According to Charlie Higson, Ian Fleming Publications initially planned for him to only write one novel and that every subsequent novel would be written by a rotating author, possibly similar to the defunct Robert Markham pseudonym of the late 1960s. This plan, however, fell apart and Higson agreed to author future books in the series, however, comments made by Higson in an interview could suggest that after Higson's five books are completed, the series may be continued by another author as stated by Charlie Higson online. A new series was started by Steve Cole, picking up where Charlie Higson left off, following a teenage James in the aftermath of his expulsion from Eton.