Greetings, Loyal Readers!

Last time, I gave a brief account of how I conceived the idea of a Boltblaster prequel spin-off book from the Jason Cosmo series. Alas, my former publishers — Signet/Roc in the US, Pan in the UK & Commonwealth — were less than enthusiastic. In the publishing environment of the 1990s that left me with little incentive to write the book. It made sense to move on to other projects, with the Jason Cosmo series effectively defunct.

So while I often say I began Boltblaster in 1991 or 1992, I haven’t been working on the book ever since. Most of the years between then and now, Boltblaster was simply a dead past project.

Well, mostly dead.

Obviously, even though there was no available outlet for publishing more Jason Cosmo books after my former publisher dropped the series, I continued to tinker with the Cosmoverse, jotting down ideas for new books, writing a scene here or sketching out an idea for a new character there. I continued to flesh out the world of Arden and its history, including the history of one Mercury Boltblaster.

As Mercury’s life and adventures took more detailed form, at least inside my head and in my notebooks, the plot of the notional book Boltblaster grew and changed with it. The basic premise and main events to be covered remain the same as when I first wrote a detailed synopsis back in 1993. But I’ve added more details, and changed a few. There are a few new key events to be included and the amount of “incident” in the story has increased.

Said another way, Boltblaster as I am writing it in 2018 is a different book than it would have been had I completed it in, say 1994. It is not overwhelmingly different. But it is a different, and I think richer, story than it would have been before. In roughly the same way that Hero Wanted revises Jason Cosmo, I’d say Boltblaster of now revises the 90s version of Boltblaster that I never wrote.

It makes sense when you think about it. I’m a different writer than I was then. Older at the very least. Perhaps wiser. Perhaps a better storyteller. Perhaps not. I’m sad that I never finished that earlier version of Boltblaster. But I hope Loyal Reader will enjoy the 21st century version.

When I finally finish it. But that is a topic for next time! To be continued…

Best regards,

Dan McGirt