A few months ago, I posted an update that the latest Colt Harper novel was finished. That was true, but that didn’t necessarily mean the manuscript was final. Since then, I’ve been reworking, rewriting and revising it into what is now an almost completely different story – and I’m ok with that.
Sometimes you seize onto an idea and think it’s the greatest thing since three-hole notebooks, and you get yourself a little entrenched. “This is perfect! This is so good!” and you forget there’s a big picture. Such was the case with the first draft of this manuscript.
I mean, I liked the thing when it was done, but there were times when I struggled to connect the pieces. Like trying to make a skeleton stand up with no backbone. In the end it was too much…too much exposition, too many characters, too much of too much.
So, I spent the last couple of months stripping the story down to its essence: the conflict between good guy and bad guy, redemption vs. justice, grace and violence. It’s a little shorter now, but it has a backbone (and a new working title: BAD BLOOD).
I hope the world of publishing thinks so, too.
Phillip Thompson 