While directing, he saw a James Bond novel in a storefront window and decided it would be fun to compile a book of Bond lore. A lot of this was good fortune. And thus The James Bond Bedside Companion, an anthology of Bond books, movies, quotes and trivia, was born. The book captured the attention of the Fleming estate, which owns the character that Ian Fleming created, and established Benson as an expert on Bond. That led the estate to ask him in 1995 to consider writing Bond books when author John Gardner decided to call it quits.
Tomorrow Never Dies, both published last year.
Benson, who said he will always have a special place in his heart for his home state, was happy to bring Bond to Texas for an adventure.