Dear Friends of Phantom,
I would like to thank all of you for reading my books and loving the boys I wrote about in my books. When I first started writing, back in the dawn of time, I never thought that I would produce an epic of three novels and some 6,000 pages! It was a labour of love and, if my e-mails are any indication, a jolly good read.
With the end of "Tapestry" I am taking a short interregnum, a holiday of sorts. I want to rework "Boys" for publication, perhaps revisit my beloved "Phantom" and get both "Boys" and "Tapestry" ready for copyright.
Having said that please be assured that the next book is in the works. I shall carry on the story and hopefully you will all be pleased.
In the meantime, why not settle back and re-read the whole thing, from The Phantom of Aurora, through The Boys of Aurora, and end with Aurora Tapestry. Have a glass of something, a good claret or even better, a drop of brandy, and enjoy.
To all who wrote expressing your views, and your pleasure, I thank you for all the kind words. I sometimes read my e-mail files from away back when and think about the wonderful people who wrote them. I also remember the three or four of my readers who are no longer with us.
On a very personal note, as I grow older, I begin to recall the days of my youth and the young sailors I served with. This year is the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II. I ask that all of you remember, if only for a short moment, the men and women who went away in 1939 and 1941, who sailed the stormy North Atlantic and braved the violence of the enemy in the Pacific. Remember too those who served in Korea and Vietnam. Remember those young boys and girls in Iraq, and Bosnia, and other troubled countries. Without their courage and dedication we might not enjoy the freedoms we have. "Je Me Souviens". I remember!
On Sunday, the 1st of May, we in the Canadian Navy family remember those who never came home by commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic. We gather at the Cenotaph, and then we gather at a little club and remember . . . "The Boys".
God bless you all. Keep the White Ensign flying, if only in your hearts. And remember the boys.
My love to all
John