I have enjoyed the Sharpe series and I am curious about the difficulties involved in writing out of chronological order. In the original books, did you create backstory simply because it was necessary for an interesting, rounded character or did you contemplate the potential of prequels? Do you maintain your own reference guide to avoid inconsistencies between backstory described in earlier books and new history, does your publisher assist, or is there some other means? When you wrote the original series, did you create a general storyline regarding Sharpe and the other recurring characters? Thanks for all your efforts. Stephon Bagne