I'll be doing a free Zoom talk from my old stomping ground, Hawk Mountain, on March 24.

I'll be talking about the real James Bond, of course, with a bit of new material -- including Bond's connection to Hawk Mountain.

You can learn more and register here:

https://www.hawkmountain.org/events/meet-the-real-james-bond

See you then!

The more I find out about Mary Wickham Bond -- writer and James Bond's wife and self-appointed publicist -- the more I admire her and her writings.

In researching my book,  Mary Bond's How 007 Got His Name, To James Bond With Love, and Far Afield in the Caribbean were indispensable (ditto David Contosta's The Private Life of James Bond.)

All four are part of my permanent Bond collection.

Since then I have added Mary Bond's two novels and a book of poetry, White Swallow.

This past summer I received the most exotic Mary Bond book of all -- a tiny French edition of How 007 Got His Name. Pretty cool cover, eh?

The back cover is the reproduced image of the inscription that Ian Fleming wrote in the copy of You Only Live Twice.

My dream is to someday own a French edition of The Real James Bond as well.

A fellow can dream, can't he?

(Although a French website did write about the real James Bond and my book -- not a bad consolation prize. You can read the article here, preferably if you speak French:)

https://theconversation.com/connaissez-vous-le-vrai-james-bond-169664