Hi Bernard Firstly, though I am sure you are only too aware of this, you continue to be an absolute inspiration both to those of us who are never happier than when immersed in well crafted historical fiction and to the smaller (I imagine) number who harbour aspirations of having work published. Interestingly, whilst I adore your work and that of a number of your contemporaries, my own fledgling storytelling resides in an era much different from the time I like to read about. Two questions, if I may. The first is on the issue of contemporaries. Do you ever have either the time or the inclination to trade writers’ joy and woes with some of your fellow historical fictionists? I’m imagining a winter Sunday afternoon in a country pub in Hampshire – you, Simon Scarrow, Julian Rathbone (sad loss), C J Sansom and Martin Stephen exchanging thoughts over a local brew or two.

Secondly, although your writing possibly places you in periods where this is of little concern, how far should a historical author go in determining the support (or otherwise) of the descendants of the real life characters nestled within the story. For example, I have a desperate to escape story set at the turn of the 20th century … but with one of the pivotal characters being a larger than life ‘celebrity’ of his time I have been reluctant to make a start. Many thanks for your time… Lee