That Special Number
In which we keep encountering a certain code number, have news of a short break, plus all the usual features.
Gill pointed it out first. We had managed to find a parking slot in the garage at Austin airport, had unpacked our bags, and were about to head off towards the terminal when she pointed at the floor and said “Well that parking spot will be easy to remember,” and pointed at the floor behind the car. There it was painted on the concrete - the numbers, 0,0, and 7.
A couple of days after we returned from our trip Alan was in the office doing catch-up paperwork for our content consulting practice, which included invoicing one of our clients for last month’s work - and there it was, that number again.
This reminded us of a recent visit to another of our consulting clients who had made a special effort to ensure that Alan received visitor’s badge number ‘007’ when he checked in at reception. A nice touch.
These recent Double-O encounters, along with a post Alan recently saw online reiterating the myth that Fleming got the idea for Bond’s code number from a bus route, got us thinking about just how often those magical three numbers pop up in everyday life.
Maybe we as Bond fans are just more attuned to it, but it does seem to happen a lot.
Alan even has an article about the whole code number thing and Bond’s connections to the 007 designation in the upcoming issue of Bondesque magazine, which is now available for pre-order
To keep the Double-O theme going, you can read Alan’s thoughts on the latest Double-O novel from Kim Sherwood below.
Newsletter Update
The James Bond Lexicon crew will be on the move over the next several weeks as we leave Texas behind and head North to return to our original US home state - Maryland.
As we have started to pack up our worldly goods, including our library bookcases full of James Bond-related volumes, and will be busy settling into a new place, and a new lifestyle as we transition from a family home in the suburbs to downtown condo living, we will be putting the newsletter on hold for a couple of months.
But don’t worry - The James Bond Lexicon Newsletter Will Return
Alan & Gill
Bond Briefing
A massive thank you to all our subscribers to date. The reception and uptake of folks registering to receive this newsletter exceeded any expectations we had. It was a very humbling start seeing the names roll in as folks signed on.
Bond Chronology
An extract from our current in-progress project. - A detailed chronology of the James Bond phenomenon from creation until today, one month at a time.
May
Fleming finishes the final draft of LIve and Let Die and it is accepted by Cape for publication.
After three unsuccessful attempts with other publishers, Macmillan signed on as the American publisher of Casino Royale with a release set for the following year.
Bond Blatherings
The Rogue Agents crew from the On Her Majesty’s Secret Podcast network recently got together to discuss the BBC Radio adaptation of From Russian With Love.
You can give it a listen right HERE
Bond Books
Books Read in 2024 - “A Spy Like Me” by Kim Sherwood
In a recent edition of her newsletter, author Kim Sherwood talked about the realization that the second volume of her Double-O trilogy would, by its very nature, be a pipeline between the first and third volumes and how she adopted the pipeline framework not only as the structure for her story but as its subject too.
It was a clever concept that works well in driving the story forward, as does the choice to use the present tense to give every scene a sense of immediacy.
The result is a much more readable effort than the first volume; I think it is a reflection of both the reader’s familiarity and the increased confidence of the author with this version of the Bond-related world.
I still think there’s too much dipping into the Fleming pool for supporting characters, rather than standing fully on its own merits, but it’s less egregious than in the initial volume.
Of course, while wrapping up the major through-line plot there was also enough of a cliffhanger to make me want to pick up the final volume when it’s published.
Bond for Sale
Looking for a few James Bond book ideas? - How about checking out our dedicated 007 on-line bookstore?
Of course, there is always our own James Bond Lexicon which you can order from Bookshop.org just by clicking HERE or on the cover below.
If you would like a personalized, signed copy we still have a few copies of both the James Bond Lexicon and James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007 in stock. Just drop us a note at alan@jamesbondlexicon.com and we can get that fixed for you. (Sorry US only at the moment due to shipping costs)
Where to Find Us Online
For more information on what else we have going on with writing, podcasting, and general slice-of-life stuff, check out our regular FREE weekly CAN’T SEE THE FOREST newsletter -
We also have our monthly Before They Were Beatles newsletter featuring articles and news related to all things early Beatles
You can now find links to all the places you can find Alan online, websites, newsletters, social media, and more in a single LINKS page on his personal website.
As always, thanks for joining us this week. If you know someone else who might enjoy the contents of this newsletter please feel free to share by clicking the button below.
See you next time
Alan J. Porter & Gillian J. Porter
The James Bond Lexicon (TM) newsletter is a production of Megrin Entertainment, a division of 4Js Group LLC