Author Sebastian Faulks has revealed he wrote the new James Bond novel, Devil May Care, in just six weeks.
The British writer, whose books include Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, was asked to write a new Bond book last year by original author Ian Fleming's estate.
Faulks says he adopted Fleming's work ethic, producing 2,000 words a day in a style he calls "about 80% Ian Fleming".
The book will be published on 28 May next year to mark the centenary of Fleming's birth.
Earlier this year, Faulks, 54, said he had initially been reluctant to take on the job, only overcoming his fears when he re-read Fleming's originals.
'Light-hearted'
In the end, the author admitted: "I found writing this light-hearted book more thrilling than I had expected.
"I'd spent nearly five years in psychiatric hospitals and medical libraries writing an immensely long and difficult book," he told the Associated Press news agency - referring to Human Traces, published in 2005.
"It's possible there are no two books in publishing history more dissimilar than Human Traces and Devil May Care. And that was really the attraction of it."
Faulks' latest novel, Engleby, was released in May. A paperback edition comes out next month.
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