PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 26, 2020

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS IS THE LAST

PROGRESS REPORT TO BE POSTED IN 2020?

To say that this has been one {censored} of a year is a serious understatement!

Of course who could have foreseen such devastating effects of the pandemic😷, let alone everything else this year brought with it back in the final days of 2019?

But that's not why any of us are here at the moment.

You want to know how my writing went this past week.

To wit, basically as I predicted the previous week.

Managed to get some work done on the SCIENCE FICTION PROJECT before December 23.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day🎄 were dedicated to family.

What celebrating could be was done as safely as possible.

Any creative time at the computer since December 23 has either been blogging or finally starting my "so far" review of My Friendly Neighborhood Beta Proofreader's thoughts on SOLITAIRE.

Looking ahead, this coming week should hopefully be more productive.

All there is on the impending agenda is New Year's Eve yet even if I was a partier, you don't really dare to go out to celebrate anywhere to begin with.

Guess I'll be staying home with some snacks and whatever is on either TV or the cable box's DVR function as usual but man, I'm just one of a very large multitude who will be SERIOUSLY glad when this year is over!🥳🎉

But what of NEXT year?

We'll discuss that and more in the first PROGRESS REPORT of 2021 next week.

Until then, take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

27 December , 2020

All links were active at time of posting.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 19, 2020

Things are going pretty good on the writing front, at least as far as the SCIENCE FICTION PROJECT is

Not much of a gift wrapper, am I?😉

concerned.

At some point I still need to get back to SOLITAIRE and finish going over everything My Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proofreader did before returning the manuscript back to her so she can finish her review.

However, I seriously doubt either half of that last statement will be accomplished before the holidays are over. She left off somewhere in Japan before personal matters called her away and I haven't even started yet!😮

In any event, there's gifts to wrap and all sorts of other household chores on the horizon, so I better get to it.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

🕎HAPPY 🎇 HOLIDAYS!🎄

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

20 December, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 12, 2020

A special tree. No L. (Noel 😉 )

First and foremost, my apologies for not posting this December 13 but after spending most of the morning and afternoon putting up and decorating my tree for the holidays, discovered the hard way that I had no Internet service, which didn't come back online until about an hour before I posted this week's Progress Report.

2020, the year that keeps on giving! 😝

Now then, between two different doctor appointments this past week (and still no TARDIS!), grocery shopping and other household tasks and chores, afraid I didn't get much actual writing done.

What little I did accomplish was on the SCIENCE FICTION PROJECT, which is starting to shape up very well.

Kind of flying by the seat of my pants on this, like one of those old time Saturday Matinee Movie Serials where you have absolutely no idea what is going to happen from one chapter/page to the next.

To quote Jimmy Buffett...

♫Where it all ends I can't fathom my friends

If I knew I might toss out my anchor♫

Or in plain English, I'm having a load of fun at the keyboard and can't wait to see what happens next!

With that in mind I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

14 December, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 5, 2020

 SO WHAT'S THE PLAN CHIEF?

First, don't call me Chief.😉

The SCI-FI PROJECT I've been working on for the last couple of weeks is finally starting to take shape. While only a couple of chapters into it right now, I do have a good idea of what to do with the novel.

Yet My Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proofreader just sent me back the SOLITAIRE manuscript.

Alas that's not as great news as I hoped for, because she only got midway through the Tokyo section of the adventure, saying there were a few problems there that need to be addressed and fixed.

Hey, it happens.

In this case I've never been to Tokyo, let alone any of the other major locales in the SOLITAIRE novel.

Even without a pandemic in progress, I couldn't afford the airfare or travel expenses to check anything out first hand anyway, so I tried to research the situations and backgrounds the best I could from the comfort and safety of my own home. I do wish there was such a thing as "Frequent Internet Surfing Mileage" though. My credit in that unfortunately nonexistent account would probably already be at least six figures! 😀

Valuable lesson here folks!

There's no "mistake free" guarantees in any aspect of life.

When I finish the chapter I'm in the middle of on the SCI-FI PROJECT, I'll start going back over SOLITAIRE again.

Not sure how long the latter will take me, but better to correct my mistakes now than have a publisher reject my work because of them.

It just goes to show you. No one is perfect. Not even Yours Truly, which is why I have someone else go over and review my writing independent of my own editing to make sure each finished project is as good as humanly possible.

With that in mind I better get back to it.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

6 December, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 28, 2020

SOME THOUGHTS ON WRITING...

A More Dangerous Predator???

Despite the pandemic😷, the holiday weekend has still managed to throw a monkey wrench or two into everyone's respective schedules, so My Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proofreader is nowhere near finished going over the SOLITAIRE manuscript yet.

Reviewing her notes and thoughts on that potential novel is at the top of My Things To Do List once she sends it back to me, but I AM WRITING!

Don't really feel like discussing the specifics of my current project at the moment since it is still early in the game, so to speak, but I'm currently on the third chapter of a new science fiction novel that I hope to have done by around my birthday next March.

However that's just an estimate at the moment. I'm looking at TWO different Doctor appointments next week, and I still can't arrange a meeting with the TARDIS operator! Plus there's grocery hunting, housework, trying to acquire the appropriate presents for family and friends...

In other words, life is what happens while you're busy trying to make other plans.😉

At some point I know I should get back to whatever will become ALPHA 3 as well as a few other projects I've been thinking about for quite a while now, but like I said last week, I'm just not "feeling" Alpha at the moment.

Writing isn't just a "job", it's an artistic adventure.

Like the more visual creations of drawing, painting, sculpting, etc.; writing isn't just a method of expressing and sharing thoughts and ideas—it's feelings as well.

Hopes and aspirations. Comedy and drama. Happiness and tears.

In other words life and the adventures within it, whether factual, fictional, or somewhere in-between.

But however you care to look at it, I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

29 November, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 21, 2020

While my Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proofreader goes over the SOLITAIRE manuscript, I AM still writing.

But WHAT am I writing? Besides this Blog post, that is.😉

While Airship 27's door is always open for me to submit more SHERLOCK HOLMES mysteries, theoretically I know I should be working on the third PROJECT ALPHA novel, but for some reason(s) I just can't get into it at the moment.

I know at least part of the problem is that the basic premise of ALPHA is being a superhero set in the world you can see outside your window, but right now with the pandemic😷 and other issues, the world outside my window isn't really very attractive right now.

HOPEFULLY THAT WILL CHANGE, but until then...

With that in mind I've decided upon a science fiction

project I've been kicking around for some time set on a totally different world that I had to create from scratch somewhere else in the universe and no, it's not anything in relation to HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE.

Words are flowing pretty freely when I work on it😀, but not sure how much writing I'm actually going to get done this week with the Thanksgiving holiday approaching.

But please remember folks, with the pandemic not only still in full swing but apparently getting worse with the cold winter months approaching, you may not have the holidays you want this year but be thankful you are still here to enjoy the holidays you can.💖

In any event TAKE CARE!

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

22 November, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 14, 2020

I'VE FINISHED GOING OVER SOLITAIRE!😀

It's now in the hands of my very capable Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proofreader for her thoughts and opinions.

Now the big question is: WHAT DO I DO NEXT?

As of posting this Progress Report, I haven't really decided yet.

Part of it is because of having a few different possibilities to consider.

Another part of the indecision is that at the moment, I don't really know what I feel like writing yet.

Writing isn't just a question of hard facts and other logistics, but emotions as well. Not just those of a character in any given scene but those of the writer as well.

Some days you feel like writing more than others.

Those lesser days you still try, but they're not always as productive as the ones when you're totally in "the zone" and your typing speed can't keep up with the speed of your thoughts.

Of course if I'm in "the zone" and suddenly see Rod Serling...😉

In any event, I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

15 November, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 7, 2020

THE BLOG ATE MY POST! 🤯

My Editing Cap 😉

SERIOUSLY though folks, I have absolute no idea what happened and until today, I honestly didn't know anything was amiss.

But to briefly recap, I am trying to finish up my second pass on the SOLITAIRE manuscript before sending it on to My Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proofreader for her review and thoughts.

While she is doing that, I will start my next writing project, although I have absolutely no idea what that will actually be at the moment.

In any event, I better get back to it so take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet!

Lee Houston, Junior

12 November, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 31, 2020

Cover art by Rob Davis

Well, with this {censored} pandemic😷 not only in full swing but apparently on the rise again, I didn't get any Trick or Treaters👻 out my way and it was an ideal Halloween🎃 too between not only being on a Saturday but with a full moon🌕 as well!

That combination won't happen again until 2039!

In any event, besides promoting SHERLOCK HOLMES, CONSULTING DETECTIVE VOLUME 16, now available in both Print and Kindle E-book from Amazon; I spent time wearing my Editor's Hat making my second pass on the SOLITAIRE manuscript before I send it on to my Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proofreader.

Editor's Hat

 I know this may seem like a lot of work to some people.

After all, the story's written, why not go on to the next project?

I will, but first I want to make sure the current project is as good as humanly possible.

I will definitely start whatever turns out to be next on my agenda while Nancy Hansen is going over the SOLITAIRE manuscript, and then pause that when she's done and it's time for me to review her thoughts on the book.

THEN I'll submit it to a publisher and resume what I was working on at the time.

WHY?

Why not?

Besides, I want to make sure readers enjoy what I write and hopefully will want more, and you certainly can't achieve that objective by cutting corners and just submitting first drafts.

Otherwise you wouldn't get very far in the publishing world.

So with that in mind I better get back to it.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

1 November, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 24, 2020

OKAY, A COUPLE OF PIECES OF IMPORTANT BUSINESS TODAY,

SO LET'S GET RIGHT TO IT.

First and foremost, the first draft to the SOLITAIRE novel is done!

The manuscript came in at 67,000+ words between 34 chapters.

Game plan now is to put on my editor's cap and go back over the manuscript to see where I can tighten and/or polish it up a bit before sending it on to My Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proofreader for her review and input.

Second, but by no means least:

SHERLOCK HOLMES, CONSULTING DETECTIVE VOLUME 16 has been released by Airship 27!😀

Featuring the creative talents of

*I. A.—no known relation to Doctor—WATSON's 

"The Adventure of the Anarchist's Apprentice" (Who's raging havoc and destruction on London?)

*GREG HATCHER's two short stories

"The Adventure of the Disappearing Diplomat" (a race against time to save Mycroft and a foreign dignitary) and "The Adventure of the Man Who Died Twice"  (did a widow really lose her husband twice?)

*ROB DAVIS' interior art, cover (based upon an illustration from the Italian adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four), and formatting

*Along with MY NOVELLA "The Adventure of the Unimaginable" (can Watson solve a mystery alone when Sherlock's on holiday?)

Who could ask for anything more between the covers of this amazing volume?

The book is out now via Amazon in PRINT or KINDLE E-BOOK format.

More on Holmes in the coming days.

I've got to get back to writing proof-reading now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

25 October, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 17, 2020

I'm so near the end it's absolutely frustrating!

66,000+ words and 32 chapters into the SOLITAIRE novel.

Either this chapter or the next will be the last that ties everything before to everything I've written beyond where I'm at at the moment.

Then I'll have to go back and reread the entire manuscript. Give it a second pass and polish it up a bit before I send it to My Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proof Reader for her opinions.

In any event, I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

18 October, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 10, 2020

Well, as you can imagine from the image on the right, I'm not quite finished with the SOLITAIRE novel yet.

Almost 64,000 words as I start Chapter 31.

I know the end is in sight because at least half of those last 4,000 words are the finale and epilog to the adventure that I wrote weeks ago.

In any event, I do have ideas to tackle for the rest of 2020 and beyond, it's just a question of who is done when versus what else might happen in the meantime.

Air Captain Ron Fortier's latest post on the Airship 27 website will be quite interesting to fans of both myself, SHERLOCK HOLMES, and my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader.

I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

11 October, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 3, 2020

I truly wish I could say that the first draft to SOLITAIRE is finished, but not quite yet.

I am 62,000+ words and on Chapter 30.

Not sure how many actual chapters there will be, but this past week I did write the concluding scene and tweaked the existing Epilog accordingly.

The goal is to close the gap between all that and where I actually left off in Chapter 30 before I jumped ahead again.

Now the way I see it, there's nothing wrong with jumping ahead when necessary.

After all, if you've got a strong idea for a scene later than where you actually are in a manuscript at the moment, you certainly want to get it down in writing and not run the risk of losing it.

What if, when you finally come to that moment later on, you forgot what it was?

Better to have those parts ready and waiting for however long it takes to reach the point where you need them instead.

In any event, I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

4 October, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

I've broken the 60,000+ word mark while in the middle of Chapter 29 on the SOLITAIRE novel!

I should have the book done by 65,000 words, especially considering that I've had the Epilog written for weeks now and just need to fold it into the manuscript once the main adventure is finished.

For those who came in late, this is going to be a fast paced action-thriller that I've put a whole lot of work into.

After all, even without the pandemic the world's currently facing, there is no way I ever could have afforded to fly to New York City, let alone Tokyo, Japan or the Australian Outback to do first hand research.

Thankfully the Internet has saved me a ton of money, as well as time and effort, but if anyone was to take a close examination of my search history over the past few months...

If you didn't know I was a writer, you'd wonder what the hell I was up to!😉

In any event, once SOLITAIRE is finished, I do have other projects to tackle, especially since my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader won't be available to go over the manuscript until after she submits her story for WAR ON MONSTER EARTH, the end of the trilogy.

Either way, I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

27 September, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 19, 2020

First item on my agenda for today.

A friendly reminder that Airship 27 is still open for any new artists wanting to do interior and/or cover illustrations for their publications.

All interested parties can contact Ron Fortier either through Facebook or the company website.

Now then, unfortunately there wound up not being as much writing time last week as I hoped there would be. Not through any mistakes on my part, just the way life goes sometimes.

But I did manage into get to Chapter 28 and well past 58,000 words on the SOLITAIRE novel.

I've got a few scenes, including the Epilog, already written, but it's getting from where I'm at right now to the point where I can add the other material that's been the problem.

Especially the fight/action sequences.

I can see those playing out in my head, but getting them into words is another matter.

I'm sure other writers have had similar experiences.

In any event, I better get back to writing now.

Take care. STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

20 September, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 12, 2020

HI EVERYBODY!

Three MAJOR items to mention this week, so let's get right to them.

SHERLOCK HOLMES in "THE ADVENTURE OF THE UNIMAGINABLE" HAS been accepted for publication by Airship 27!😀

Projected publication is in the soon to be released next volume of their SHERLOCK HOLMES, CONSULTING DETECTIVE series!

I'll have more details the closer we draw near to whatever the release date is.

I'm back at work on the SOLITAIRE novel!

Currently at 57,000+ words in Chapter 27. Once the first draft is done, it still has to go to my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader for review and a final polish by me before the manuscript is submitted for publication by whoever, but this leads us into Item...

Nancy Hansen will be unavailable for proofreading duties until after Halloween because she's on a tight deadline for a new project.

She, Jim Beard, James Palmer, Russell Nohelty, Teel James Glenn and John C. Bruening are getting together in hopes of completing the Kaiju trilogy with the final volume: WAR ON MONSTER EARTH, but they need YOUR help!

If you're able to contribute to help defray production/publication costs, please visit their Kick Starter page and donate.

In any event, I better get back to my own writing now.

Take care, STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

13 September, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 5, 2020

Hope everyone is having a good Labor Day weekend and not working too hard, where applicable.

Afraid I had to put SOLITAIRE on pause this past week and don my Editing Hat again, for Ron Fortier at Airship 27 e-mailed me wanting to know if my SHERLOCK HOLMES story "THE ADVENTURE OF THE UNIMAGINABLE" was ready for submission because he would like to include it in the next volume of SHERLOCK HOLMES CONSULTING DETECTIVE.

Considering I was originally gonna make my final read through on it while my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader reviewed the completed SOLITAIRE manuscript, you can imagine that I've been working feverishly trying to make sure HOLMES is ready to send off before going back to the project in progress.

Anyway, while the error of putting off till tomorrow what you can do today might be mine, I'm definitely going to be able to keep my promise of sending the polished story in by Tuesday.

THEN I'll go back to SOLITAIRE, who is still in Australia racing to the exciting climax of {sorry, you'll have to wait till the book is done and published to find out what😉}.

In any event, going to get back to it now, for at the moment I am on page 34 of 47 manuscript pages, and then I still have to include a brief bio and thoughts on the story.

So I better get to it!

Take care. STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

6 September, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 29, 2020

SEVERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS TO MAKE THIS OUTING,

SO LET'S GET RIGHT TO THEM!

1. Ron Fortier at Airship 27 is looking for artists, both interior and/or cover. If interested, contact him either through the Airship 27 website or Facebook.

But any negotiations and/or deals are strictly between you and him. I'm just helping to spread the word about his search.

2. THIS is my 400th post on FILLING BLANK SPACES! 😀 And The Free Choice E-zine's next post will be #2400!

3. While it is still flexible enough to accommodate anything that might arise between now and then, I've got my creative agenda for this fall beyond SOLITAIRE planned out. More news on that as the days progress. Speaking of which...

4. Am currently on Chapter 26 and 56,000+ words on that novel. All modesty and bragging aside, I really think readers will love this book when it is eventually published.

But to reach that point, I better get back to writing now.

Take care. STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet!

Lee Houston, Junior

30 August, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 22, 2020

As usual lately, between household chores, errands, and life's other various and sundered interruptions, I didn't get as much writing time this past week as I would have liked to.

Then again, I can't think of any writer who has ever been able to brag, "I had so much writing time this past week..."

Anyway, I'm 54,000+ words and 25 chapters into SOLITAIRE. Finishing the novel by 65,000 is the goal and Australia is the last major leg of the adventure, so I don't foresee any reason why this shouldn't be possible. Just have to get to it.

With that in mind, take care. STAY SAFE! 😷And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

23 August, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 15, 2020

 I've been wearing my Editor's Hat most of this past week, laying the ground work for the previously

mentioned memorial project that will be published at about this point sometime next year.

Not sure how much more about it I can say right now, but it will definitely be discussed a lot more in 2021, especially as it gets closer to an actual release date.

 Going back to regular writing this week as I resume work on SOLITAIRE.

Chapter 24 and 53,000+ words. Still in Australia. Not sure I'll have the first draft finished by Labor Day, but definitely by the end of September, barring anything unforeseen. Like another power outage.

Still need to finish revising the second (final?) draft to SHERLOCK HOLMES and "The Adventure of the Unimaginable" too, but that will probably be while my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader is going over SOLITAIRE.

In any event, take care. STAY SAFE!😷 Still trying to figure out these new Blogger controls between here and The Free Choice E-zine, but I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

16 August, 2020