Michael’s interest in British history is lifelong, and childhood holidays were spent visiting castles and battlefields. He became a Sharpe junkie at the age of 13, and his particular fascination with the Civil Wars, the inspiration for his debut novel Traitor’s Blood, was piqued partly by the fact that his hometown Petersfield is steeped in civil war history. Traitor’s Blood will be published by John Murray in Autumn 2010.