Bernard Cornwell

At risk of sounding foully pompous I think that writers' groups are probably very useful at the beginning of a writing career.

I'll happily mentor anyone who wants mentoring, and most of that goes on by internet rather than face to face.

What I mean by that is that the point of life, as I see it, is not to write books or scale mountains or sail oceans, but to achieve happiness, and preferably an unselfish happiness.

Another thing that freaks me out is time. Time is like a book. You have a beginning, a middle and an end. It's just a cycle.

I studied international relations and economics at the University of Virginia. I paid my way by working as a bartender in the summer and at three part-time jobs during the year.