Interview with Jeffery Deaver (Author of The Bone Collector) June, 2011 Share on Twitter Apart from his license to kill, James Bond is known for three things: fast cars, gorgeous women, and awesome gadgets. Newly minted Bond writer Jeffery Deaver can't help but hedge when asked to choose his favorite of the three. "Can't I put a gorgeous woman in the passenger seat of my sports car?" he pleads. The author of the Lincoln Rhyme series (launched in 1997 with The Bone Collector , also a movie starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie) and the Kathryn Dance series landed his latest gig thanks to a chance remark about Bond at the Crime Writers' Association. And instead of continuing creator Ian Fleming 's time line with what would now be a geriatric special agent (Bond was born circa 1920), Deaver's Carte Blanche reboots the story, placing a thirtysomething Bond fighting at top form in 2011. The thriller writer chatted with Goodreads about the challenge of pleasing millions of Bond fans worldwide. Goodreads: When was your first encounter with James Bond?

Jeffery Deaver: I was roughly eight years old. My parents had what I thought was a pretty good rule: My sister and I could read any book we could find, but there were some movies that we were not allowed to see. I think that makes sense because the processing of written storytelling is different from visual and oral storytelling. Developmental stages of children are such that they can't necessarily discern that the image of the fellow getting shot and killed on the screen is really very different from that actually happening. But when you read it in a book, it's one step removed. That was my parents' theory. And it was a little ironic because I was born in 1950. You can imagine in the 1950s, the movies were so tame and the books could actually be quite risqué and violent. My father would bring home the James Bond novels , and I would read them. I would get to the part where the hero kissed the girl, and oh, that was disgusting. I just sped right by it. A few years later I came back and read those parts—that was the good stuff! GR: So writing a Bond book is a dream gig for you. How did you get the job?

JD: About six years ago a novel of mine, Garden of Beasts (a historical thriller), won an award in England given by the Crime Writers' Association, and it was sponsored by the Ian Fleming estate. The prize was a dagger that Ian Fleming —who was an intelligence officer in World War II—had carried. I was very honored. In my acceptance remarks I said how particularly pleased I was because Fleming had been such an influence on my writing. I didn't think anything of it, but I learned later that there were members of the estate and Ian Fleming Publications in the audience. They had not known that Fleming was an influence of mine, so about 18 months ago they called me. They asked if I would be interested in writing the next continuation novel. I debated all of five seconds and said yes. Although I will add that we both had some caveats that coincided. I did not want to write a period piece. Sebastian Faulks 's book—an excellent book, Devil May Care [2008]—was set in the 1960s. I didn't want Bond to be an elderly agent, and I wanted it set in the present day, so I wanted to restart the series.

Coincidentally, they had the same view in mind. GR: Do you have any favorite Bond novels? JD: From Russia with Love and Casino Royale . Those are my two favorites. When I reread the whole series in anticipation of writing my book, Carte Blanche , I was struck by the really innovative approach that Fleming took to writing From Russia with Love . We don't meet Bond for roughly 60 or 70 pages of the book. We deal with a really rich study of the bad guy and the world in which he is operating—a Russian assassin. I kept turning pages, thinking, "I know this guy really, really well." And it taught me that every character in the book is of equal importance. There's nothing worse than any old cardboard caricature of a villain. Usually they have my hairstyle—not much hair—in a ponytail. Right away you know that's the bad guy. For the ultimate bad guy, if you don't want to waste much time developing him, you make him the head of a drug company or an oil company. Fleming showed that you have to create multidimensional characters. From Russia with Love is a sterling example of how to craft characters and make them real.

GR: Debating the merits of the six actors who have played James Bond over the years is a favorite pastime of Bond fanatics. So we have to know, who's your favorite Bond? JD: I have to say I'm split right down the middle, and I have reasons for both: Sean Connery and Daniel Craig. Connery was Bond when the movies were minimal, gritty. They had some special effects, but not a lot, so they were a little more bare bones, which I liked. I like to see a story. I associate Connery with that, and he was the epitome of a mix of suave, sophisticated, and dark and edgy. The original Bond was quite dark from the books. Daniel Craig is a return to that. I have to say, I'm not quite used to a blond Bond. In the books Fleming gave him black hair. But in terms of personality, [Craig's] Bond is the original thing from the books. My impression was—I have no clue whether this was true or not—Craig had to have read Casino Royale . I suspect that he read it a number of times to really step into the character that Fleming created in 1952 and 1953.

GR: What were the challenges of working with such an iconic character? How did you make the book your own? JD: Good question. I approached it with this in mind: My philosophy of writing is that I write for fans. I don't write for myself. We are so lucky to be able to write—in my case, write fiction full-time for a living. That's pretty miraculous. I'm pretty respectful of my audience's wants and desires, and I'm here to entertain them. When I approached Carte Blanche , I realized I have two sets of separate audiences. The Bond fans are both movie and book fans. Many people familiar with Bond have never read a James Bond book. They know him from the films; the statistic is 1 in 5 people on Earth have seen a James Bond film. [Bond fans] have very clear ideas of who this character is. Then I have my fans, some of whom are, of course, Bond fans as well. They have come to expect a Deaver book; I write according to a very strict formula. A Deaver book is typically one that takes place over a very short time period. There's a constant, driving question: What is going to happen by such-and-such a time?

There are multiple subplots. There are a lot of cliffhangers within the story, and then there are surprise endings, plural. Every subplot has to have a twist, and they all have to come together in the end. That has to be very carefully choreographed. So that's a Deaver book. Actually, that was not necessarily Ian Fleming 's style. Ian Fleming was much more of a character-driven writer, a brilliant one. He was a journalist and brought great insight to his writing, but the stories were fairly linear. There was usually a single plot. He had twists and turns occasionally, but the thrust of the books was really good versus bad and escalating conflict throughout the story, which is more of the prototype than my type of puzzle book. So what I decided to do—and I agreed with the Fleming estate on this—I was going to write a Deaver book, but I was going to populate it with the traditional James Bond character. I would be very diligent about making sure that fans would spend time with the character they knew and loved, with the one difference being that he is roughly about 30 years old and the year is 2011. I have to say, I think it worked well.

He moved very easily to 2011. There's a universality about him. When James Bond fans pick up [the book], they will see the Bond they know and love. And my fans will get the roller coaster that I try to write with every one of my books. GR: The killing of Osama bin Laden gave the public a glimpse of what special forces, trained men and women like James Bond, can do. Goodreads member Bill H asks, "Do you feel Bond has become more gritty and ruthless to reflect the current political landscape of 2011?" JD: That's a very good question because one of the themes in the book relates to the title, Carte Blanche . Bond basically has freedom to do what he needs to do on assignment. In several cases, he has to confront the question of, "Here I have a double-0 classification. I am free to take a life if I have to—if I decide it has to be done. And yet, where is the vetting? Where does the authority for that come from when I have 100 percent of the authority within my conscience?" It's an issue he wrestles with.

Of course, we don't want to give any of the plotting away, but I can say that he is back to being the dark and gritty character from the 1950s, where it almost seems we question the propriety of ruthlessness and assassination a bit less during the height of the Cold War. GR: With the Cold War over, where did you turn for modern-day villains? JD: I thought, "We've seen so much about terrorists being the villains." You can't write a book now about geopolitics and international intrigue without having terrorism figure in the story. But I didn't want the thrust to be what we might see in 24, the Jack Bauer show. I'm a fan, I think it's great, but we've seen a lot of Islamic terrorists. My reluctance to craft a character like that isn't really political correctness. It's simply that we've seen it. So what I looked for in my villain was somebody who was unique, somebody we have not seen before. My villain has other issues, let me just put it that way.

I like to focus on an evil that is not ideological but an evil that is self-centered, narcissistic, and utterly remorseless when it comes to taking lives and even doing worse things than that. GR: Goodreads member Chris Schaeffer asks, "I'd like to know if there will be any odes or hidden Easter eggs referring to any of Deaver's famous characters." JD: I'll be quite frank, no. As much as I thought about having James in a tough situation and ringing up Lincoln Rhyme , my character from The Bone Collector , I thought, "That's about me, and the book should be about the Bond fans." However, in the book I'm working on right now, a Kathryn Dance book (my other series character), there will be some references to Lincoln in that. I enjoy that. Actually, the reason for that is a little bit of self-preservation. I generally can't write two books a year. I certainly couldn't with the Bond book, because it took up 100 percent of my time. My schedule was delayed a year, so the Kathryn Dance (which should have been out this year) won't be out until 2012.

I needed to keep my Lincoln Rhyme fans happy to some extent. So there will be a Lincoln Rhyme reference in my next book. GR: Goodreads member Angela asks, "As a quadriplegic myself, I was wondering if he worked with a quad to develop the Lincoln Rhymes character or just did a lot of research?" JD: I did a lot of research. I had, oddly enough, a small bout of physical paralysis. I had some nerve problems years ago—actually just before I wrote the book—but nothing that rises to the level of even paraplegia. I worked with my own neurologist and some other patients to make sure that I had the technical aspects of the condition right. Much of what [writers] do is about stepping into the minds of people whose circumstances are different than ours. If I had been given anything at all that's helped me write, it's an imagination. It's pretty easy for me to step into the minds of everybody, even the dark, evil characters. For the quadriplegia, I certainly had to do a lot of research, and continue to do so. There are many developments going on presently.

I would have to say that 90 percent of what I did was just research and imagination. GR: Describe a typical day spent writing. Do you have any unusual writing habits? JD: I spend generally eight hours a day, usually six days a week. But I also take time off. I don't want it to sound like army basic training! There are different stages of the process. During the outlining process, I'll spend roughly eight to nine hours sitting and staring at my computer or at a big board behind me where I pin up each of the scenes. That's early in the process. For instance, for my latest Lincoln Rhyme book, The Burning Wire , a psychotic killer uses electricity as a weapon. That was my outline the first day, nothing more than that. Over the course of the next eight months or so, I came up with scenes that would be exciting, which I put somewhere in the middle. I came up with the big surprises at the end and put those somewhere near the end. By the time I started to really commit the outline to my word processor, I would have maybe 70 or 80 Post-it Notes of those discrete scenes.

I used to use a corkboard, but now I just tape them up on my wall. They aren't necessarily chapters, but they are scenes where the point-of-view shifts or the geographic location shifts. So then I'll write that into my computer, and at that stage it'll be probably a 70- or 80-page outline. Then I start to fill in the clues because we need to know when the clues appear in the book. That'll be "important clue scene 42." Then I write below, "to be explained..." I'll look toward the end of the outline, and scene 87 is where the clue in scene 42 is explained, why Lincoln says this is or isn't an important clue. I do that with all the scenes, all the characters. Every single character and clue has to be resolved, no loose ends. It is frankly a rather exhausting process. When the outline is done, the book is done. Like Alfred Hitchcock, when he finished the storyboarding and the script, it was almost anticlimactic. I'm sure he went to the set and told the director of photography to do things, but the movie was 90 percent done.

When my outline is done, the book is 90 percent done, and I feel it. Seven or eight months later [after starting the outline], it's time to write the book. That's sitting at my desk for as long as I physically can to generate the prose. That's anywhere, in my office, or if I'm traveling on a book tour, on the planes or in hotel rooms. I have adapters that work all over the world, plug-ins for the back of a limo or wherever I'm traveling, so I can get some work done. To write full-time for a living, you've got to make sure you write full-time. Then you revise. Hemingway said, "There are no great writers, only great rewriters" (I'm paraphrasing). And that's true. I spend the last month or so doing 30, 40, 50 rewrites, then out goes the book and out I go on a book tour. Then it starts all over again. GR: What authors, books, or ideas have influenced you? JD: I think of two strings: literary writing and popular thriller writing.

Among the thriller writers, I grew up reading Agatha Christie , Sherlock Holmes , Dashiell Hammett , and Raymond Chandler . I should add, in terms of genre fiction, Lord of the Rings , C.S. Lewis , Ray Bradbury , and some other science fiction writers, Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov . As I got a little older, I would read John le Carré , who I love. I think he's brilliant. And Len Deighton . Thomas Harris I absolutely love, although I was writing by that time. I didn't come to Thomas Harris until Silence of the Lambs , and then I went back and read his earlier works. He was a later influence of mine and a brilliant writer, of course. For literary writing, I grew up reading Saul Bellow , John Dos Passos , and in Latin American culture, Gabriel García Márquez —breathtaking writer. Robert Frost . I love poetry. I guess I still technically write poetry in little academic journals and so forth. I've always loved poetry. Still love it, will always love it. I also have always wanted to make a living as a writer.

And unless you want to teach, you can't be a full-time poet except for Richard Wilbur and Robert Pinsky . I was never really a Sylvia Plath fan. I was more comfortable with structured, lyrical, and more metered poetry. Frankly, it seemed more skillful; I like technical craft. Richard Wilbur , former poet laureate of the United States. He writes fairly short poems, not singsong-y by any means, but he does use rhyme and pays a lot of attention to meter. They are just lovely to read out loud. Very exciting. About the apparent confinement of form, he said, "It's the shape of the bottle that gives the genie his strength." I always liked that. That's my theory of poetry. Although I was not a particularly successful poet and didn't reach more than a few thousand readers, now I'll slip a poem that I have written into a novel of mine and 4 million people will read it whether they want to or not. GR: What are you reading now? JD: Someone had mentioned this on Goodreads, and I thought, "This is exciting." Stephen Ambrose 's The Wild Blue .

It's about George McGovern's B-24 crew during World War II. It's just utterly captivating, such a great writer. My father was a flier in World War II at the same time as George McGovern. I'm just amazed my father survived such awful conditions. These were really patriotic people. But it reads like a thriller. CARTE BLANCHE - Page 55 - Jeffery Deaver (2011) - CBn Forums Location:West Los Angeles, California USA Posted 20 January 2011 - 08:45 PM All this over bloody cover art? As to reading in public... I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks. Never have. Never will. I always take along one of my battered and beloved Signet paperbacks with me when I travel. I've had more people strike up conversations with me because of the fact that I'm reading a fifty year old novel as a man in his 40's traveling in a style of a different era. I dress suit and tie for either dinner out or taking a journey. Hey, most days of the week I'm a jeans and pullover sort of guy.

If I'm getting on a plane or train though, I dress for it. That's the way I was raised. Want to mock me? Go ahead. Could care less. Want to have a truly good chat? Great. Love it and don't feel I have to prove myself. I'm planning to read CB on the flight home and not before then. Outside of a cold Vesper on Virgin Atlantic, what better way to wrap up an adventure abroad? Location:Studio City, CA Posted 20 January 2011 - 08:48 PM Speaking of series, have there been rumours who will pen the next entry? Or would that possibly steal the thunder and we'll only hear once Carte Blanche has been around for a while??? Yeah, I was also thinking about this the other day. I expect we won't hear anything until after CB is published. But it might not be too long after. Just think about it -- if this is a once a year deal, we will have 2 XBond books and a very good idea about the third by the time Eon trots out Bond 23: The Property of a Lady Risico. Just another reason I've thrown in with the lit side.

Way more fun. Location:England Posted 20 January 2011 - 09:55 PM Just come back from a literary event at the local arts centre and the topic of cover art popped up. I am not sure if the same happens in the US, but on the evidence before me I would tend to assume it absolutely does. It appears that the supermarkets have a huge say in how a book looks and the design of the cover. A comedian's book was being discussed by bunch of people, the bunch including the publisher, the author and some others. The discussion took a swerve when Tesco arrived who then basically dictated to 'their' audience, what was to happen with the cover design. I spoke to one of the presenters and related the above discussion on the comparative merits of the UK over US art. He was able to tell me that in the US, crime and thriller books usually have designs that scream at you. That is, according to him, de rigueur. By all means correct me if this appears untrue. For me though, the surprise was the power of the supermarkets in this field. The field of book jacket design. Never knew.

21862 posts Posted 20 January 2011 - 10:28 PM What I mean is that does it really matter if other people, particularly people you don't know, think that what you're reading is or isn't a worthwhile read? No, of course not. But my point is that a lot of people (rightly or wrongly) would hesitate to be caught reading a book with a dreadful and geeky cover like the American one for CARTE BLANCHE, and that would surely hit sales. You know, think about it, the number one place this book is going to be sold in the U.S. is probably WalMart. I'd say this cover is perfect for that. In that case they should have a WalMart exclusive cover for the hoi polloi. That'd give the rest of America the chance to have a decent cover, while it would also mean an extra edition for collectors such as yourself to pick up. 4324 posts Posted 21 January 2011 - 08:17 AM I have to agree with Loomis, though. Being caught reading a book with a giant 007 on it in public would be a bit embarrassing.

I don't really get this. I admit to being pretty snobbish about reading material but I don't give a what other people think about what/who I'm reading. Who is so insecure that they are bothered that strangers on a train, for example, may think that reading Bond books is too lowbrow? Man, this U.S. cover has really received a drubbing. Even all the comments on my site are negative. And this isn't the normal fans arguing pro and con, I don't think I've seen a single positive reaction. Even I can't say I love this cover. I don't hate it... All I can do is try and understand what they are going for and think it might look better in person. I think I get what they are trying to do with the cover and I don't hate it as much as some seem to, but frankly my dog has left more inspired looking piles in the garden than this US cover. Than both the covers, to be honest. I don't hate them and do prefer the UK cover to the US but am unable to get that excited about either. I totally agree Santa.

I'd have no problem reading a Bond novel in public or even being seen with the American version of Carte Blanche. Hey, I just think of it as promoting the new Bond book by Jeffery Deaver! As for the U.S. cover art, I don't think it's as bad as most seem to be saying it is, but I will admit it is no great shakes either. (I'm also not all that excited about the U.K. version to be honest although it probably is the slightly better one.) I think zencat was right earlier when he mentioned that with big 007 numbers, the U.S. publishers are probably just trying to get attention for their new novel in the flooded American market. And since when is the name/brand James Bond or 007 such a bad thing? (I've never thought so.) I thought with the incredible Daniel Craig and the great Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace films that Bond has never been hipper and cooler. So who wouldn't want to read the new Bond novel that is somewhat inspired by EON's reboot?

Everyone should be flocking to the bookstores to pick one up--at least that's the impression I infer after reading hundreds of forum comments from Craig and Quantum fans. Although I suppose maybe everyone's nervousness/outrage over the new cover arts (particularly the U.S.'s) is just their underlying fear that the films and novels are too separate to cross over to the casual fans' interests. Regardless, I'll get the American version as soon as I can and eagerly read and enjoy it. P.S. For whatever reason--although it may well be because we haven't had great Bond cover art over the years and it's just worn me down, but--book cover art isn't as important to me as film poster art. Now on that score, I have a major gripe about the recent posters.... Location:Hollywood, CA Posted 21 January 2011 - 09:00 AM I'm not thrilled with the US cover, but I look forward to seeing it the store. I worked in bookstores for years. The cover design gets across the important information: It's a JAMES BOND novel. I'll bet you'll be able to see that '007' from across the room.

Also, it's black and red, really strong colors for the mystery/thriller genre. I do think the UK cover is classier, but not sure if I'll spring for it or not. The US edition comes out the week of my birthday, so I'm thinking of taking the day off and treating myself. In general I think that UK cover design has it all over the US. You can really see the difference in the fantasy and science fiction genres. However, my favorite James Bond covers of all time have to be the American paperbacks put out by Signet in the 1960s. I went out a few years ago and bought all the new trade paperbacks... only to realize that I vastly prefer the simplicity and elegance of the Signets. Oh, and of course I'd read a Bond novel in public. I'm generally far better read than anyone that would dare to criticize my taste in literature, so their opinion is never going to count for much. Life is just too short, you know? 5366 posts Posted 21 January 2011 - 12:21 PM I totally agree Santa.

I'd have no problem reading a Bond novel in public or even being seen with the American version of Carte Blanche. Hey, I just think of it as promoting the new Bond book by Jeffery Deaver! I think that's perhaps just what the American cover is aimed at, to be a mobile billboard for the book, advertising it right across the landscape, the maximum impact of the cover adjusted to 300 yards. If everybody on the beach can read that 007 and remembers a hundred people browsing in the book when he sees the cover at the supermarket, then that's just what they want. Posted 21 January 2011 - 02:42 PM All this over bloody cover art? As to reading in public... I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks. Never have. Never will. I always take along one of my battered and beloved Signet paperbacks with me when I travel. I've had more people strike up conversations with me because of the fact that I'm reading a fifty year old novel as a man in his 40's traveling in a style of a different era. I dress suit and tie for either dinner out or taking a journey.

Hey, most days of the week I'm a jeans and pullover sort of guy. If I'm getting on a plane or train though, I dress for it. That's the way I was raised. Want to mock me? Go ahead. Could care less. Want to have a truly good chat? Great. Love it and don't feel I have to prove myself. I'm planning to read CB on the flight home and not before then. Outside of a cold Vesper on Virgin Atlantic, what better way to wrap up an adventure abroad? I'm with you Bryce! 8717 posts Posted 21 January 2011 - 03:02 PM I’m not ashamed to be a Bond fan, but I’d much rather read at home. Or some other isolated place, in silence with no distractions. I couldn’t get into the zone reading on a full capacity train, for example. I wouldn’t be enjoying it as much as I should be. I wouldn’t treat it like a race, like some Harry Potter fans did. Rush reading whenever and wherever to discover how it ends. The book is an experience. It deserves more of my respect, and if I have to wait, I will.

Once you’ve read a page for the first time, that’s it. You can't unread it. I’m a reader that has to fully soak in a page, understand it completely, before contently moving on. Posted 21 January 2011 - 04:49 PM To all those happy to read Bond anywhere, regardless - Santa, terminus, Brycey - like myself Fo those who aren't and would appear embarrassed about their interest in Bond and Ian Fleming, perhaps you should move on from Bond and get a more intellectual, socially acceptable author to follow. All of these digs for a personal preference. Got to love forums. That said, not changing my stance. It's kind of silly. Because of my personal stance I'm either self conscious, pretentious, or a combination of both. All over a book cover! It's where my comfort level lies, I'm not apologizing for it. The last thing I'm going to mention on this issue is that no matter what anyone says, I seriously think that US cover is ridiculous looking, even if it is necessary. It is because I am a fan that I'd even consider buying a different book from overseas just for a different cover.

Shouldn't that be far more embarrassing? Posted 21 January 2011 - 04:55 PM To all those happy to read Bond anywhere, regardless - Santa, terminus, Brycey - like myself Fo those who aren't and would appear embarrassed about their interest in Bond and Ian Fleming, perhaps you should move on from Bond and get a more intellectual, socially acceptable author to follow. All of these digs for a personal preference. Got to love forums. That said, not changing my stance. It's kind of silly. Because of my personal stance I'm either self conscious, pretentious, or a combination of both. All over a book cover! It's where my comfort level lies, I'm not apologizing for it. The last thing I'm going to mention on this issue is that no matter what anyone says, I seriously think that US cover is ridiculous looking, even if it is necessary. It is because I am a fan that I'd even consider buying a different book from overseas just for a different cover. Shouldn't that be far more embarrassing?

Nothing remotely embarrassing about buying a foreigh edition as opposed to one's domestic own because of the cover: I bought the US DEVIL MAY CARE with its Lazenby-esque cover as I didn't at all like what they'd achieved with the UK version, and it is that US edition which sits among my otherwise UK Firsts collection. No need to be self conscious about Fleming. He's a damn fine writer, and all Bond stuff goes back to Fleming, whoever happens to be the author. Just think "screw 'em". Location:USA Posted 21 January 2011 - 05:16 PM Fleming, quite frankly, is the only author who is capable of consistently holding my attention, thanks largely to his depth of detail and the overall relaxed tone of his prose. I can't think of any other author (outside of Higson) who has engaged me on the same level as Fleming. Maybe Khaled Hosseini who wrote the wonderful "A Thousand Splendid Suns." I even find Ludlum to be tedious. "The Bourne Identity" is a pretty decent read, but man is it exhausting, and the payoff isn't even all that great.

Fleming is a master craftsman and tell everyone just the same. That said, reading a book with a big 007 on it on the metro would have me feeling a little...yeah fine, dorky. Whether or not it is is a separate issue entirely, but it is how I would feel. Then again, I'll be reading a book purchased from overseas just for the different cover. Not sure what's worse, though I don't think either is really all that damnable. Just personal preference as a fan. Location:Queens, NY, USA Posted 21 January 2011 - 06:01 PM I've got no problem reading whatever book wherever. Yes I've read Star Wars, Star Trek, 24, James Bond, Conan, DC comics characters novels and the list goes on. Who cares what people think? I'm reading, having a good time and I know more about the Star Wars universe than they do. Only thing I hate is when you are reading somethign of this sort, like a James Bond novel and someone feels the need to comment to me about it. Or for some reason tell me about Bond ...

movie Bond when I'm reading a book and are absolutely sure their opinion and ideas on the character holds true for me. Posted 21 January 2011 - 06:01 PM To all those happy to read Bond anywhere, regardless - Santa, terminus, Brycey - like myself Fo those who aren't and would appear embarrassed about their interest in Bond and Ian Fleming, perhaps you should move on from Bond and get a more intellectual, socially acceptable author to follow. All of these digs for a personal preference. Got to love forums. That said, not changing my stance. It's kind of silly. Because of my personal stance I'm either self conscious, pretentious, or a combination of both. All over a book cover! It's where my comfort level lies, I'm not apologizing for it. The last thing I'm going to mention on this issue is that no matter what anyone says, I seriously think that US cover is ridiculous looking, even if it is necessary. It is because I am a fan that I'd even consider buying a different book from overseas just for a different cover. Shouldn't that be far more embarrassing? No! Never be embarassed about who you are*.

Even if you're a dork, wear it proudly, as I do. * This of course does not apply to paedophiles or people who hurt animals, who should all be thoroughly ashamed and embarassed. Posted 21 January 2011 - 09:19 PM All this over bloody cover art? As to reading in public... I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks. Never have. Never will. I always take along one of my battered and beloved Signet paperbacks with me when I travel. I've had more people strike up conversations with me because of the fact that I'm reading a fifty year old novel as a man in his 40's traveling in a style of a different era. I dress suit and tie for either dinner out or taking a journey. Hey, most days of the week I'm a jeans and pullover sort of guy. If I'm getting on a plane or train though, I dress for it. That's the way I was raised. Want to mock me? Go ahead. Could care less. Want to have a truly good chat? Great. Love it and don't feel I have to prove myself.

I'm planning to read CB on the flight home and not before then. Outside of a cold Vesper on Virgin Atlantic, what better way to wrap up an adventure abroad? Well bloody said Bryce! Thanks mate from all of us. Harry Fawkes James Bond new book Trigger Mortis written by Anthony Horowitz: This is something I have wanted to do all my life | Daily Mail Online comments Skyfall? ‘Never liked it.’ Idris Elba? ‘Too ‘‘street’’ to play 007.’ Ian Fleming’s stories? ‘A bit slow.’ Anthony Horowitz takes no prisoners as he tells Event why his new Bond novel reboots the spy as a shamelessly macho killing machine... given his comeuppance by Pussy Galore ‘I am unlikely to earn as much as from an Alex Rider book, but I have never written with money in my head,' said Anthony Horowitz who has penned the new Bond adventure, Trigger Mortis Anthony Horowitz walks, talks and looks like a spy. He has the glide, the posh, clipped voice and the faraway eyes of a man who knows secrets, and he absolutely loves James Bond. ‘I remember seeing Dr No in the cinema at the age of eight.

It was one of the most significant moments of my life.’ The excited young boy went on to become one of the greatest adventure writers of our age, with a licence to thrill as the creator of the teenage secret agent Alex Rider, whose books have sold a staggering 19 million copies. Horowitz almost certainly grew up among spies, as his father was a secret fixer for the Prime Minister of the day, and he has an extraordinary real-life tale to tell about how this man of mystery lost all the family money. He won’t say if he’s a spook (he’d have to kill me) but he knows them, has visited their HQs and counts them as fans. ‘They like what I do.’ Given all of this, he was the obvious man to hire when Ian Fleming’s estate wanted a writer to create a new 007 adventure as close as possible to the style of the originals. ‘This is something I have wanted to do all my life.’ But incredibly, Horowitz nearly turned Bond down. ‘I was getting a bit frustrated, shall we say?’ Was it the money? Surely they give you enough to fill a 007-style suitcase if you write a Bond story? ‘No.

Well, yes they do but actually, I’m taking a pay cut to write Bond.’ Read an exclusive extract from new Bond thriller Trigger Mortis below... Anthony Horowitz was the obvious man to hire when Ian Fleming’s estate wanted a writer to create a new 007 adventure as close as possible to the style of the originals RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share But then he is used to getting all the royalties from his books. This time he is sharing them with the estate, having given in and written a new Bond adventure, called Trigger Mortis. ‘I am unlikely to earn as much as from an Alex Rider book, but I have never written with money in my head.’ You can say that when you are worth an estimated £10 million. We meet in the rooftop cafe of his publisher’s office. With its epic view over London, it feels rather like the lair of a low-budget Bond villain. The scene is set beautifully but only one thing really counts... is the new book any good? Fortunately, Trigger Mortis is a blast.

Set two weeks after the end of the novel Goldfinger in 1957, it has a superb plot based around the early space race and features the return of the best Bond girl of them all, Pussy Galore. ‘That seemed like a smiley thing to do,’ says Horowitz, who admits that as he wrote her he was thinking of the character of Pussy in the book but the look of Pussy in the film, as played by Honor Blackman in 1964. She is one of two women who give the old chauvinist 007 a kicking this time around, physically and emotionally. ‘I wanted him to have a slight comeuppance.’ Bond usually loves then leaves his women, but this time he is the one who gets dumped. Horowitz is lean, ruggedly handsome and has just turned 60, but dressed in clothes that 007 would not be seen dead in, unless undercover. Sandals, jeans and a T-shirt? Think Ralph Fiennes as as the elegant veteran M trying to fit in at Glastonbury. But back to why he nearly declined the mission. If it wasn’t the money, was it the sense of rejection?

I know he was turned down in the past. Trigger Mortis is set two weeks after the end of the novel Goldfinger in 1957, and features the return of the best Bond girl of them all, Pussy Galore (played by Honor Blackman in 1964's Goldfinger) ‘I wanted to write a James Bond film,’ he says. ‘I met the producers years and years ago and tried to persuade them. 'That was when Alex Rider came into my head. They were talking about the next movie, not offering it to me. I thought, “Sod you. If you won’t let me make a Bond film, I’ll make my own up!” ‘By then Roger Moore was about 50 and way too old to be playing 007, so I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if James Bond was a teenager?”’ He certainly got his revenge: for a couple of years after the last of the Pierce Brosnan films, Die Another Day in 2002, Alex Rider was arguably more popular than Bond. There were ten books and he looked set for a hit movie series of his own with the release of Stormbreaker in the summer of 2006.

The cast included Damian Lewis, Ewan McGregor and Mickey Rourke. But Horowitz admits that while some of the reviews were good, the film was not the great box-office hit everyone thought it would be. It is estimated to have made back only half its $40 million budget. ‘It was a near miss. There were very good things in it. 'There is interest from producers about making another but it is way too early to be able to talk about a film without putting a curse on it.’ Perhaps the main reason that Stormbreaker did not do so well was that Bond blew his young rival out of the water just a few months later in the autumn of 2006, when Casino Royale was released. Howoritz isn’t bitter. ‘Daniel Craig is a terrific Bond. Casino Royale is probably my favourite. Of the films after Connery, it is easily the best. Fantastic. A total return to the gritty seriousness of it.’ However, he is spectacularly rude about the follow-ups. ‘Quantum Of Solace just went wrong. Skyfall is my least favourite. I know it is heresy to say so, but it is the one Bond film I have never liked.’ Why? ‘How much time do you have?

Bond is weak in it. He has doubts. That’s not Bond. ‘Secondly, the villain wins. The villain sets out to kill M – the film finishes with the villain killing M. So why have I watched it? ‘And if you have to protect the Head of MI6 from a madman, do you take her to a Scottish farmhouse with no weapons? And tell your bad guy where you are, so he will arrive with six people to kill her? And then M escapes and stands on top of a hill waving a torch to tell them where she is! It’s that sort of thing that made me angry.’ ‘In the original book, the fact that Pussy was raped as a girl becomes something attractive. If I had put that in I would have been killed,’ said Anthony Horowitz And he is just as unimpressed with the trailer for the new film, Spectre. ‘I’m looking at the trailer and I am seeing a photograph of Bond’s family. The mum and the dad are in there and their faces are missing because the picture has been burned in a fire.

'This is going to be to do with his family background, and I know the fans are all terribly excited to know more, but I’m saying, “Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know.” 'I don’t want to know about his doubts, his insecurities or weaknesses. I just want to see him act, kill, win.’ Neither is Horowitz impressed with the favourite to take over from Daniel Craig. ‘Idris Elba is a terrific actor, but I can think of other black actors who would do it better.’ He names Adrian Lester, star of Hustle. ‘For me, Idris Elba is a bit too rough to play the part. It’s not a colour issue. I think he is probably a bit too “street” for Bond. Is it a question of being suave? Yeah.’ Horowitz can be this frank because the films are owned by Eon Productions and are nothing to do with his employers at the Fleming estate, which controls the rights to the books. The trustees asked three other writers to have a go at reinventing Bond before him, which brings us finally to the reason he nearly turned them down.

‘They asked Sebastian Faulks to write a Bond book, they asked Jeffery Deaver and they asked William Boyd, but they didn’t ask me.’ It certainly still rankles. Faulks published Devil May Care in 2008, Deaver’s Carte Blanche came out in 2011 and Solo by William Boyd was in 2013. None of them were great, according to Bond fans. Meanwhile, Horowitz was busy proving he could write other people’s stories by creating a screenplay for the Tintin film and two Sherlock Holmes books in the voice of Conan Doyle. ‘When they finally did approach, I wanted to say, “About time too!”’ But despite his frustration, he could not quite say no to Bond. ‘I did say, “If I had been sixth or seventh in line I might not have said yes.”’ How is his version different to the others’? ‘I hope you could take the name off the cover and think it was written by Ian Fleming.’ Isn’t Fleming’s Bond a racist, homophobic, male chauvinist pig? ‘Bond is not the most sympathetic of characters when you actually think about him. He is a man who kills people.

He has unfortunate attitudes towards women, gays, Jews and foreigners.’ Horowitz pauses for a moment. ‘Daniel Craig is a terrific Bond. Casino Royale is probably my favourite. Of the films after Connery, it is easily the best. Fantastic. A total return to the gritty seriousness of it,' said Anthony Horowitz ‘I have to be careful how I say that, because we do like Bond. That is one of the tricks of the books, to make him likeable. 'He represents the country, in patriotic terms. Also, he is the Byronic hero who comes riding out of the shadows, puts the world to rights and moves on to the next adventure.’ Horowitz has found a brilliant solution to the sexism of the original Bond: make one of the women sharper, stronger and better than him. ‘The policy was not to fight any of it, not to try and change him and not to make excuses for him but to find a way to chide him. 'So one of the women in the book abandons him, and worse still – spoiler alert – walks out with another woman.’ The name of this formidable new Bond girl is Jeopardy Lane.

‘Jeopardy is at least as effective a spy as James Bond and probably more so. Without her, he would be killed. He has to acknowledge that she is unstoppable and doesn’t make mistakes, while he does.’ It’s worse than that for poor old James. Jeopardy runs out on him. Then he is given a female instructor to help him become a racing driver, and inevitably tries to seduce her – but they are interrupted by the need to go off and rescue Pussy Galore. And when the rescue is over, to his utter dismay, Pussy and the instructor run off together. ‘That is a double whammy for an old-fashioned macho man like Bond.’ This is the first time in all of the books and films that two of James Bond’s attempted conquests have ended up falling into each other’s arms instead – although since Horowitz is writing like Fleming, there is no explicit lesbian sex scene. Why bring back Pussy? ‘She is one of the greatest characters in the whole Bond canon. The novel Goldfinger finishes with a Stratocruiser crashing with Bond and Pussy Galore on board. We don’t really know what happens after that.

'So I thought, “Why doesn’t he bring her home with him?” Then it gave me something to write about: Bond living with a girl and trying to be domestic, which is hopeless.’ Isn’t Pussy Galore a somewhat unfortunate name, particularly in this day and age? ‘I say that in the book. Once he gets back to London, he has lost the glamour of Jamaica and he’s in a hotel, he introduces her and feels embarrassed. Which of course you would do. “Hello, this is Pussy Galore…” I mean, really!’ There are some things Horowitz had to leave out. ‘In the original book, the fact that Pussy was raped as a girl becomes something attractive. If I had put that in I would have been killed.’ Somehow he has kept the flavour of Fleming while giving Trigger Mortis the pace of a modern thriller. ‘I love the originals, but their languid pacing is for a Fifties or Sixties audience – it is not what we are used to now.’ Skyfall is my least favourite. I know it is heresy to say so, but it is the one Bond film I have never liked. Bond is weak in it. He has doubts.

That’s not Bond,' said Anthony Horowitz Did the estate impose rules? ‘Yes, lots of ground rules! I got very nervous. The Fleming estate gets involved in what is going to happen and it was clear from the start there were going to be very strict guidelines for writing this book. 'Part of the recruitment process was to demonstrate to them that I wasn’t going to write something embarrassing or wrong.’ He means out of character with the original Bond. For example, the estate would not have allowed James Bond to fall for a man and have a gay love scene, he says. There is, however, an openly gay friend. ‘Fleming’s attitude to gay people in the books is questionable to say the least. So we have this one person who can say to Bond, “You are a dinosaur, attitudes have got to change.” ‘That is playing to the audience a bit. The attitude of the Government and civil service to homosexuality in the Fifties was disastrous, for homeland security apart from anything else, with Guy Burgess [gay double agent who defected to Russia] and the rest.’ Bond does get to wrestle in the nude with a younger man. ‘Can you imagine Roger Moore doing that scene?

No thank you!’ Most of the estate’s suggestions were helpful, says Horowitz. 'With the end of the Pussy Galore sequence, and the way he parts company with Jeopardy Lane, I had been a little crueller to Bond than they liked. 'The women left him more abruptly, with less explanation. Jeopardy left him with not quite contempt but a dig in the ribs, and they didn’t like that. They were right. It left a sour taste in your mouth. You don’t want Bond to end the book too bruised.’ The most surprising thing is the background he gives to the bad guy, Jason Sin, who is revealed as the survivor of a real-life massacre, where U.S. soldiers fired on Korean women and children. ‘His personality was created as a result of one of the greatest atrocities of the war. So you lose your devil incarnate and instead you have a human being.’ Horowitz does the same with a new play about to open at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, called Dinner With Saddam. It’s a political farce based around an encounter with the deposed dictator. ‘Saddam Hussein was a monster. A vicious, evil, sick, depraved man... but a man.

That’s the point. 'The moment you portray your villain as a cartoon monster – whether it’s Stalin, Hitler or Bin Laden – you fail to grasp them.’ Is he asking us to have sympathy for Saddam? ‘He was, for some years, the saviour of modern Iraq. You have to understand where he began, to understand where it went wrong,’ says Horowitz, who opposed the invasion of Iraq from the beginning. ‘The Chilcot Inquiry [into the causes of the war] is meant to have nailed Tony Blair. That is what I heard. 'For some reason, there is a delay. Is that report ever going to appear in our lifetimes? If it does will it not be blacked out, watered down and be cut? It is the running sore on the life we all live that this is allowed to continue.’ He stops himself. ‘Forgive the rant. My play about Saddam is a comedy. It looks at the Iraq war and asks these questions but in a scatological, knockabout way.’ Horowitz admits that while Stormbreaker got some of the reviews were good, the film was not the great box-office hit everyone thought it would be.

It is estimated to have made back only half its $40 million budget He has long refused to write more Alex Rider novels, but reveals the teenager will return to solve the greatest mystery of that war. ‘I’m going to write a new novella – my Octopussy. A five-chapter story set in Iraq. Nobody knows that, so you’ve got a scoop. It has Alex penetrating the mountains in northern Iraq to discover the weapons of mass destruction.’ There are some, then? ‘Not after Alex finishes with them. That’s why Tony Blair never found them!’ He blames the war for the troubled times we live in now. ‘I worry every time my children get on a bus or a Tube.’ They are grown men of 22 and 24. They are also braver than him. ‘I don’t like scary stuff. My sons are much more 007 than I am. Nicholas is a hugely physical person who does triathlons and anything that is dangerous or involves heights and such. Cass, my younger son, is a political journalist. 'How like James Bond am I? Sadly not much at all.’ How close is he to the real version of the world that Bond inhabits?

‘I’ve had contact with spies and the world of intelligence and quite honestly I am not really allowed to mention it. I have had invitations and met people, but they ask me not to use such things in publicity.’ If he was a secret killing machine, would he say so? ‘No.’ Thought not. He does have a great back story for a spy, though. His father almost certainly mixed with them as a secret fixer for Harold Wilson. Then, at 17, Horowitz found himself in a scene that could have come from the movies. ‘I have a vivid memory of carrying £150,000 in bearer bonds in a rucksack on my back – that is like a million pounds now – and having to deliver it for my father to a man in an office in London.’ The family was plunged into bankruptcy when his father died. ‘He went to the bank in Switzerland, put all his money in a suitcase, walked to another bank and put it there. Then died, without saying which bank it was or the name of the account.’ His mother found a leather notebook with a list of codenames. ‘She knew that within this book the money could be found.

Meanwhile the banks are chasing her for debts of a million pounds. 'She is wiped out. The house, the cars, the jewellery, the mink coats, everything has got to go. ‘She can’t persuade the banks that she doesn’t know where the money is, so she is travelling to Switzerland to try to find it using the notebook but she never does.’ What does he think happened? ‘My belief is that one of his crooked associates went to the bank and took it. He was working with high-class, white-collar criminals. We lost everything. 'My father had this quest for money and it ended in a cruel way. The lesson I take is that the pursuit of money is a waste of time.’ Only very rich people say that. ‘All I can say is that writing for me is the means and the end. I don’t care how much money the books make.’ I tell him that I don’t quite believe him. ‘Obviously I like having money. It’s nice to be able to fly to other countries and buy things like fountain pens.’ Does he keep a secret bomb in his Mont Blanc? Maybe. But Horowitz looks too much like a spy to be one, unless it’s a double bluff.

I think it’s true he’s a scaredy-cat, but anyone who loves Bond should be grateful he has found his mission in life, because Trigger Mortis is terrific. ‘If ever there was a book I was born to write, it is this one.’ Thank M he didn’t turn it down. ‘Trigger Mortis’ by Anthony Horowitz is published on Sept 8 by Orion, priced £18.99. Offer price £15.19 (20 per cent discount) until September 13 2015. Order at mailbookshop.co.uk , p&p is free on orders over £12. Event’s exclusive extract from new Bond thriller Trigger Mortis He came to a clearing and Bond knew that, even with all the extraordinary things that he had experienced in his line of work, he would never forget the sight, bathed in moonlight, that presented itself to him now. The Devil’s Own consisted of seven huge stones, broken fingers worn away by time and the elements. The ground on which they stood, forming an irregular circle, was flat with patches of wild grass and the surrounding trees seemed to lean in – as if they were complicit with what was going on.

Pussy Galore was standing, stark naked, the moon accentuating her shoulders, her outstretched arms, the curves of her breasts. Ropes led away from her wrists, disappearing behind two of the stones. She was swearing, her body writhing, but the men were ignoring her as they continued with their work. They were killing her. With gold paint. Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger Bond watched them in disbelief. Each of the men had a paintbrush and a tin of paint, which they were slapping onto her body so that it covered every inch of her flesh. Her arms and stomach were already coated. There was gold paint in her hair and it was trickling down the insides of her legs. Pussy rasped something particularly filthy and one of the men slapped paint across her face, half-covering her nose and lips. She choked and fell silent. The other man said something and they both laughed. Bond knew exactly what was happening. He remembered what had been done to Jill Masterson, the girl who had helped him when he had first met Auric Goldfinger at a hotel in Miami.

As revenge, Goldfinger had had her painted gold, clogging up the pores of her skin and causing her to die of suffocation. Bond was grateful he hadn’t seen the obscenity for himself. He had been told about it later, by Tilly Masterton, Jill’s sister. So the two men in the grey Austin must be in some way connected to Goldfinger. Someone, somewhere, blamed Pussy Galore for her part in his downfall and the failure of Operation Grand Slam and they had come for revenge. This was a hideous death in a public place that even had a suitably lurid name (the two men had surely chosen it deliberately) and would make the front pages of every newspaper in the world. And the message would be clear, the link to Goldfinger obvious. She was the betrayer. This was the price. If Bond had not followed her from the hotel she would have been dead before morning. As it was, he had very little time. Her body was almost entirely covered with gold. He wouldn’t be able to clean it off himself and the nearest hospital must be at least an hour away. He had to act now. The two men had their backs to him.

They had no idea he was there, about 50ft away at the edge of the clearing. Bond had two cartons with him, which he had taken from Logan’s shopping: Fry’s cocoa and Cerebos salt. Had two such innocent items ever been put to more deadly use? He had emptied the contents and then filled the containers with petrol from a spare jerrycan that Logan kept in the boot. He’d also made two fuses out of strips of torn newspaper. There was every chance that they would blow up in his hand but it was too late to worry about that. Bond waited for the right moment. Now. The two men had stepped back as if to admire their handiwork. Pussy Galore was slumped between them, glistening gold, her head hanging down, the muscles in her arms straining to support her body weight. Bond took out his lighter, lit the fuses and threw his two makeshift bombs. One fell short. The other hit the ground right next to the nearest of the two men and exploded, the flames leaping up, instantly devouring his legs and stomach. The man screamed.

His companion had been splashed by some of the burning petrol – not enough to put him out of action but as Bond raced forward, covering the short distance between them, at least his attention had been well and truly diverted. He turned as Bond approached but too late. The heel of Bond’s palm, lent extra force by his own momentum,slammed into the underside of the man’s chin, rocketing his head back and almost certainly breaking his neck. Bond was already turning his attention to his partner, who had seen what was happening and was caught between a set of contradictions that might almost have been comical: trying to scrabble for his gun with hands that were also fighting the flames. Bond didn’t want to burn his own fists so used a judo move, twisting round and lashing out with the flat of his right foot. The man went down but even before he hit the ground the fire had half done Bond’s work for him. He was dying or dead, a crumpled figure with the flames licking his back. Bond ran over to Pussy Galore and released her. She fell against him and he felt the gold paint sticking against his clothes.

He was sickened by what she had just been through and wished that he had listened more carefully when she had described the two men following her in London. CIA indeed! She didn’t speak as he laid her gently on the ground and took off his jacket to cover her lower body. Using his bare hands he rubbed off as much paint as he could, exposing the flesh and, hopefully, allowing it to breathe. ‘What have they done to her?’ Logan Fairfax was suddenly there beside him, and Bond glanced up at her angrily. ‘I thought I told you to wait in the car.’ ‘That’s right, James. And I decided to ignore you. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on here? Who is she?’ ‘A friend.’ The two words sounded feeble, the stale admission of a suburban husband found cheating by his wife. While he had been trying to seduce Logan over roast lamb and a classic Bordeaux, Pussy Galore had been walking into this. ‘We have to get her into hospital,’ he went on. ‘I can carry her to your car.’ ‘Do it quickly.

We’ll take her to Marlborough.’ ‘James?’ It was the first word Pussy had spoken since he had reached her and it seemed to Bond that she spoke it with hostility. She couldn’t open her eyes. The paint had sealed the lids shut. ‘Don’t talk,’ he said to her. ‘We’re going to get you some help.’ The flames were still flickering on the grass and around the dead bodies as Bond carried her back to the car.

Jeffery Deaver: Quotes, Life and Career, Bibliography, and a List of Books by Author Jeffery Deaver Quotes more ï¿½ ï¿½ less "But one does not make living writing poetry unless you're a professor, and one frankly doesn't get a lot of girls as a poet.""Certainly going back to Sherlock Holmes we have a tradition of forensic science featured in detective stories.""For me a thriller is a very carefully structured story.""Generally my typical books have lots of twists and turns a big surprise ending and then usually another surprise at the end and ideally, as in Garden of Beasts, we get to the very end and we find at the last few pages that there's yet another surprise.""Hardcover books are fairly expensive these days and to read one requires a significant commitment of time in our busy society. So I want to make sure that when readers buy one of my books they get something they're familiar with.""I also try very hard to create characters - both heroes and villains - with psychological depth.""I like the way words go together and I like the gamesmanship of writing poetry.

It is such a challenge.""I liked the challenge of writing in a very concise structure in which both meaning and form are important.""I spend about eight months researching and outlining my book.""I spend eight months outlining and researching the novel before I begin to write a single word of the prose.""I was editor of my high school literary magazine and a reporter for the school newspaper.""I write pretty much anywhere - on planes, in hotel rooms, anywhere in my house.""I've always written, all my life, and when I was very young I developed an interest in poetry.""I've often said that there's no such thing as writer's block; the problem is idea block.""Ideally, I like to integrate the human issues into the suspense story itself.""If you have a craftsman's command of the language and basic writing techniques you'll be able to write - as long as you know what you want to say.""In other words, the people who populate my books are more than caricatures.""In suspense novels even subplots about relationships have to have conflict.""It means working harder to do the research but I don't really mind - I don't think I have what it takes to chase criminals through back alleys and wade through blood at crime scenes.""My books

 are primarily plot driven but the best plot in the world is useless if you don't populate them with characters that readers can care about.""Of course, all writers draw upon their personal experiences in describing day-to-day life and human relationships, but I tend to keep my own experiences largely separate from my stories.""Of course, I write crime stories, and I have to describe violence and the aftermath of violence.""Readers are paramount.

I live to write books for them.""So I work hard to present the human side of my characters while not neglecting the plot.""The best way to learn about writing is to study the work of other writers you admire.""The easy answer is that writing novels is a lot more fun than practicing law.""The outline is 95 percent of the book. Then I sit down and write, and that's the easy part.""The recent fascination, I think, reflects the shift in approach by law enforcement officials to embrace technology as wholeheartedly as the rest of the world.""To answer that I have to describe what I think is my responsibility as a thriller writer: To give my readers the most exciting roller coaster ride of a suspense story I can possibly think of.""Trying to write books with a subject matter or in a genre or style you're not familiar with is the best way to find the Big Block looming.""When it comes time to write the book itself I'll shut the lights out, picture the scene I'm about to write then close my eyes and go at it.

Yes, I can touch type.""When you work alone, you need to socialize at some level.""You think publishing is tough but the music world is ten times tougher." Life and Career more ï¿½ ï¿½ less Deaver was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Many of his books tend to promote lateral thinking, particularly his short story collection Twisted. One of his books, The Blue Nowhere, features criminal hackers (one using social engineering to commit murder), as well as a law enforcement computer crime unit. His most popular series features his regular character Lincoln Rhyme, a quadriplegic detective, and Amelia Sachs. According to a 2006 interview on The Early Show, Deaver stated that he would rotate between his new series and Lincoln Rhyme each year. Virtually all of his works feature a trick ending, or sometimes multiple trick endings. Deaver edited The Best American Mystery Stories 2009. Two of Deaver's novels have been produced into films: The Bone Collector (1999), and A Maiden's Grave as the TV film Dead Silence (1997).

Deaver also created the characters and - in a collaboration with 14 other noted writers - wrote the 17-part serial thriller The Chopin Manuscript narrated by Alfred Molina that was broadcast on Audible.com from September 25th to November 13, 2007. Deaver will write the next James Bond novel. The novel, known as Project X until the title is announced, is set in the present era and will be published on 28 May 2011. He will be the second American author to write Bond novels, after Raymond Benson.

Always a Thief as Jeffery Wilds Deaver (out of print) Voodoo as Jeffery Wilds Deaver (out of print) Mistress of Justice (1992) The Lesson of Her Death (1993) Praying For Sleep (1994) Manhattan Is My Beat (1988) Death of a Blue Movie Star (1990) Hard News (1991) The Bodies Left Behind (2008) James Bond A Confederacy of Crime (2001) Twisted (2003) New James Bond and Sherlock Holmes novels to be published this year | Daily Mail Online comments One author has been dead for 80 years and the other passed away almost half a century ago but two of the most famous fictional creations in the English language are to be resurrected for fresh adventures. Sherlock Holmes will return in the first authorised novel since the death of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1930 and U.S. thriller writer Jeffrey Deaver is to write a James Bond story 46 years after the death of 007 creator Ian Fleming.

Anthony Horowitz, the author of a series of stories about teenage spy Alex Rider, has been chosen to write the Holmes novel. Both Holmes and Bond have proved to have enduring appeal: Benedict Cumberbatch (left) starred as Sherlock Holmes with Martin Freeman as Dr Watson in the recent BBC tale of the detective. While Daniel Craig, right, is the latest incarnation of 007 The Conan Doyle Estate, which represents the family of the detective's creator, chose Horowitz to write the novel which will be published in September. The writer said: 'I fell in love with the Sherlock Holmes stories when I was 16 and I've read them many times since. I simply couldn't resist this opportunity to write a brand new adventure for this iconic figure and my aim is to produce a first-rate mystery for a modern audience while remaining absolutely true to the spirit of the original.' It is not the first time that Sherlock Holmes has been 'resurrected'. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories about the eccentric master detective.

His attempt to kill Holmes off in The Final Problem in 1893 was so unpopular with readers that he was forced to explain away his apparent death so he could write more stories about the detective, who returned in 1903 in The Empty House. The adventures continued in short story form until 1927. First choice: Anthony Horowitz (left) has been chosen by the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (right) to pen the new novel. Sir Arthur wrote four novels and 56 short stories about the master detective The detective returns: Sherlock Holmes was played by Robert Downey Jr, left, and Dr Watson was played by Jude Law, right, in a hit Guy Ritchie film last year Deaver is following in the footsteps of authors Sebastian Faulks and John Gardner in penning modern Bond titles. The title of the tale is Carte Blanche and will be based in the turmoil of the Middle East. It will go on sale in Britain in May 26.

The new James Bond novel by Jeffrey Deaver will be released in the UK in May and is based in the Middle East He said: 'In the world of espionage, giving an agent carte blanche on a mission comes with an enormous amount of trust and constantly tests both personal and professional judgment. 'Part of the non-stop suspense in the novel is the looming question of what is acceptable in matters of national and international security. Are there lines that even James Bond should not cross?' Writers including Kingsley Amis, Sebastian Faulks and Charlie Higson have all written new James Bond books since the death of creator Ian Fleming. New Bond author Jeffrey Deaver is best known for his novel The Bone Collector which was turned into a hit film in 1999. The fascination with Sherlock Holmes has continued unabated in film and TV. Guy Ritchie directed the film Sherlock Holmes two years ago which featured Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. Last year Benedict Cumberbatch starred in the BBC drama of the Baker Street-based detective. Mr Horowitz is expected to set his book in the 19th century just as the originals were.

Robert Kirby, of United Agents, said that Mr Horowitz was the only person that Conan Doyle's relatives wanted to write the new book. 'When I discussed with the surviving relatives of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who we felt Sir Arthur would choose to write an authorised new Sherlock Holmes novel we came up with a shortlist of only one name, Anthony Horowitz,' he said. 'We're thrilled Anthony has agreed and look forward to this must-read global publishing event,' he said. Publishers Orion said the new title, aimed at adult readers, will be 'a brilliant mystery novel, stripped back to the original style of Conan Doyle.' Multiple incarnations: James Bond, played here by Sean Connery in 1964, has been played by six different actors

Question: `Carte Blanche' is a 2011 James Bond novel by which writer usually associated with the crime genre?
Answer: JEFFERY DEAVER