EXCLUSIVE REPORT - " State of Excitement : Jeffery Deaver onstage appearance at the Dubai Emirate Airlines Festival of Literature "

PART 1

We were lucky enough to have our own very special correspondent at Dubaï being able to attend Mr Jeffery Deaver's first official Public Conference as the new James Bond thriller writer.

Text & Photo copyrighted Miss N.Cloet 2011 - Editing & Publishing copyright Media Bis 2011 .

Report written by Nathalie Cloet

Tuesday, 18 January 2011.

The location where the event was being held, the Dubai Cultural and Scientific Association is quite a while away from the city centre.

A small book stand was set up by Magrudy’s, containing mainly Ian Fleming and Jeffery Deaver novels, although some young bond books and the odd copy of Devil May Care could be found as well.

Here one could also purchase the “special book plates” mentioned in the press that Mr. Deaver would be signing after the event. A bit disappointing, as these turn out to be just stickers one can stick in the book afterwards.

In the audience we find mainly what seems to be academics and general literature fans, I felt rather alone as an actual Bondfan in the room !

With a small delay, at about 8.10 pm, the event started with a short film, showing excerpts of the Bond films, of course starting with a few of the gunbarrels ;

Followed by an elegant performance by local singer “Celeste” in a sparkling black dress, singing Diamonds Are Forever, Goldfinger and Goldeneye.

Finally, the hostess of the evening, Shahnaz Pakravan , introduced Jeffery Deaver to the audience, in his 1st public appearance as a James Bond author, as Jeffery 00-Deaver, to which he jokingly replied that he prefers “Deaver. Jeffery Deaver”.

Upon being asked how he came to write the Bond novel, Mr. Deaver explained being approached by Ian Fleming publications in the month of November 2009 and after debating for about 7 seconds said yes to this opportunity.

He then immediately decided to set the story in Dubai, as he had travelled to Dubai previously, and had then decided to set a book in the city.

He did specify that he had seen more than the “tourist” side of Dubai, and would feature that in the book. He called this the “Wikipedia trap”, merely stating facts and pictures that can be found anywhere online. “A book needs emotional resonance, not facts”.

On how much Dubai will feature in the book: “Secret agents are standing backstage and will whisk me off if I say too much” joked Mr. Deaver, though explaining that it is a typical Bond book, in the mold that Ian Fleming created.

James Bond gets an assignment, and different leads take him to different locations.

In Dubai ,there is some very fast paced action, races through the streets.

He finds the locals very helpful, and has some wonderful food & drinks along the way.

“Bond has made an indelible impression on Dubai, just as Dubai has made an indelible impression on Bond.

”
“James Bond is a hero in the traditional sense of being a hero, willing to lay his life on the line for his country in the line of duty, although always wondering if what he is doing is the right thing to do”

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR PART 2 OF THE EXCLUSIVE REPORT !

Remerciements : Lucy Chavasse - Colman Getty ; http://emirateslitfest.com/. ; Mr Jeffery Deaver ; Nathalie Cloet