HUNT THROUGH NAPOLEON’S WEB will be re-issued on August 26, 2014 by Titan Books! Originally published in 2010 (but the publisher went out of business), this rollicking tale told in the tradition of the classic pulp adventures features the Indiana Jones-like character of “Gabriel Hunt.” There are six Gabriel Hunt adventures, each one penned by a different author. Raymond wrote the sixth and final one, but you don’t need to read them in any specific order. It’s available as an e-book and mass market paperback. You can order the book from Amazon: Paperback | Kindle ebook
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS IV: WHAT IF?—THE ANTHOLOGY OF ALTERNATE HISTORY is a collection of alternate history tales (a tie-in to the Europa Universalis IV videogame, but the anthology is really separate from the game so you don’t have to be a gamer to enjoy it). Each story tackles an event in history and, well, twists it. Raymond’s story, “To Be or Not To Be,” deals with Shakespeare. Other authors include Harry Turtledove, Janice Gable Bashman, Aaron Rosenberg, Lee Battersby Luke Bean, Felix Cook, James Erwin, Anders Fager, Aidan Darnell Hailes, David Parish-Whitaker, and Rod Rees. Available as e-book on Kindle and other outlets, and print editions coming soon.
The new Mystery Writers of America short story anthology, ICE COLD: TALES OF INTRIGUE FROM THE COLD WAR, edited by Jeffery Deaver and Raymond Benson, was published by Grand Central on April 1. Jeff and Raymond launched the book at the Mysterious Bookshop in New York City on April 29, followed by a presentation on May 3 at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. The book contains twenty short stories by twenty authors—Jeff and Raymond each contributed a tale—and authors include Sara Paretsky, Laura Lippman, T. Jefferson Parker, John Lescroart, Joseph Finder, Gayle Lynds and John Sheldon, J. A. Jance, Katherine Neville, and ten other terrific writers.
Buy from Amazon: Paperback | Kindle ebook
THE BLACK STILETTO comes to Italy! Cento Autori will publish the first book in Italian on March 21, 2014.
THE BLACK STILETTO: STARS & STRIPES won the “Lovey” Award* for Best Suspense Novel of 2013!
*Love is Murder Conference Readers Choice Award
Raymond’s 2008 “rock ‘n’ roll thriller,” A HARD DAY’S DEATH, is now an Audiobook from Audible.com and Crossroad Press! Get it from Audible!
TODAY is publication day of THE BLACK STILETTO: SECRETS & LIES, from Oceanview Publishing. This is the fourth novel in the five-book saga (number five will be published in November 2014). Booklist has praised it, saying, “This fourth entry in the Black Stiletto series is darker than earlier ones, given the escalating violence in both past and present story lines. But it’s no less entertaining, as fast-paced action leads to a cliff-hanger; closure is likely in the next entry, and there’s potential for a spin-off. Addictive escapism.”
The book is available in hardcover and e-book, with audiobook coming soon. And if you haven’t already, check out The Official Black Stiletto Website for all kinds of information about what author Sandra Brown called “one of the most original heroines I’ve read in a long time.”
Buy from Amazon: Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle ebook | Audio book from Audible
September 30, 2013
Raymond is directing a staged reading of
MONSTROSITY, a play by Dan Duling
Signal Ensemble Theater
1802 W. Berenice Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
Saturday, October 5, 7:30pm
Sunday, October 6, 2:00pm
FREE ADMISSION
August 19, 2013
KWIK KRIMES is the new anthology of crime stories written with 1000 words or less. Edited by Otto Penzler, the collection includes Raymond’s story, “Once Upon a Time in the Woods,” plus works by 80 other great authors! Publication date: August 20, 2013! Available in trade paperback and e-book.
April 1, 2013
April 2, 2013 is publication day for THE BLACK STILETTO: STARS & STRIPES! It’s available in hardcover and e-book. Audiobook to come. You can order it from Amazon: Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle ebook | Audio book from Audible
A new trailer video has been produced for the book, and it can be viewed here.
February 27, 2013
Look what’s on the cover of HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY MAGAZINE this week!
And here’s the link to the article.
Raymond and Crossroad Press have revised and corrected THE JAMES BOND BEDSIDE COMPANION for e-book and it is available exclusively for Amazon Kindle. It isn’t updated, but he’s gone through and corrected stuff that has been proven wrong since the book was first published in 1984, as well as fixed many typos and curious glitches that occurred over the various years of scanning the original text. It’s up for grabs now!
October 30, 2012
HITMAN: DAMNATION is published today! This is a “prequel” to IO Interactive’s upcoming videogame, “Hitman: Absolution.” It also works as a stand-alone novel, so readers do not have to be familiar with the videogame to enjoy it.
RAYMOND’S JAMES BOND NOVELS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR KINDLE!
Raymond’s original James Bond 007 novels, originally published between 1997 and 2002, are now available as e-books for Kindle (other formats will come in the future)! They come with newly-designed covers (above) and they’re at a nice price.
ZERO MINUS TEN
THE FACTS OF DEATH
HIGH TIME TO KILL
DOUBLESHOT
NEVER DREAM OF DYING
THE MAN WITH THE RED TATTOO
October 15, 2012
THE BLACK STILETTO: BLACK & WHITE is now another unique 3-voice AUDIOBOOK from Crossroad Press and Audible.com. Get it from Audible!
Raymond’s “historical supernatural thriller,” ARTIFACT OF EVIL, originally published as an e-book in 2011, is now available in print (trade paperback).
May 1, 2012
THE BLACK STILETTO e-book reached the Amazon Kindle Store’s Top Ten (#7!) recently. Things are gearing up for the publication of the sequel, THE BLACK STILETTO: BLACK & WHITE (May 30). Watch this space and Raymond’s Facebook author page for updates, contest announcements, price drops, reviews, and other Black Stiletto news.
Check out the very nice interview with Raymond and the review of THE BLACK STILETTO: BLACK & WHITE on “The Big Thrill” e-newsletter from the International Thriller Writers: here!
Novelspot.com features a seven-part blog by Raymond about “How I Became a Writer.” This link goes to Part 1; follow the links to the other parts.
February 11, 2012
The film rights to THE BLACK STILETTO have been picked up by Lonetree Entertainment. Benson was represented by veteran literary and film manager, Peter Miller, of Global Lion Intellectual Property Management, Inc.
“Stiletto was a real find and we’re all very excited about the potential of this unique genre-bending project,” said Lonetree producing partner Tony Eldridge. Lonetree Entertainment is currently partnered with Escape Artists and Sony Pictures on “The Equalizer” feature film starring Denzel Washington. The company has a number of other projects in development, including the epic WWII action drama, “The War Magician” with Marc Forster attached to direct, and “The Kitchen House,” based on Kathleen Grissom’s New York Times bestseller. Lonetree is fast tracking Stiletto and is currently in discussions with several A-list screenwriters.
In other news, THE BLACK STILETTO: BLACK & WHITE (#2 in the series, publication date May 30, 2012) has received its first review from Bestsellersworld.com!
February 5, 2012
HOMEFRONT: THE VOICE OF FREEDOM, by John Milius and Raymond Benson, won the “Lovey” (Readers Choice) Award for Best Paranormal / Sci Fi / Horror Novel of 2011 at the Love is Murder writers conference in Chicago, Illinois!
January 10, 2012
Now Available! The classic 1980s reference book all about 007, THE JAMES BOND BEDSIDE COMPANION, has been re-published!
THE JAMES BOND BEDSIDE COMPANION was Raymond’s very first published work (it originally appeared in 1984!). Crossroad Press will publish it again this week, first as an e-book, available for Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, and all other e-reader formats. Coming later will be an downloadable audiobook edition, followed by a new print edition!
THE BEDSIDE COMPANION was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Biographical/Critical Work of 1984 by Mystery Writers of America and 007 fans still consider it to be a “Bond Bible.”
Also Available! THE ESSENTIAL RAYMOND BENSON COLLECTION! Crossroad Press has also re-published all of Raymond’s backlist original thrillers in e-book format. As with the BEDSIDE COMPANION, in the coming months each title will appear as a downloadable audiobook and print edition.
You can buy every e-book format directly from Crossroad Press here. Or, you can go directly to Amazon for the Kindle-only editions. The titles will appear soon on the Barnes & Noble site.
In other news, THE BLACK STILETTO continues to garner great reviews. Check out Praise page on the official Black Stiletto website for samples and links to full reviews. More will be added as they come in.
September 3, 2011
THE BLACK STILETTO is shipping! Official publication date is September 5, but Amazon is already fulfilling orders and the book is trickling into retail markets. If your local bookseller doesn’t have it, please ask that it be ordered. Or you can buy it right here. The e-book editions should be available (Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, etc.) on the publication date or a couple of days later, so keep checking the websites.
August 3, 2011
Finally! Originally supposed to be published in 2010, Raymond’s pulp adventure novel HUNT THROUGH NAPOLEON’S WEB (written “with” fictional character Gabriel Hunt) is hitting stores on August 8. It’s been available as an e-book for several months, but the print edition is now out in trade paperback from Dorchester. Each book in the Gabriel Hunt adventure series is written by a different author—HUNT THROUGH NAPOLEON’S WEB is Hunt’s sixth escapade (but they can be read in any order). Buy from Amazon: Paperback | Kindle ebook
THE BLACK STILETTO has received a *starred* review from BOOKLIST, calling it “prime escapism”!
In anticipation of the publication of THE BLACK STILETTO in September, a FREE Black Stiletto short story has been made available.
THE BLACK STILETTO’S AUTOGRAPH is the story of one man’s lucky night in New York City, 1958… when he and others experienced more than just a sighting of the legendary Black Stiletto!
The story is available in all digital formats—PDF (best for PC), Kindle, Nook, Apple… go to—
Download THE BLACK STILETTO’S AUTOGRAPH
—over at Smashwords.com and choose the format you want.
THE BLACK STILETTO continues to generate buzz. If you haven’t already, check out the official website at The Black Stiletto. Watch the video trailer and find other cool stuff. Also please go to Facebook and “Like” her fan page!
January 13, 2011
HOMEFRONT—THE VOICE OF FREEDOM hits the stores on January 25! Raymond has penned with John Milius (co-screenwriter of APOCALYPSE NOW; writer/director of THE WIND & THE LION, RED DAWN, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, and others; and co-creator/writer of HBO’s ROME) this prequel to THQ’s upcoming videogame HOMEFRONT. It is an apocalyptic story set in the near future in which Americans must fight a war on their home turf. Readers do not have to be gamers or familiar with the videogame—it is a stand-alone novel that any thriller-lover will enjoy.
BOONDOCKS FANTASY—Edited by Jean Rabe and Martin Greenberg, is on sale now! This collection of fantasy, horror, and sci-fi tales all take place in rural locations (“boondocks”). Raymond has contributed a short story entitled THE DEVIL IS A GENTLEMAN, about an unorthodox (so to speak) private eye in a small West Texas town. Available from DAW Publishers.
March 24, 2010
THRILLERS: 100 MUST-READS is a non-fiction anthology of 100 essays written by famous thriller authors about 100 important thrillers published in the 20th Century. The book is edited by David Morrell and Hank Wagner and will be published July 2010 by Oceanview Publishing.
Raymond is one of the essay authors, and his topic is Ian Fleming’s FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE!
January 15, 2010
The Heritage Foundation of Odessa (Texas) will be awarding the “Distinguished Former Odessan” Award to Raymond on February 25, 2010! Raymond spent his formative years in Odessa and attended Permian High School, the famed institution featured in the book and film FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.
