Hello again Mr. Cornwell, I hope this finds you well. I actually had a couple questions I wanted to ask. First, any plans to write about Tsarist Russia anytime soon, perhaps Ivan the Terrible or Peter the Great? I have a novel on Ivan I’m working on. Is it better to tell the story from a minor character’s point of view or do you think I could get away with doing it from the main character’s? That’s my main roadblock so far.

My second item is kind of personal, so I understand if you’re not comfortable answering it. In fact, you could use my e-mail address instead of posting it to the board. I was reading one of your responses a few days ago and was wondering what caused you to lose your faith? I ask because I thought I read somewhere that you had attended Catholic school growing up (I could be wrong. If so, please forgive me). If so, that would make my favorite author and favorite comedian (George Carlin) who have gone down that road. Speaking from a Christian point of view, I lay much of the blame for cases like that squarely on the shoulders of the church itself. My pastor always likes to talk about how the church is so consumed by rules and religion that they forget the very reason for their existence, and because the church is so often at war with itself, people stay away. I’ve had many friends leave the church and become atheist or agnostic because of that, and it truly hurts sometimes. Not just over them, but the people on the fence. Anyhow, I apologize again for sounding personal. I’m always curious to know what causes people not to believe in a God and I’ve always believed there’s got to be a better explanation for the origin of our gifts (which for both of us is our writing) than evolution or Stephen Hawking. Looking forward to the next book. God Bless You. Charles Curtis