A Small Tribute to Peter Janson-Smith, Mentor and Friend

My little tribute to Peter Janson-Smith, a mentor and friend, is up at Cinema Retro. He was Ian Fleming's literary agent and the man who hired me to write continuation James Bond novels. You can read about him here. 

From a View to a Museum

NOTE:  The following article appears in Volume 29:3 of the MYSTERY READERS JOURNAL, edited by Janet Rudolph. Janet has kindly allowed me to re-print the article here. For more info on Mystery Readers Journal and how to subscribe, see Mystery Readers-- RB)

Most readers probably know me as the third continuation author of the James Bond novels.  I was the first American to be commissioned by the Ian Fleming Estate and the publishing arm, Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., to write new adventures, which I did between 1996 and 2002.  During those seven years, I traveled the world.  Since Bond novels are known not only for a bit of action/adventure, they also contain some “travelogue” aspects.  It was essential that I walk in 007’s footsteps, so to speak, and visit the  places I was writing about. 

In the spring of 2001, my friend and guide, James McMahon, and I flew to Japan in order for me to research my sixth and final Bond novel, The Man With the Red Tattoo.  James could speak the language and knew his way around, so his presence was vital.  We spent a lot of time in Tokyo, but also traveled to more remote parts of the country, including the cities of Kamakura, Hakone, and Aomori, as well as to the northern island of Hokkaido and its cities of Sapporo, Noboribetsu and Shiraoi. 

But the most significant place we visited was the island of Naoshima, located in the Inland Sea in Kagawa Prefecture (a prefecture is the equivalent of a state in America). 

It was James who had called my attention to the place.  It’s a rather sleepy little island and would otherwise not be on anyone’s radar except that it hosts one of the country’s most spectacular art museums.  When I first viewed pictures of Benesse House—a combination art museum and hotel—I knew I had to use it as a setting in my novel.  Its designer was the great Tadao Ando, perhaps Japan’s leading architect, and it looked as if it belonged in a James Bond film.  The building, with its unusual angles and curves, reminded me of the work of Ken Adam, the designer who had brought a similar, singular look to the early 007 pictures.  Benesse House  is also full of wonderful artwork by contemporary artists from all over the world. 

To get there, James and I took the bullet train from Tokyo to Okayama (four hours) on the southwest portion of the main island of Honshu, passing Mount Fuji on the way.  We changed to a smaller train to Uno, and then walked to the ferry port.  A press interview I had done a couple days earlier in Tokyo had hit the newspapers, and I had said I would be going to Naoshima Island over the weekend.  Well, my picture was in the paper along with the story.  When we arrived at the ferry station, the ticket lady was expecting us and had the newspaper open to the page with my photograph.  She was excited and asked for my autograph.  As we waited for the ferry, several other people ran up to me and asked for an autograph.  (One person even wanted James’ autograph!)

Eventually we boarded the ferry and it took us to Naoshima, about a twenty-minute ride from the Uno port.  When we got to the island, a crowd of about fifty people stood on the dock, waiting for me!  I had to sign autographs, pose for pictures… it was unbelievable.  I had never received that kind of attention.  Two young female guides from Benesse House, Kayo and Yukiko, were there to meet us and take us by car to our lodgings.  Benesse Corporation had purchased a portion of the island and renamed that section Benesse Island.  The president and CEO of Benesse Corporation, Soichiro Fukutake, has a kind of Richard Branson-style mystique in Japan.  He is very wealthy, owns several islands, yachts, and art museums.  He is also President of Berlitz Corporation. 

When we arrived in Naoshima Cultural Village, we were met by reps from their city government, including the mayor, and were treated to a traditional Tsutsuji Daiko drum performance by local elementary and junior high school students, performed in my honor.  After that bit of flattering pomp and circumstance, we were rushed to Benesse House.  Our rooms were in the “Annex,” which was another Bond-like building up the hill from the main museum, accessible by cable car.  My room was the largest, with a huge glass wall overlooking the sea.  With a push of a button, the entire wall descended into the floor, opening up onto the terrace!  Simply amazing, and very Bondian. 

Koya and Yukiko gave us a tour of the island, showing us several ongoing art projects in Naoshima Cultural Village.  We saw the City Hall and other sites, but the main attraction, naturally, was Benesse House.  That night, we had a special kaiseki dinner thrown by Mr. Fukutake himself.  He couldn’t have been friendlier.  We even met Tadao Ando, who was on the island appearing in a documentary being filmed at the time, Mrs. Fukutake, and other reps from the museum.  Ando-san presented me with an autographed catalogue of his works.  We had something in common in that he also knew I. M. Pei, the architect for whom I worked in the late 1980s in Manhattan. 

We spent the next morning exploring Benesse House as I planned the logistics of my story.  A climactic scene would take place inside the main art gallery and I had to make sure that what I wanted to do was feasible.  A fictional G-7 summit meeting was to take place there, and the bad guys unleash a swarm of deadly genetically-engineered mosquitoes in the room.  Typical 007 stuff.  Of course, the building worked like a charm for my purposes. 

The book was published in 2002, completing my contract with the Fleming company.  My tenure as the Bond author had ended, but that wasn’t the finish of my involvement with Naoshima and Kagawa Prefecture.

In 2004, the prefectural government contacted me and the Fleming company with a request for permission to erect on the island a museum dedicated to my novel.  The necessary legal hoops were leaped through, and in 2005, “The 007 Man With the Red Tattoo Museum” officially opened on Naoshima Island.  The organizers had commissioned art students to create paintings and sculptures that illustrated the story of the novel.  These were displayed so that visitors would get a sense of the tale as they walked through.  The museum also included Bond memorabilia from the films and novels, and a glass case containing ephemera about me and my work.  I had donated my research materials to the museum. 

On top of that, the prefectural government appointed me an official Ambassador of Kagawa Prefecture, and I remain in the position to this day.

In short, this was the biggest perk and honor I received when I was the Bond author.  Nothing else has come close.  After all, I suppose there aren’t many writers who can claim to have a permanent museum dedicated to their work! 

I’m still pinching myself.

                                                            #

Some interesting links about the museum, Naoshima, and Kagawa Prefecture—

·         An information page on The 007 Man With the Red Tattoo Museum:  Click Here

 

·         The official Benesse House website:  Click Here 

·         Another page about the museum:  Click Here

·         The official museum site (in Japanese):  Click Here

 

·         A Time Magazine article about Naoshima, mentioning the museum: Click Here

 

·         And, finally, the official Kagawa Prefecture site: Click Here

 

What I Learned About Writing By Writing, Part 5

This epic blog is all about those doors that open and whether or not you choose to go through them or not.

In late 1995, the biggest door I've encountered in my career opened for me. It was totally unexpected. I didn't ask for it. I never dreamed it was possible. It wasn't even a fantasy because it was such an improbability.

I was asked by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. if I was interested in taking over from John Gardner to write official James Bond novels.

The invitation came out of the blue. I was still working as a computer game designer/writer when I received a phone call from Peter Janson-Smith, the Chairman of IFPL--at that time it was called Ian Fleming (Glidrose) Publications Ltd. He said John wanted to retire from the gig after 15 years, and he asked me if I wanted "to give it a shot." As mentioned in an earlier part of this blog, Peter and I had gotten to know each other when I wrote The James Bond Bedside Companion, published in 1984. We had stayed in touch, become friends, and I had performed little oddjobs (no pun intended) for the company over the next decade. Although I had not had a novel published, Peter and the Fleming Estate people must have been confident that I knew Bond's universe well enough to tackle the job.

The shoes to fill were huge. Ian Fleming? Kingsley Amis? John Gardner? Were they kidding? Me? An American with no previous novel published? Yes, I knew how to write fiction. I had spent the last decade penning fiction, just not in the format of a novel. I could easily have said, "No, I'm not up to that task, find someone else," but come on, how could I say that? I had to "give it a shot." I would have always wondered "what if?" if I hadn't.

There was an audition of sorts. I had to write an outline of a plot on spec, which would have to be approved by not only IFPL but also the British publisher and the American publisher. This is where I learned that the outline is the most important piece of writing a novel. Of course, there are plenty of authors who don't outline, and that works for them. There are also plenty that do. It works for me, and since Peter insisted on an outline, it trained me to do one for every bit of fiction I've written since.

My outlines are really prose treatments. They're broken down into block paragraphs, and each paragraph represents a chapter. In each block paragraph I detail what happens plot-wise. There's no dialogue or setting description. Just plot. "X goes to <location> and finds <plot device>. He is discovered by Y. Big fight. X wins but is badly injured. He escapes with his life and the secret <plot device>." That kind of thing. It goes on for about 15-20 pages, single-spaced. I spend a long time on the outline, maybe a month or two, because this is where I work out all the twists and turns, the red herrings, the act structure, the climax, and the ending. It becomes the blueprint of the novel. It doesn't mean I'm married to it. If, when writing the actual book, I get another idea--I simply change the outline!

After the outline was approved, I had to write the first four chapters on spec. Same approval process. When all was said and done, I got the contract to write the next James Bond novel. By then it was Spring 1996. I remained in my day job as a game designer for another year while I wrote the book. But I took some time off to travel to the locations and do research. I traveled to all my Bond locations--it was an essential part of the process.

My first published novel was a James Bond novel. I'm still pinching myself. Zero Minus Ten was published in April 1997. Then I quit my job and became a full-time author and haven't looked back. What followed was six more years of "Bondage." Part of my duties as the Bond author was to novelize the current films (because they were original screenplays). In total, I wrote six original novels, three movie novelizations, and three short stories. I traveled around the world and met dozens of very cool people. I was thrust into a spotlight. This was also at the time when the Internet was just becoming The Next Big Thing, and fans of all big franchises (Star Wars, Buffy, Star Trek, Batman, whatever) suddenly had a vehicle through which to gather, criticize, discuss, criticize, fawn over, criticize, and deconstruct their favorite things. And they could do it anonymously if they wanted. I quickly found that I had millions of fans who loved me and just as many who hated me. I received love letters and death threats. It was truly a bizarre, sometimes unnerving experience. Those seven years became a roller-coaster.

But I survived it and am very proud of the work I did for Bond.

WHAT I LEARNED: The outline is king. It's the most valuable tool a writer can have if it's done correctly. I also utilized new kinds of time management (there's that theatre training again) and discipline. When I wrote my first novel back in the 80s, I discovered that just completing the darned thing was an achievement. With Bond, I had to not only finish the books, but I had to do them fairly quickly. For the movie novelizations, I usually had around six weeks from start to finish! The original novels had a much more relaxed schedule, but there were milestones that had to be met within a year. The outlining, traveling, research, writing, and revising all had to be done in twelve months. Finally, I learned to grow very thick skin. Like with all big franchises, Bond fans are very opinionated. Most are lovely people. Others... well, we won't go there. At any rate, the Internet, with its message boards and fan sites, allowed readers to praise and criticize authors in ways that were unprecedented. And that was the biggest lesson of those seven years.

To be continued...

What I Learned About Writing By Writing, Part 1

My apologies for not posting anything recently.  I've been busy with the promotion of The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes and getting work started on the fifth and final book in the series. 

I was recently the headliner author at the "Midwest Mystery Showcase" in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and was given the topic, "What I Learned About Writing By Writing," for the keynote speech (more or less) to the group.  This is what I said, and I've broken it up into parts to last through a few blog entries.

Part One

When someone asks me what they need to do to be a writer, I usually say, "Read a lot.  And then just write."

Much of anyone's career will depend on luck.  Opportunities will come your way in the form of doors that appear in front of you.  Mostly they are unexpected.  You can choose to keep going on the path you were on, or you can decide to open the door and see what's on the other side.  I've tended to check out the door.  For example, I've managed to finagle my way onto a few editors' short lists of tie-in writers, so I've had bread-and-butter work writing novelizations and such.  That was luck.  My entire career has been a series of doors I never expected to walk through.

You see, I never set out to be a writer.  I was a theatre major in college; my focus was directing.  I also had muscial talent and enjoyed composing music for theatre and playing piano.  I believe that a degree in theatre actually prepares you for many life lessons.  Theatre teaches you how to communicate, how to analyze stories and characters, how to develop a sense of rhythm and tempo in storytelling, and how dramatic structure works.  If you're a director, theatre teaches you project management: how to manage your time, lead a team, work with people, and complete a major project within a deadline.  After I received my Bachelor's in Directing, I moved to New York City and spent nearly a decade directing and composing in the off- and off-off and way-off-Broadway scene.  This was the late 70s, early 80s. 

My entry into writing was unorthodox.  I had a day job and was spending my evenings and weekends doing theatre.  I got the idea to write an encylopedic tome on the history of James Bond--something that at the time didn't exist.  Okay, I was a big fan, and I wanted to do it as a labor of love.  A friend introduced me to an editor he knew at a publishing house in New York, and she told me I needed to write a proposal for the book.  I did that and, much to my surprise, I got the contract to write the book!  No agent.  No previous publishing experience.  I did obtain an agent after I'd received the contract for the Companion, but she retired from the business soon after its publication

At any rate, a door opened, and it took my career on a sharp left turn. 

The James Bond Bedside Companion was published in 1984.  It took three years of my life.  I traveled to England and met members of Ian Fleming's family, several of his colleagues, and the people who ran his literary estate.   I had to obtain permissions for all kinds of photos, documents, and quotations.  I spent money far and away above the advance I'd received.  Halfway through the writing, the first publisher went out of business and sold their properties to another one--a process that took an agonizing year.  It was a hair-pulling, sometimes very frustrating, experience--but ultimately a very gratifying one.

WHAT I LEARNED:  Be patient.  There will be setbacks in publishing.  Also don't be afraid of taking advantage of contacts.  Network.  Be organized.  Know what you want and go after it with conviction.  Stay the course and don't get discouraged.  If I had given up at any time during those three years, my life would indeed be very different today.

Continued in Part Two