New James Bond novel 'Solo' launched by William Boyd Author said he didn't want to 'water down' beloved character to suit modern audiences New book, Solo,takes 007 to war-torn Africa at the end of the Sixties Boyd said actor Daniel Craig wouldn't be right for the film role though as he doesn't have the physique described in book He's still puffing away on 70 cigarettes a day but the new James Bond wants to settle down, the author of the latest spy novel has revealed. Speaking at the launch of Solo in London yesterday, author William Boyd claimed the 007 star is not after casual sex - he wants a relationship. And while the old Mr Bond has always enjoyed a single egg boiled for precisely 3 and a 1/3 minutes for breakfast, Mr Boyd has turned him into a man who prefers his eggs scrambled. Solo author William Boyd revealed a few changes in 007's character but said he wanted to keep the character much the same as he was in the past Mr Boyd is the third author to be invited by the Fleming estate to write an official Bond novel, following in the footsteps of Sebastian Faulkes and Jeffery Deaver. Solo is set in West Africa in 1969 when Bond is aged 45. Bond's mission takes him across the continent to Africa, which is embroiled in a civil war, and to America - via a multitude of Martinis and two different women. Mr Boyd, who has written screenplays for films starring the three Bond actors, said his book had the "classic ingredients of a Bond novel" and he had not bowed to pressure to make Bond more acceptable to "modern sensibilities." He said: "Times have changed but Bond is a heavy smoker, there is a wonderful line in one of the novels, which is Bond lit his 70th cigarette of the day. I have no desire to water down or make Bond more acceptable to modern sensibilities. Actor Daniel Craig has starred in the past three James Bond films but doesn't have the right physique to play the agent described in Solo according to Boyd He drinks, he smokes, he does everything you would expect of a classic Bond. And although Mr Boyd's 007 is in bed with a beautiful woman by page 86 of the novel, it seems his interpretation of Mr Bond's love life is wholly dissimilar from Mr Fleming's. When asked who his favourite "Bond Girl" was, Mr Boyd responded: "I'm not too keen on the expression Bond Girl because I think that Bond has relationships with women and I do think he wants a relationship, not just casual sex." Mr Boyd said earlier this month he had deliberately written about the spy's relationships with women differently, saying of Fleming's novels: "The sex can veer from terrible Barbara Cartland romanticism to almost sadism." He also revealed yesterday he had had "discussions" with actor Daniel Craig - who played James Bond in the latest film - about whether he should write the book. But he said - should there be a film made of his book - Mr Craig did not have the correct "physique" for the part of the secret agent, and he would sooner choose film-star Daniel Day-Lewis. He said: "I think Daniel is an astonishing actor actually, even though he's physically not like the Bond described in the novel. If there was an actor to play my James Bond I'd choose another actor who has been in a film of mine, Daniel Day Lewis, because I think he actually resembles the Bond that Fleming describes. He added that Fleming once described Bond as "looking like the American singer-songwriter Hoagy Carmichael. Daniel Day-Lewis looks like Hoagy Carmichael. Fittingly, the book launch was held at the five-star Dorchester hotel in central London - the venue for the opening of Solo. William Boyd said he had no desire to 'water down or make Bond (played here by actor Daniel Craig) more acceptable to modern sensibilities' In the first chapter of the book, Bond heads to the dining room in the hotel on his 45th birthday and orders "four eggs, scrambled, and half a dozen rashers of unsmoked back bacon, well done, on the side." In Fleming's novels, Bond enjoys boiled eggs from Maran hens, boiled for three and a third minutes each, eaten off Minton china, with toast. Lucy Fleming, the niece of Bond creator Mr Fleming, said her uncle would have approved of the novel greatly. The novel takes 007 into war-torn Africa as the 1960s come to an end. Boyd (right) follows in the footsteps of authors including Kingsley Amis and Sebastian Faulks, who have both written new Bond books since the death of his creator, Ian Fleming, in 1964 Speaking at the launch she said: "Did you know that breakfast was Bond's favourite meal of the day?" Seven numbered and signed copies of the book were driven off from the hotel in vintage Jensen cars like the vehicle Bond drives in the novel and flown around the world. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale. He wrote 14 Bond books and the series has sold more than 100 million titles.