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Raymond Benson, James Bond and James M. Pickard
In 1997 Raymond Benson published Zero Minus Ten, much of which was set in Hong Kong.Knowing that James' past was steeped in both James Bond and Hong Kong,
Benson turned to James for some background colour.
In return Benson bestowed the ultimate honour - an appearance in a Bond book!
Page 167 sees James Bond arrive at Kai Tak Airport travelling under the alias of James Pickard.
Those of us who know James will divine particular pleasure from the subsequent torture scenes!
Q:You used James Pickard for a cameo role in this book and you’ve already said
that he’s a real person. What other real people appear in this book?
RB:"As I said, at the time James was a banker working in Hong Kong. He moved back to Britain after the handover.
I had known him since the 80s. Since he was helpful in providing information
for the book, I honored him by creating a character with his name—further enhanced
by Bond taking the name as an alias."
The full interview can be seen here