Mr. Cornwell: Thank you for providing this means of contact. I am deeply impressed that you interact with your fans in this way. I am a former military museum curator who now works with a design firm in Virginia. A fan of Forester’s Rifleman Dodd as a child, I read the early Sharpe books when they appeared but I had not read any of your work for years, until I picked up the Last Kingdom a few weeks ago. Thank you. I am now eagerly awaiting US publication of Sword Song. I am a rabid genealogist. I have always been fascinated by the Scandinavian origins of my family name (Lazenby), which means “Free Man’s Village (or) Farm” and it was a desire to read some fiction about the Danish invasions that led me to stumble upon your Saxon stories. Again, thank you! I am interested that none of the stories so far have featured locations ending in “-by” one of the tell-tale signs of Danish influence in the northeast of England. There are three locations that share my family name: Lazenby (east of Middlesborough, near Guisborough Abbey); Lazenby Grange (just north of Northallerton and Thirsk); and Lazonby (south of Carlisle on the River Eden). Given the locations and the slave thread in Lords of the North, I kept holding my breath waiting for one of them, or for a character with a period version of my name (for instance “Leisingby”) to appear. Might such a character or place appear in a future installment?

Also, I was intrigued by the name of the character “Lazender” in Crowning Mercy. Haven’t read it yet, but wondered what your inspiration for the name might have been?

Finally, I am a Canadian by birth, named like my father for two of his English uncles that were killed in action on the Western Front. My favorite books of all time are the Bandy Papers, by Donald Jack, the pseudo-memoirs of a Canadian in the RFC. If you do not know these award-winning books, I highly recommend them, and if you do, I’d be interested in your opinion. With sincere regards, Bill Lazenby