The Black Stiletto (34 page)
Oh, Lord, the music in the gym downstairs just changed to that silly Chipmunks Christmas song. I laugh every time I hear it. It’s getting close to midnight, so I better run, dear diary. I have to go get my glass of champagne and stand close to Freddie when he makes his perennial toast to me.
“To Judy,” he always says, “the daughter I never had.”
And I’ll cry a little bit, hug him, and sing “Auld Lang Syne” along with the rest of the crowd.
Happy New Year!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Between 1996 and 2002, Raymond Benson was commissioned by the James Bond literary copyright holders to take over writing the 007 novels. In total he penned and published worldwide six original 007 novels, three film novelizations, and three short stories. An anthology of his 007 work,
The Union Trilogy
, was published in the fall of 2008, and a second anthology,
Choice of Weapons
, appeared summer 2010. His book
The James Bond Bedside Companion
, an encyclopedic work on the 007 phenomenon, was first published in 1984 and was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award by Mystery Writers of America for Best Biographical/Critical Work. Using the pseudonym David Michaels, Raymond is also the author of the
New York Times
best-selling books
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
and its sequel
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda
. Raymond’s original suspense novels include
Evil Hours, Face Blind
, and
Sweetie’s Diamonds
(the latter won the Readers’ Choice Award for Best Thriller of 2006 at the Love is Murder Conference for Authors, Readers, and Publishers).
A Hard Day’s Death
, the first in a series of rock ‘n’ roll thrillers, was published in 2008, and its sequel, Shamus Award nominated
Dark Side of the Morgue
, was published in 2009. Other recent works include the 2008 and 2009 novelizations of the popular videogame,
Metal Gear Solid
and its sequel,
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
, and
Homefront: The Voice of Freedom
, cowritten with John Milius.
Raymond has taught courses in film genres and history at New York’s New School for Social Research, Harper College in
Palatine, Illinois, College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and currently presents Film Studies lectures with
Daily Herald
movie critic Dann Gire. Raymond has been honored in Naoshima, Japan, with the erection of a permanent museum dedicated to one of his novels, and he is also an Ambassador for Japan’s Kagawa Prefecture. Raymond is an active member of International Thriller Writers Inc., Mystery Writers of America, the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, a full member of ASCAP, and serves on the board of directors of The Ian Fleming Foundation. He is based in the Chicago area.
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