HMSS: What's the single most important thing to keep in mind when writing a James Bond novel? BENSON: There's so many things to keep in mind. Of course, I try not to be self-conscious when writing, either. Besides trying to write well, which is difficult and I'll admit it, just coming up with a plot that I think is interesting, and that other people will think is interesting. Something that's not trite. HMSS: Is that what lead "Zero Minus Ten" being set in Hong Kong? BENSON: That was a no-brainer. I was looking for issues that England would be involved in in 1997. The Hong Kong situation just stuck out. As you might guess, there are other novels regarding the Hong Kong situation scheduled to be released this year. Mine will be the first. I really look for places and topics that are current and involve England. The second novel, which I'm currently writing, is set in Cyprus. It was a British colony, and they (the British) still have bases there. It's also a "hot spot." HMSS: Any concerns about ZMT being "dated," say, ten years from now? BENSON: No...when you read some of Ian Fleming's novels, it could be said they're dated, but they're still very readable. HMSS: Glidrose Productions approached you to take on the literary series. Why do you believe you were chosen? BENSON: Peter Janson-Smith has answered that question by saying that I have a vast knowledge of the character in the previous books, such that he even relies on me to confirm factual issues. I think that at this point, he and Glidrose were concerned that they get someone who knew the Bond world well, rather than someone who maybe was a famous writer.

Someone who maybe was not a fan and would have to go back and read all the books was not necessarily a good choice. HMSS: Question specific to ZMT: Guy Thackeray is a cool villain, properly psychopathic. Yet he's also somewhat sympathetic. We cannot recall another Bond villain portrayed in quite this way. Was it done on purpose to make him more "human?" BENSON: Well, I don't think I wrote it quite that way. What he's trying to do is certainly not sympathetic. Now that you mention it, though, I can see there are some issues regarding his family and upbringing that could be viewed as sympathetic. HMSS: Whom do you prefer, Claudine Auger or Barbara Bach? BENSON: Claudine Auger. HMSS: ZMT reads much like a James Bond screen treatment, complete with a pre-titles sequence, a psychopathic megomaniacal villain, a "sacrificial lamb," and three easily visualized henchmen. We found this to be an effective device to re-introduce the literary character to those readers who've fallen out of the habit of reading Bond stories. Will this continue in later novels? BENSON: Yes. I can't help but blend some of the film style onto the literary style, because it's so ingrained now. It was instinctive. I think John Gardner used the same device. HMSS: ZMT is a return to many of the "Fleming Elements" which had been changed or ignored under their former caretaker; Major Boothroyd, the Walther PPK, etc. What was the driving force behind this decision? BENSON: I basically wanted to bring back the "Fleming