PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 28, 2015

I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT THANKSGIVING WEEKEND, WHETHER YOU HAD TO WORK ANY OF IT OR NOT.

As far as the 2015 Christmas retail season that is now upon us is concerned, I

could always humbly recommend my own creative endeavors, or those of others; but you folks didn't come here for a commercial.

But in truth, there really isn't much progress to report since my last post.

Chapter 19, Take Two of ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON is still with my friendly neighborhood proofreader as I post this. I do have a rough draft of Chapter 20 completed, but will definitely need to go over it once more before sending it to Nancy Hansen, after Chapter 19 is done to my satisfaction.

Bet you were wondering if I'd get to use this, weren't you?

I also started work on the Sherlock Holmes story I promised Captain Ron Fortier of Airship 27!

Starting a new project is always refreshing, even if you don't know how the story is going to turn out when you begin.

In any event, I better shake off the sleepiness from all that turkey and start thinking about getting back to writing.

See you around the Internet!

Lee Houston, Junior

29 November, 2015

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 21, 2015

Chapter 19, TAKE TWO of ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON is back with my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader, with over two pages of NEW material!
Because of the impending holiday, not sure when Nancy Hansen will be able to review and send it back to me.

I know everyone is looking forward to reading this novel, but question why it's taking so long.
I do understand everyone's anxiousness to read ALPHA 2, but would you prefer to read a high quality work or a hack job?

The latest word from Captain Ron Fortier of Airship 27 concerning the LEGENDS OF NEW PULP FICTION project (also known as the Tommy Hancock Benefit Anthology) is that all 62 stories are done, the volume will be roughly 400 pages, and they are still hoping for a between Thanksgiving and Christmas launch date, as seen by the image on the right.

Over 100 talented writers and artists, including yours truly, have donated their time and talents toward this endeavor. You will be hard pressed to find such an exotic collection of today's creative personnel in one place, and we all hope you appreciate our efforts towards this worthy cause when its available to the public.

There are roughly six weeks left in 2015, and 2016 is on the horizon, so let's see what awaits us.

See you around the Internet!
Lee Houston, Junior
22 November, 2015

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 14, 2015

Alpha

Well folks, I've gotten Chapter 19 of ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON back from my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader and I'm going over it now.

Once that's done, I'll send it back to Nancy Hansen to review again while I resume work on Chapter 20, the grand finale to the novel.
Of course, I'll still have to go over it one last time to make sure the manuscript reads well as a coherent whole once I finish the first draft.

Everything I've mentioned before about impending releases is still on schedule. I'm hoping at least one of those projects will be out for the holiday season, but it all takes time.

SOLIDARITÉ!

So I better get back to writing now.
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
15 November, 2015

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 7, 2015

Okay, Chapter 19 IS FINISHED!

Will be sending it to my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader after I finish posting this progress report today.

However, the manuscript to ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON WILL be going a full 20 chapters!





I have been thinking about my future projects after Alpha 2 is finished and submitted for publication.

I now have a plot worthy of Sherlock Holmes for that short story featuring the Victorian era's consulting detective that I promised Airship 27. I've also been considering a few short stories for some of their other anthologies, but more on that when those plans start edging closer to reality.

I'm also five pages into the other short story I originally committed to writing this year. Thankfully neither Holmes or this tale ever had an actual deadline attached (and I'm even more thankful that I met all those commitments on time as they arose), because in this case I'm dealing with a totally BRAND NEW CHARACTER and I definitely want to make sure everything is as right as humanly possible.

I've also been considering potential plot ideas for whatever will become Book 3 in the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE series. Still not sure exactly what caper(s?) the detective of the far flung future will be taking on yet though.

Let's be honest with each other folks.
So far, 2015 has not been a great writing year for me.
Parts of it have been my fault, and for those I take full responsibility.
Others were influenced by things outside my control, and I just had to deal with them the best I could. Not as well as I would have liked to, but the best I could.

With this year only having a few weeks left at this point, it's definitely time to move forward and plan ahead.
No commitments at this time for 2016 beyond the plans I've already discussed above. Just have to take it all one day at a time.

Better get back to writing now.
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
8 November, 2015

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 31, 2015

FIRST OFF...
I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween.
I also hope that those who needed to remembered to set the clocks back one hour, since Daylight Savings Time ended overnight.
If you didn't, at least you'll really be on time wherever you have to go today.

NOW THEN...
I finished formatting and proofreading that anthology for my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader Nancy Hansen; so I'm back working on ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON.

Writer's cap

At this point, still not sure if Chapter 19 (the one in progress) or Chapter 20 will be the last one.
Unfortunately, I lost Thursday to a cardiologist's appointment, but I have my writer's hat back on now and intend to have this manuscript finished by Thanksgiving.
Of course, I'll still have to give it its final "once over" to make sure the entire story reads as one coherent novel instead of a disjointed start/stop/restart project. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I have been told that everyone involved at Mechanoid Press is hard at work preparing THE SUPER SWINGIN' HERO 1968 SPECIAL that I helped visionary Jim Beard with for release, and that the Tommy Hancock Benefit anthology: LEGENDS OF NEW PULP FICTION is doing well at Airship 27.
Only the latter is scheduled for actual release before the end of 2015 at the moment, but I'm looking forward to both projects being available to the public when ready.
I had a great time participating in both anthologies, and Jim Beard has already shared some thoughts on a potential sequel to 1968 with me, so I'm truly looking forward to working with him again.

Meantime, I better get back to writing.
Take care, and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
1 November, 2015