My ex- and I had booked a table for dinner at a nice though secluded restaurant close by the Thames in London's Chelsea district. We both liked james bond movies and Maggie was an enthusiastic fan of Sean Connery, the original 007. It happened that this particular restaurant was said to be a Connery favorite. That's not why we chose it nor did Maggie expect to see the famous actor. Imagine her astonishment when I returned from a trip to the loo and explained that the gentleman using the urinal next to mine was... you guessed it! And no, I didn't peek so don't ask. Thus you can imagine that I'm definitely looking forward to the release of Devil May Care, the new James Bond novel set during the Cold War in 1967. Author Sebastian Faulkes has written the book in the style of Ian Fleming, who created the Bond series those many years ago. MI6's greatest secret agent also returns to his Bentley-driving roots, for the car is the same one he drove in Thunderball and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

To celebrate Bond's return, Bentley's chief designer Dirk Van Braeckel has designed a Special Series, limited-edition, numbered book. The "Flying B" hood ornament is on the cover and spine and the outer leather is stitched in the same diamond pattern as the seating surfaces of a modern Bentley. The inside cover is finished to match the cars of the era in which the story is set. The typeface used is the same as you'll find in a Bentley owner's manual, and each individually-numbered book includes a matching-number pewter die-cast R-Type model. All books come with a plexiglass slipcase. As you might expect for such an exclusive edition, the price is a Bentley-fied £750. At ease, good readers. Penguin Books will be releasing a regular edition at everyday prices on May 28th. Alas, it won't include the matching-number pewter die-cast R-type model that arrives with the heirloom-quality book. Nor has a discount price been offered to auto writers who once peed next to 007.