PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JANUARY 25, 2025

 Other than managing to go over a couple of more pages in my quest to completing the proofreading of
SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, I am afraid that I got nothing else accomplished on the writing front this past week.

A whole lot was done on the personal front though.

Once again, I hope this coming week will be better, but only time will tell.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

26 January, 2025

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JANUARY 18, 2025

 There was actually some progress to report on this past week!😀

While I didn't accomplish more than a couple of paragraphs on my still untitled SHERLOCK HOLMES story for Airship 27, I finally got into the double digits chapter wise proofreading SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA!

Time still seems to be an issue because there is just one of me compared to the housework, chores and everything else that needs to be addressed and accomplished outside of writing on a daily basis.

Yet, even if time was on my side, why does it seem to be taking so long?

Because when I make my final proofreading pass on any manuscript, I go over it with the proverbial fine toothed comb.

Word by word, line by line by paragraph and chapter to correct any mistakes I might have made while seeing if there is any possibility of making the story better in the process.

The same way I review all my Blog entries before posting them.

So far I've completed reviewing 12 out of the 30 something chapters.

There was one unfortunate error involving Solitaire's disguise of the moment that I caught and corrected, along with a few sentences here and there that I tightened to make better reading.

I also added a word or two here and there or an extra sentence at times along the way to make the overall manuscript more enjoyable as well.

I also keep tabs on my chapter numbering to make sure I didn't mislabel any of them.

Twelve Chapters down.

No numbers skipped and the manuscript's total word count is now a little over a 100 more than it was when I started.

The title page, dedication—for SOLITAIRE 2 will be in memory of my late father, who left us in 2024— author's bio and any afterword won't be added until I finish reviewing the main story.

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

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

19 January, 2025

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JANUARY 11, 2025

 Unfortunately, there isn't much progress to report since last Sunday because for some unknown reason(s) my time malady seems to have carried over into the new year and I don't understand why.

I get up at a decent hour and try to tackle everything I've got to do before I attempt anything creatively.

Yet by the time I get everything else accomplished, there isn't much time left for writing.😕

So I decided that I better concentrate on the highest priority first: trying to finish getting SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA proofread so I can submit it to Airship 27.

Especially since I still haven't even made it into the double digit chapters yet.

Hopefully by next weekend I will have much better news to report but until then, I better get back to it.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

12 January, 2025

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JANUARY 4, 2025

 LOOKING BACK AND FORWARD

Welcome to the first PROGRESS REPORT of 2025!

Last year was rough.

TWO MAJOR computer crashes, knocking me offline and out of work for a couple of months between them. The loss of a beloved pet was bad enough, but losing my father was another matter. 😢

Looking back over 2024, while I completed the manuscript to SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, unfortunately the only work that actually got published last year was "Operation Colossus", my short story that appeared within the third volume of the CODE NAME: INTREPID CLASSIFIED anthology series for Robert J. Mendenhall via Blue Planet Press.😊

Even though what you're reading right now covers December 29, 2024 through January 4, 2025; unfortunately nothing got done creatively before New Year's Day and for better or worse, I've only managed to proofread another page of the SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA manuscript since then. 😞

Pending projects for the beginning of this year are:

*Finish proofreading S2 before submitting it to Airship 27.

*Proofread the Science Fiction novel I finished in 2023 before attempting to find it a publisher.

*Get back to work on the ZEPHYR LILY novel at some point, but that is currently delayed because...

*It has been suggested by my friendly neighborhood beta proofreader Nancy Hansen that I write another SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY before Airship 27 goes into semi retirement.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT HEARD...

At the end of their 96th podcast on YouTube, Ron Fortier and Rob Davis, the co-founders and main employees of Airship 27, announced that they are going to start scaling back production to enjoy their Golden Years more.

They will NOT be closing the Hangar completely, just that by 2027 at the latest, neither them nor the company will be going full tilt releasing titles on a regular/monthly basis.

Both gentlemen have had long and distinguished careers professionally and personally, so I wish them well in all their current and future endeavors. Yet that also leaves me with the unanswered question of

WHAT NEXT?

Airship 27 will definitely take SOLITAIRE 2 once I finish proofreading it and SHERLOCK HOLMES once I finish writing it.

But ZEPHYR LILY, let alone the Science Fiction novel and any future SOLITAIRE adventures?

And there is still the enigma of trying to figure out the future of HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE and ALPHA the Superhero because I haven't heard a word from Pro Se Press in years, hence my concentrating on SOLITAIRE and other works for Airship 27.

Yet while I don't have all the answers at the moment, the one thing I do know is that: no matter what happens, I WILL KEEP WRITING!

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

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

5 January, 2025