It’s been an awful long time since I’ve sat down and put together a post, so here goes …
I think I can now safely say that work has begun in earnest on the next Colt Harper novel — although a little more slowly than I’d like to admit. I’m using a working title of “A Gun in My Hand,” and, for the moment, that pretty much sums up the approach. Readers of the first two novels will recognize some familiar faces: Colt and Deputy John Carver (of course), Becky, and Molly McDonough. Maybe a few more — it’s still too early to tell.
And all new bad guys, as you might imagine, in a story that picks up a few months after the end of Outside the Law. Without giving away too much, it’s going to be a sort of redneck Othello, and it’ll feature a cemetery, a severed foot, and a briefcase full of money (naturally). I got the idea about a year after reading a news story from an Ohio newspaper about two murder suspects being apprehended.
And speaking of Outside the Law, I’ve had a great time talking to readers and other crime writers at various events over the last few months. Back in April, I attended the Los Angeles Times’ Festival of the Book, an awesome event on the University of Southern California campus. Earlier this summer, I once again had the chance to read at a Noir at the Bar in Richmond, Va., with some the best crime writers in the region. Also read a ton of great crime fiction. One of the most enjoyable reads was Stuart Neville’s Ghosts of Belfast. It’s an unusual tale of a haunted former contract killer in Northern Ireland who killed a dozen people during The Troubles. Each night, he’s haunted by a dozen ghosts who torment him into an alcoholic stupor — until he decides to avenge their deaths. You’ll want to give yourself a free calendar to read it, because you’re not going to want to put it down.
And — not least of all — OTL spent nearly a week on the Amazon Best Sellers list. So if you haven’t already, check out some of the reviews or leave your own at Amazon.
Phillip Thompson 