NEW RELEASE: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THE MAN IN PURPLE

Cover Art by Mike Fyles

I have a short story in the just published anthology The New Adventures of The Man In Purple, a Pro Se Press release under their Pulp Obscura imprint.

For those unfamiliar with him, The Man In Purple is a Robin Hood like character from the 1920s originated by Johnston McCulley, famous for creating the legendary Zorro!

The disguise of a rich man named Richard Staegal and perceived as a crooked menace by the police, The Man In Purple actually robs from only the dishonest rich to assist the poor and needy.

The four stories in this volume occur after all the original material collected by Altus Press in their 2010 anthology.

Russ Anderson, Junior leads off with "The MEN In Purple", then my story has Staegal's alter ego "Captured!", but not by his long time nemesis Detective Troman. Ashley Mangin has "The Man In Purple Take A Room", while Terry Alexander helps our hero face "The Doppleganger". Finally, "Paladins of the Purple Prose" gives you a brief introduction to all the creative people involved.

In all honesty, I never knew The Man In Purple existed until this project arose on Pro Se's agenda, but Johnston McCulley was definitely ahead of his time with the concept, considering all the original material was published in 1921 issues of Detective Story Magazine, a good eight years before the infamous stock market crash of 1929 and long before the perceptions of today.

Overall, I had a great time writing my contribution, and am more than willing to revisit the character if sales warrant a sequel volume.

On behalf of the other writers and myself, we hope you enjoy The New Adventures of The Man In Purple, available in both print and e-book formats.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 26, 2014

PROGRESS CONTINUES!

Chapter 3 of ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON is back from my friendly beta/proofreader Nancy A. Hansen, who is now working on Chapter 4 while I continue repairing Chapter 5 and beyond after the problems I encountered.

When not actually working on A2, have also been working on my remaining short story commitment for 2014, and that will be done LONG before its October deadline!

So all is looking well on the writing front right now, but let's face facts folks, writing is not an easy job. The days when the thoughts flow free and you can't type fast enough to get them all down are great.

Is finding Waldo easier?

Yet there are also times when it seems like you are looking for the world's smallest needle in the universe's largest haystack, trying to create just the right combinations of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, etc.; to tell a story that readers will not only enjoy and recommend to their friends, but will leave them wanting more and anxiously anticipating your next publication.


Let's not kid ourselves here folks, writing is a valid occupation with a lot of mental activity akin to being an accountant, attorney, et al.

But in the end, when you have that completely finished short story or novel ready to submit to the publisher, you can stand tall and proud over your
accomplishment.


Well, I better get back to work.
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
27 July, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 19, 2014

YES! There HAS been progress this past week!

I got about half way through writing my last (known) short story commitment for 2014 when I just couldn't stand it any more, and went back to work on ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON.

At this point, Chapters 1 and 2 are repaired; and I think they are much better now than they were before.
Working on Chapter 3 now. Not sure how much of the previous incarnation is salvageable, but we'll see how it goes.

As for my original problem...
Technically, I haven't replaced the two supporting cast members I "fired".
Then again, I may not do so at all.
Perhaps the problem was that I had too big of a supporting cast?
Not sure, but we shall see how it goes.
Still following the same plot, so the first half of the book will be pretty much as originally planned/written, just with two less characters, since the supporting cast didn't really come into prominence until then.
But how will that second half turn out?
Can't answer that question until I get there.

Meanwhile, The Free Choice E-zine just celebrated its 1300th post!

Better get back to work now.

See you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

20 July, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 12, 2014

After having hit a serious snag on ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON last week, I decided to make this past week Short Story Week, although things didn't quite work out on that front the way I wanted them too either.

I started out working on my last short story commitment for 2014, when I
received the galley proofs for an upcoming anthology containing a story I wrote.

Just as I finished going over that material and was preparing to send my list of corrections to be addressed back to the publisher, I received the edited manuscript I wrote of another short story that asked for some revisions.

I am working on those revisions now, and will probably go back and finish that short story afterwards, despite the fact that technically it isn't due until the end of October.
Better early than late!

If you're wondering what all that means for a certain superhero, it means that Alpha is on the proverbial back burner, at least for the moment.

Art by Marc Guerrero

I do apologize to everyone who was hoping to read the sequel to PROJECT ALPHA by now. After I finished and submitted the manuscript for what became  HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE: CATCH A RISING STAR, I intentionally spent the rest of 2013 working on short stories, trying to start getting my name out amongst a wider audience. In the process, work on ALPHA, BOOK 2 was sporadic at best until earlier this year.

But as I have already established in this blog, writers are only human beings, no matter how great our prose are.

When ALPHA 2 is finished, I do intend to immediately start work on whatever will become HUGH MONN, BOOK 3.

In any event, The Free Choice E-zine is doing well and I do have some ideas how to fix ALPHA, BOOK 2; but I've got to finish the short stories first, so I better get back to work.

See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
13 July, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 5, 2014

First and foremost, let us agree on one established fact.

Writers are human too.

We are not infalliable, and at times make mistakes just like anyone else on planet Earth.
The above is a segue to announce that for better or worse, I have hit a snag on ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON.

The basic premise of the book is still valid.

After the conclusion of Book 1: PROJECT ALPHA, the fledgling superhero searches for his place in the universe, and maybe somewhere he can call home.

Unwanted equipment

It is in the details of trying to develop a supporting cast for the title character that life decided to throw a monkey wrench into the works.

One character was taking so long to set up, that he was on the verge of stealing the spotlight away from our hero.
The other I might as well have named "Mary Sue". This person was not a reflection of me, for I know the origin of the name, but considering how smart-aleky and perfect they were becoming...

Not mechanically inclined

So, going back over
everything and eliminating their material, depending upon the final outcome when I finish reformatting the remainder, has set me back to somewhere between Chapters 6 and 7.

The Free Choice E-zine is doing well, and my remaining short story commitment for 2014 technically isn't due until October, but maybe I'll work on that for a bit as a sort of "break" while I try to create a couple of new people for Alpha to interact with to replace the ones I "fired".

In any event, I need to get back to work, so I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
6 July, 2014