Bernard,
I’ve wanted to write you for years but unfortunately have not had the time to put pen to paper until recently. First off I want to let you know that you are a fantastic writer, and your work has provided me with countless hours of enjoyment. You have a way of writing which as a reader totally captivates, and the way your articulate makes me imagine the scenarios you describe as if I’m there in that moment. In the early days of my professional career as a military officer, I traveled around the world- Africa, Japan, Indonesia, Qatar, and Afghanistan. Your books accompanied me everywhere I went, and in some cases provided my with a needed escape from the current reality I was living in.
I don’t want to bore you, but to be brief, I actually learned of your books as a child but through a less than conventional means… my father was always interested in British tv shows and movies and I remembered a tv show with Sean Bean about the Napoleonic era which I could never put a finger on what it was called… after some time and searching later on it turned out to be “Sharpe’s Rifles.” I bought my first book in the series while deployed in Africa on a year assignment, and immediately feel in love with the story.
I think it’s incredible how you translate actual military history with a storyline which brings it all together so beautifully. I’ve read many (if not all) of your works, and think I am completely up to speed! Just finishing up Sharpe’s Command!
I truly appreciate your work, and I believe you have written some of the best historical fiction books out there. I sincerely hope you continue to write, and that Sharpe’s Command is not the last of the series!!
Respectfully,
Jack Schenker