Welcome friend! Have you read the James Bond books? Did you know that multiple authors have worked to keep the stories going? Raymond Benson is one of those authors. He is most well-known as the third—and first American—author of continuation James Bond novels, of which he wrote six original 007 novels and three film novelizations. Raymond’s other recent acclaimed novels of suspense are Blues in the Dark, In the Hush of the Night, The Secret on Chicory Lane, and the critically praised five-book serial, The Black Stiletto. We connected due to the release of his new mystery thriller, The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way, and once I learned of the connection to 007, I had to bring you this interview. Let’s get started.
Hi Raymond! Welcome to Armed with A Book. It is an honor to host you on the blog! Can you please tell me and my readers about yourself?
Thank you for having me here! I’m Raymond Benson and I write books. I grew up in West Texas, attended college in Austin (studied theatre), and then lived in New York City for many years working in the theatre scene… and then I started writing. After my first book was published in 1984, my writing then took a left turn and I landed on the ground floor of the computer gaming industry, then in its infancy. For the next ten years or so I wrote and designed story-based adventure games that honed my skills for fiction. In 1997, though, I became a full-time novelist and haven’t looked back. Oh, and I’m also a concert level pianist with a YouTube channel, and a film historian who has taught college level film courses and speaks at regular public events on movie history. 😊
You are the author of over 40 books! How did you get started in writing?
It wasn’t something I had planned. I was a theatre major in college (emphasis on directing) and I had planned to be a stage director and also a music composer for theatre. I did do a lot of both in New York in the 70s and 80s, but the writing happened because it was something of a dare. Some friends and I were sitting around a table and the question came up: “What book would you write if you had to write one?” My answer was: “A coffee table encyclopedic work on James Bond.” My friends, who were aware that I knew a lot about 007, said I should do it. The more I thought about it, the more it became a labor of love. I proposed it to an editor to whom I’d been introduced by a mutual friend, and I got a contract overnight. It took me three years to do the book, but The James Bond Bedside Companion was finally published in 1984 and it opened new doors for me and my career.
What kind of books do you enjoy reading? Is there a particular book that shaped you as a writer?
I tend to read thrillers and mysteries because that’s what I write. I’ve always enjoyed them. I look back at Ian Fleming’s original Bond novels as a huge inspiration. I was always a big fan of the late British mystery writer Ruth Rendell. Perhaps my suspense novels since Bond are more akin to the kind of stand-alone books she did. I also enjoy biographies and histories about film and music.
You are one of the authors who continued the James Bond series. How did that come about? I am curious about how you were selected!
Because I had written The James Bond Bedside Companion, which was a history of the Bond phenomenon, a biography of Ian Fleming, and analyses and critiques of all the existing novels and films, I got noticed as something of a “Bond expert.” During the writing of that book, I got to know the people who ran Fleming’s literary business, his family and friends, and so forth. After Fleming’s death in 1964, the estate would periodically hire writers to continue the books. John Gardner had been the author during the 1980s and early 90s, and when he announced his retirement from the gig, the Bond literary company surprisingly called me up out of the blue and asked if I’d be interested. I went through sort of an audition process in which I had to write an outline of a plot and the first four chapters, but I passed and got the contract.
Prior to continuing the James Bond series, what was your experience with James Bond? How close in style are they to your other novels?
As I mentioned, I wrote The James Bond Bedside Companion in the early 1980s. I had grown up with Bond, having seen in the 1960s the early films on the big screen and read all the books more than once. As mentioned above, my Bond books are very different from my other suspense novels, which are more domestic and deal with real life situations and everyday people. I believe my “voice” is quite different in my own titles, and it likely appeals to more women and readers who are not into the action-packed spy fiction I used to do.
Do you have a favorite James Bond book and movie? Please share why.
From Russia, With Love (1957) is my favorite novel by Ian Fleming because he really hit his stride with it (it was his fifth book). It has a terrific plot, great characters, a wonderfully exotic location, and was also a bit different in structure compared to the other books. That said, From Russia with Love (1963) is my favorite film in the series, too! Sean Connery is at his best, it’s got a great supporting cast, and it is one of the few titles in the series that has the tone and feel of Fleming’s books.
What was the hardest part of picking up a series that other authors had contributed to?
Likely convincing myself that I could do it!
In recent years, there have been books where the first author’s work has been completed by other authors. The Wheel of Time series comes to mind where Robert Jordan wrote the majority of the books and then Brandon Sanderson finished them. What advice would you give to an author building on another’s work?
It certainly helps to know all the books the previous author wrote. Secondly, one should have an understanding with the license holders of what the expectations are regarding faithfulness and writing style.
You have also done three movie novelizations of the James Bond novels. Can you tell me and my readers about the film novelization process? What kind of involvement did you have as the author with movie tours, promotions, press releases, etc?
I was given the current screenplay (and usually they were still shooting the film!) so I had to expect faxed pages of rewrites during the process. The trick is to lay out the story in prose, but then flesh it out to reach the required number of words for a book. The story as told in the script normally comes out to around 30,000 words too short! It’s important to have an understanding of the guidelines with the license holders, so you know if you’re allowed to make up stuff that isn’t in the original script.
Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself and your books?
I’m proud of my James Bond work, but my own fiction since then, as I mentioned, has been very different. My other novels are more personal and they tend to tackle social issues laced within a mystery or thriller plot. The Secrets on Chicory Lane dealt with mental illness and child abuse. In the Hush of the Night was about human trafficking. Blues in the Dark looked at racism and sexism. The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way is indeed a twisty journey through a murder mystery, but hopefully it’s also a potent commentary on trust, relationships, and the “Mystery of Life” that concerns us all.
You have a new novel! Please tell us about it.
Over the past twenty years, I moved away from spy fiction. My novels since are more Hitchcockian suspense, or domestic suspense, or “normal people in extraordinary situations” suspense. The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way takes place in May 2020, while everyone on the planet was in lockdown. Covid-19 is raging in the background, and the main characters live on a quiet suburban street where some bizarre events occur. It’s a dark comedy dealing with adultery, murder, and social distancing! In ways it is a homage to Thornton Wilder’s classic play, Our Town, but there is also a definite Coen Brothers vibe to it. I wrote the book during the summer of 2020, so my own personal experiences of living with the paranoia and uncertainty of that surreal time went straight into the story. I think most everyone will be identify with it.
Thank you so much for your time! 🙂
Do you have a favorite James Bond book/movie?
Tell us what you like about them in the comments.
Thank you so much for joining us! Connect with Raymond on his website, Twitter and Facebook. Check out The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way on Goodreads.
Check out Creator’s Roulette homepage for more conversations and guest posts about creative endeavours.
Cover image: Photo by Marcel Eberle on Unsplash
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