Dear sir, First let me open by saying thank you for the wonderful gift of Starbuck. Those books (and Sharpe) were what first inspired me to take my own plunge into novel land; I am deeply in your debt. My first question for you is that my character before the Civil War was part of the Irish Jasper Greens which a militia company from Savanna Georgia and fought with them in the Mexican War. But the trouble is that I cant find much about them before they joined the Confederacy. I googled them about a thousand times but still can find nothing about their Mexican War experience. Do you have any suggestions to help me track this information down?

Also I was wondering if you had thought about war reenacting? It is a great experience that really adds to your knowledge to what the individual solider (and civilian) went through during the war. If you did what war do you think youd reenact?

Lastly why did you choose to make Starbuck a Confederate? Did something draw you to the theology of the Lost Cause? Thank you for your time and insight.

PS: Is there any trick to writing battle senses? I want to write it like it really was, a bloody, smoke filled afire but I also dont people to have to my book down because they are weak in the stomach! Is there anyway way tell that youve gone too far? Adam Azzalino