PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 23, 2023

I received a fantastic, early Christmas gift this week but while I can share the news with everybody, I have to wait until after the contract is signed to do so.

It has unfortunately been slow going this past week writing wise versus trying to get everything ready for Christmas, but I have managed to break the 51,000+ word count on SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, although I'm still on Chapter 30 at the moment.

Hopefully after the first of the year I'll be able to concentrate on my writing more.

Especially after I share my good news with you next weekend.

Until then, take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And 

Lee Houston, Junior

24 December, 2023

2023 HOLIDAY SUGGESTIONS

 It's that time of year folks! Christmas is next week's Monday as I post this and thankfully, all I have to do at this point is wrap and deliver the presents to those receiving them.

Unfortunately others are not as well prepared.

So if you folks do not mind a few suggestions...

The first installment in my new SOLITAIRE series came out earlier this year from Airship 27 with a beautiful cover by Ted Hammond and interior illustrations by Chuck Bordell.

The murder of an innocent man sends the Secret Samaritan on a globe spanning adventure to stop a potential International but highly illegal surveillance operation while bringing the killers to justice.

I am hard at work on Book 2: The Agenda and have been piecing together possible plot points for Book 3 in what I laughingly call my "spare" time.

ALSO RELEASED THIS YEAR...

GOLGOTHA: WOLFE HUNT

A story based in Jaime Ramos' fictional Wisconsin city where almost anything can happen, and usually does.

No longer a ward of the court, Joseph Wolfe now has to make it on his own the best he can, but finding his parents killer(s) is still the first priority.

AND LET'S NOT FORGET MY PAST WORKS...

There's HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, a Universal War 1 veteran now working as an investigator on the planet Frontera with three books to date.

HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE

HM,PD: CATCH A RISING STAR

HM,PD: FEMME FATALES

My own super-hero ALPHA in two novels to date.

PROJECT ALPHA

PA: PROVING GROUND

There's also KIRI'S QUEST and a host of short stories in various publications that you can find in greater detail on my Amazon Author's page; as well as helping Nancy Hansen finish our friend Mark Halegua's novel THE BLUE LIGHT.

Everything is available in both print and e-format on Amazon, and makes wonderful reading not only during the Christmas season, but the rest of the year as well.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 9, 2023

 IN ALL HONESTY, I WISH I HAD SOME PROGRESS TO REPORT. 😕

I really don't know what happened.

I had my usual Errand Day and the never ending battle with house work since dishes don't clean themselves, meals don't fix themselves, laundry unfortunately doesn't wash itself no matter how much or how little of it there is.

I didn't have any doctor appointments or other commitments this past week.

Yet it seems like every time I tried to get to the computer or even thought about writing, something came up to interfere with my original plans.

I know Christmas is coming, but I haven't been that busy getting ready for it.

Where I live is as about as decorated as it's gonna be and the gift wrapping chaos is more of a December 20ish event.

So in the end I'm still on Chapter 30 of SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA and in the 50,000+ word neighborhood on the manuscript.

Hopefully this coming week will be better.

Even though there is still Errand Day and house work to tackle...

In any event, take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

Have a great week and I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

10 December, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 2, 2023

I'M BACK ON TRACK, more or less, concerning my writing.

After untangling all the tanglements, I've picked up where I left off on Chapter 30 of SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, although I haven't broken the 51,000+ word mark yet.

While the computer file is still technically the first draft, I have gone over the manuscript from start to where I am at the moment a couple of times since I began writing this novel. So I guess you could call it Version 1.4 or 1.5 at this point.

And that's beside my daily reread what I wrote yesterday before I resume writing practice.

Lots of research goes into each SOLITAIRE novel too. Besides the technology and other facts that need to be as accurate as humanly possible, I certainly don't have the budget to actually fly to any of the exotic locales I send the Secret Samaritan to.

Too bad the Internet doesn't provide Frequent Surfing Points for long term users. 😞

I've said on numerous previous occasions that I do it all to ensure the best possible book I can humanly produce, although you the readers are the ultimate judge of my efforts.

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

3 December, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 25, 2023

WELL...😞

As I suspected, because of the Thanksgiving holiday and all the preparations that went into making sure all my family and friends had a good time, I got hardly any writing done last week.

While I have figured out where I missed the proverbial left turn at Albuquerque in the manuscript for SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA; I'm still about a chapter and a half away from where I left off writing when I went back to make the necessary repairs while I tweaked this and that along the journey to make the novel even better than before.

Of course the proof is in the reading, so for now you'll just have to take my word for it until the novel is published sometime in mid-to-late 2024 at the earliest.

But to achieve that goal, I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

26 November, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 18, 2023

 GOOD NEWS AND THANKFULNESS! 😀

I've just about got everything untangled and will be picking up where I left off on SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA sometime this week, but not sure exactly when at the moment with the Thanksgiving holiday on the horizon.

Not that I'm a major fan of football games and shopping, but it is a great time for family get togethers and catching up with everyone on everything.

While everyone talks about sports and their (impending) purchases, let alone all the great food that's served that day, it's also important to stop and pause for a chance to remember and be thankful for everything you do have.

Although my health isn't the greatest; I have survived congestive heart failure, an aortic aneurysm and a second heart operation to replace a failing part from the original procedure that fixed the aneurysm.

So I do have a lot to be thankful for, even though in these stressful times I unfortunately lose sight of that occasionally.😕

Not one of the better parts of being human, but it goes with the territory.

Despite the fact that there are times when I am unable to verbally express myself (which I will be the first to admit is ironic for a writer), I am thankful for my family, friends, my readers and fans, and still being alive.

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

19 November, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 11, 2023

 Yes, there IS progress to report this week! 😀

Unknotting the situation

While I'm still working on untangling the mess the later chapters somehow evolved into, I'm closer to the
end of doing so than last week, and have broken the 50,000+ word mark on SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA too.

Hopefully by next weekend I'll be back where I left off and starting fresh on Chapter 30 of the manuscript. 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

12 November, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 4, 2023

Still working on untangling my tangled mess. 

While I haven't started Chapter 30 of SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA yet, I have added about another 100 words so far trying to straighten everything out although the overall manuscript is still slightly below the 50,000 word mark at the moment.

Hopefully next week will be a different story but with a Doctor's appointment splitting Errands Day between 2 different days this week, we'll just have to wait and see.

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

5 November, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 28, 2023

 Well, somehow I missed a plot point and now have a tangled mess on my hands.

I did finish Chapter 29 to SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, and am currently hovering just a hair below the 50,000 word mark.

I know how the book should end and what is supposed to happen between Chapter 30 and the conclusion, but I went back to an earlier chapter to double check a few details and the early stuff doesn't agree with the recently written material.

To (mis)quote that famous wascially wabbit, somehow I missed the proverbial left turn at Albuquerque.

Hey, being only human, it happens.😕

I have no idea yet where I zigged instead of zagged, because I've just started searching for my mistake(s) so I can correct them.

But once everything is fixed, I will pick up where I left off.

Hope everyone has a good week, a safe Halloween🎃 Tuesday, and I'll see you around the Internet.

Take care and STAY SAFE! 😷

Lee Houston, Junior

From Airship 27

29 October, 2023

A FRIENDLY REMINDER...

Solitaire's debut novel is still available at Amazon and makes a great Halloween Treat or Christmas present.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 21, 2023

 

First, the Good News.😊

For all intents and purposes, I think I'm over the worse of whatever it was I've been dealing with this past week. I'm far from 100%, but definitely much better than this time last weekend.

The Bad News?😟

Haven't gotten much writing done.

Still on Chapter 29 of SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, but at least I managed to break the 49,000+ word mark.

Hopefully as this coming week passes, I'll be more up to writing and everything else because laundry and other things aren't taking care of themselves while I'm ill.

In any event, take care.
STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

22 October, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 14, 2023

 Unfortunately, there isn't much to report this week.

I've been fighting the {censored} flu most of the time, but I have managed to get nearer to the 49,000 word mark and decided where Chapter 28 ends and Chapter 29 begins on SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA.

Hopefully once I'm over this {censored}, I'll have more to report next week.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

15 October, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 7, 2023

 I don't know what it is about Chapter 28 to SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, but I'm gonna have to find a stopping point to it soon and use the material from where I end it to begin Chapter 29.

I have broken the 48,000+ word mark, but the action sequences just keep coming one after another, like a string of dominos falling with no immediate end in sight.

Some days you're in the writing zone and others you can't even get a road map to attempt locating it. 😕

The first Saturday of each new month, I thank The Free Choice E-zine's loyal readership for granting us X number of page views at the end of the latest The Week In Review column.

Blogger accredits The Free Choice with 55,476 page views for September, which is our highest single month on record, to date.

My humble writing blog that you are reading these words on received 40,990; which is also its single highest month on record, to date.

I just hope all the views on both sights were by actual real people enjoying my work and not simply AI scans looking for whatever they were programmed to seek out.

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

8 October, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

 WELL... I wish there was some progress to report.

It was a pretty busy week for me on other matters.

I had 2 different doctor appointments.

One with my cardiologist, which meant a 50 mile drive one way from the small town where I reside to the big city where his office is.

The other was with my regular doctor who is in another small town closer to where I live, so it wasn't that bad of a drive.

Just realized what I did in that last sentence but no matter how I wish otherwise, there was still no TARDIS in either office.

Both visits turned out fine. More formality than anything else.

Anyway, I needed a day of rest after the long excursion, plus I still had the now delayed weekly Errand Day and the usual household chores to perform since I've yet to figure out how to get the laundry to wash itself, let alone a way for meals to magically appear without the expense of take out and delivery fees.

In any event, the end result is that I'm still on Chapter 28 of SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA and within the 47,000+ word count area.

I did manage a few sentences here and there, and a couple of thoughts in regards to the final chapters.

Better something than nothing.

In any event, all I have this coming week is the household chores and Errand Day ahead of me, so there should hopefully be plenty of writing time in my immediate future.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

1 October, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 23, 2023

 FIRST AND FOREMOST, MY APOLOGIES.

With Hurricane/Tropical Storm Lee (no relation) approaching the New England coastline of the United States last weekend, I prewrote and set the "Blogger Timer" to post every blog entry that would have been up during that time.

The Puzzle Corner, The Week In Review, and even the Sunday Funnies for last weekend all made it onto The Free Choice E-zine but for some reason, whether the fault was on my end or elsewhere, last weekend's scheduled Progress Report here never went online.

But I'm "live" posting this so without further adieu...

Still Available On Amazon

I'm well into Chapter 28 and past the 47,000+ word mark on SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA.

There are still a few twists, turns, thrills and action left before I can officially finish the first draft of the manuscript.

Solitaire's second adventure will be different than her no subtitle debut novel, which is still available on Amazon for those interested, but just as exciting to read.

It's been hard work but a blast to write about the Clandestine Crusader. Sometime in 2024 is still the projected target date for publication, so to make it I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

24 September, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

 There IS progress, depending upon how you look at it

I'm still on Chapter 27 of SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, but I have broken the 46,000 word mark.

Granted, that may not seem like a lot, but considering the week I have had, yet any writing I can get done is good writing!

As I've said before in previous posts, there is just so much I can do in any individual day and being only human, I do the best I can.

Have one of two major doctor's appointments coming up this week, which reschedules Errand Day, plus all the regular household chores that I tackle on a daily basis.

But I'll just have to take everything one day at a time.

So with that in mind, take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

10 September, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 2, 2023

 Wish I had more to say than the fact that I'm still on Chapter 27 of SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA.

I have broken the 45,000+ word mark, but beyond that...

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

3 September, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 26, 2023

 Word by word, whenever I get the time to write between household chores and other stuff, progress is being made on SOLITAIRE 2: THE
AGENDA.

I have started Chapter 27 and am well into the 44,000+ word mark at this point.

Solitaire doesn't do much world traveling this time compared to her debut adventure. Part of that was intentional and part just how the novel has turned out.

I have always thought that the "trick" to sequels was not to attempt topping the previous book(s) and/or movie(s), but to present just as good an adventure as the previous outings without copying yourself.

Hopefully when this novel debuts (ETA: Sometime in mid-2024 at the earliest, depending upon when I get it done and submitted versus the resulting production schedule) everyone will see what I mean while they're enjoying the results.

As for the couple of readers out there who have already inquired as to what SOLITAIRE THREE will be about...

Nothing definite at the moment, but I am kicking some ideas around for after the manuscript for BOOK 2 is finally submitted to the publisher.

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

27 August, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 19, 2023

 "It was the best of times. It was the worse of times."

Charles Dickens' opening to A Tale of Two Cities.

The Good News😀 is that, although I'm still waiting on word as to when/if my previous computer can be fixed, I am fully up and running again on my borrowed system in regards to writing.

The Bad News😕 is all my life's usual interruptions are on their "normal" schedule, so unfortunately I didn't get much done this past week between my personal responsibilities and everything else going on.

I am still on Chapter 26 of SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, but at least I have broken the 44,000+ word mark.

So all I've got to do is keep at it when I can and hopefully the first draft of the manuscript will be finished before the end of the year holiday season arrives so My Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proofreader can review it in what she laughingly calls her spare time with all the writing projects she has on her agenda at the moment.

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 August, 2023

                              FRIENDLY REMINDER:

                              Solitaire's debut is still available on

                              Amazon if you haven't read it yet.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 12, 2023

 Sad to report this, but I suffered a computer crash since the last Progress Report.

I'm currently on an alternate system at the moment that I'm still trying to familiarize myself with.

Thankfully my back up files/flash drives are safe and I'm trying to pick up where I left off on SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, but there is unfortunately no progress to report today.

Hopefully next week.

Until then, take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

13 August, 2023

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDNG AUGUST 5, 2023

 THERE'S GOOD NEWS THIS WEEK FOLKS!

While I didn't make as much progress as I would have liked/preferred since we last "spoke",  I have made
it to Chapter 26 and am approaching the 43,000 word mark on SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA.

Granted, the current chapter isn't finished yet and I've obviously have some work ahead of me to complete the manuscript's first draft, but I'm happy.😎

Other than Errands and Household chores, the next couple of weeks should be fairly quiet; and I hope those are not infamous last words that will come back to haunt me over time.

But I write when I can and try to take care of everything else I have to along the way.

The key is to write when the opportunities come along, so I better live up to my own standards and get back to it now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

6 August, 2023