I grew up loving Sharpe, and have in later years enjoyed your other works covering earlier history (I’m a historian by qualification) but Stormchild has always been a book I go back to. Forgive my ignorance if it’s common knowledge, but were you a sailing man? What prompted you to deviate from historical adventures?

Many thanks for supplying me with a lifetime of stories and adventures. Should you be visiting Exeter or Devon at any point, it would be an honour to buy you a drink.

Jonathan