Dear Bernard, I’ve ben a huge fan of yours for a few years now, and have read your entire output so I must first thank you for the many hours of pleasure you have given me. My favourite series is the grail quest and I do hope that one day Thomas is given reason to march again but in the meantime I guess I’ll just have to be patient. My questions are these. Firstly, in your saxon stories that I’m enjoying just as much as everyone else, you seem to have made a distinct shift in the character of your hero’s commander. Wellington, Arthur, Lee etc are all skilled, confident military leaders and Alfred seems anything but, appearing to be hesitant and full of doubts and I wondered if that was a deliberate intention on your part? On a more practical note I’m delighted to hear that the next book in the series will be out soon and I was wondering if you were planning a book signing trip anywhere near the south of England? Thanks for your time and I wish you every success in the future!

David Young