I have no manuscripts, no suggestions, and no books for you to sign.
I am a man in my 20’s, and have been reading long-form fiction since I was 6. I first found Sharpe by way of Hornblower when I was 14, and consider your resumption of that series the finest thing to come out of the pandemic other than my marriage. It took me a month to binge my way through the Saxon Stories of your ancestor Uhtred, and I have just bought the first of your books on my childhood hero Arthur. A man could do worse than to grow up with Sharpe, come into his own in this new and unfriendly world with Uhtred, and see the technicolor world in crueler and more vivid colors with your Arthur and Merlin.
In my opinion, there are two types of authors. Prolific but prosaic writers who churn out volumes neat in set and established patterns that eventually batter a reader into putting a book down out of boredom, and exciting but eccentric poets whose esoteric work inevitably alienates a reader who trades down to more earthy fare. I think you do a phenomenal job of walking the narrow line in between. Sharpe and Uhtred are both complicated protagonists who capture nicely the modern man in a post-modern world yet transport a reader to simpler times and more brutal worlds.
I wish you persistent health and incremental prosperity, and look forward to many years spent waiting for the next Cornwell to come out in the fall.
Austin Wang