Bond author Jeffery Deaver has sights on Melbourne

<b>007 COULD soon be sipping martinis and wooing women in Melbourne, if the latest James Bond author has his way.</b>

Jeffery Deaver, in Australia to promote his novel, Carte Blanche, said the MI6 agent could find himself Down Under if he had the chance to write a follow-up to his first Bond thriller.

"He could shoot a few bad guys in Melbourne quite easily," the 61-year-old writer said. "And find many attractive Bond girls here."

The author said he was drawn to the city's culture and aesthetics, describing it as a "very attractive place to be".

Deaver also praised the only Australian ever to play the famous secret agent, George Lazenby, saying he was "very underrated".

Deaver was quick to nominate Guy Pierce as a candidate for to be the next Aussie 007. "The original artist's conception of Bond looks very much like Pierce; he's a dead ringer," the author said.

The novelist indulged another of his loves, fast cars, when he went for a spin around town in a Bentley Continental.

Deaver is the latest of several authors to carry on from creator Ian Fleming, who died in 1964.

Their works are approved by Fleming's estate.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/bond-author-jeffery-deaver-has-sights-on-melbourne/story-e6frf7jo-1226095928085