G’day Bernard,
Have been a huge fan of your Sharpe series since watching the TV series as a 12-yr-old boy. Have read and frequently re-read your books and they never get old. Favorite character is Harper and I felt that Daragh O’Malley really did the character justice in the TV series (never understood why the secondary character in the series always had the best lines, his Irish wit always shone through.) Other authors seem to make a habit of later writing spin-off series covering another character in their initial series, so the question is, have you ever considered a spin-off series telling Harper’s story – his early days in the army, perhaps his struggles in Ireland prior to enlisting, perhaps covering the years until he met Sharpe (they met in 1809 during retreat to Corunna covered in Sharpe’s Rifles from memory). Perhaps a bit more about his personal life – his parents etc. I don’t recall much being mentioned about him in the books but in the TV series he is from Donegal (traveled there last year, such a beautiful town) and he mentions that his mother wouldnt approve of his wife because she is Spanish It would be interesting to see, and might give the Sharpe series a boost in popularity again.
Anyway, thanks for the fantastic books you write, its got me wired to write books of me own, already got one or two in the works.
Your fan from Down Under
Cheers
Erik