightly strange email so I’ll dive straight in.

 

I’ve often found the best books I read come from recommendations from people I know, rather than bestseller lists or online algorithmic recommendations. So I’ve just launched a new app called Whatbook, with the plan to promote the concept of social readia. This is my small hope to get people reading more and especially get kids reading more. I’ve always believed you shouldn’t fight technology but use it as the tool it is, so my plan is to get kids off their phones by giving them an app that encourages them to find books to then read. Sort of a means to an end. Some friends of mine who are teachers are hopeful that by creating an app, kids will be more likely to use it to find the books they enjoy reading.

 

We’ve just launched and so far it is proving very popular. We are a startup so we cannot really afford huge marketing campaigns so I’m emailing my favourite authors to ask if they would consider joining at this early stage and if we could perhaps even create special ‘author’ pages, where you could list your works, upcoming releases, and users can then follow you and subscribe to be alerted when a new book is being released.

 

I also think it would be incredible to see what books you read and recommend yourself, especially given the research you must have done for the Uhtred series.

I thought it would be really cool to start seeing the books that authors like the read and recommend to their fans. This is, of course, all opt-in, only what you wish to share is visible.

 

Does this sound interesting?

If you would like to learn more I’d love to send over more information, or alternatively, you could always check out the app in the Apple App store; Whatbook is also a great iPad app.

 

Can’t wait to get my copy of War of the Wolf!

 

Best regards,

Richard