PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MARCH 21, 2026

 Unfortunately there isn't much progress to report since last week. 😢

I'm still on Chapter 14 of the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES; but at least I've made it into the 26,000+ word territory.

For the most part it just wasn't a good week last week. Too much happened that needed to be addressed that I wasn't expecting and I have no idea how this week is going to be with a doctor's appointment Monday as well as all the usual errands, household chores, etc.

Guess I'll just have to take it one day at a time.

And in case you missed it, John Lustig published my very first Last Kiss on Saint Patrick's Day. 🍀

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

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

22 March, 2026

MY FIRST "LAST KISS"

 NOW IT CAN BE TOLD! 😁

Fellow writer John Lustig bought the rights to the defunct Charlton Comics line of romance comics and along with other public domain material, turned it into a long running gag feature called Last Kiss, that can be found on Go Comics and other places, including his website.

Guess who's Saint Patrick's Day🍀 joke was published today?

That's right. MINE! 😎

Can you tell I'm more than a little excited about all of this right now?😉 My first foray into the world of comics as a contributor.

It's kind of like finding the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow🌈 or winning the lottery.

Hopefully in time as my muse and John's sense of humor permits, I'll have another gag or three to share with the world but between now and then, I urge everyone who needs a good laugh (especially nowadays) to visit Last Kiss on a regular basis for a little stress relief.

Sincere-Lee,

Lee Houston, Junior

17 March, 2026

 All links were active at the time of posting.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MARCH 14, 2026

 BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH?

Other than the lousy weather, it's just another March 15 to me.

In any event, I'm on Chapter 14 and well into the 25,000+ block word count wise on the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES.

Sometimes writing is like soaring through space at warp speed. My fingers can't type fast enough to keep up with my thoughts.

Other days it's like trying to climb up a mountain bare handed with an anchor tied to each leg. I feel like I'm getting nowhere fast but keep pursuing the dream.

Guess which version I prefer? 😉

In any event I'm doing my best whenever time permits, but that lady is a fickle mistress to begin with. ⌚⌛⏰⏳

I'll be back Tuesday to share that special event I've been hinting about with everyone.

Until then I better get back to writing and see what I can accomplish between now and then.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

15 March, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MARCH 7, 2026

 At the moment I'm in the 24,000+ words neighborhood and Chapter 13 of the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES, but am stuck trying to work a sequence out to my satisfaction that will be enjoyable for you to read whenever the novel is actually published by whoever HUGH's new publisher turns out to be.

For those who came in late, if the last part of the above paragraph doesn't make any sense to you, I want to finish writing the prequel novel before I try shopping the series anew.

A few friends have made suggestions in regards to where HUGH's new home should be since Pro Se Press went out of business last year, but I honestly can't see trying to sell an incomplete manuscript despite HUGH's previously established history.

I've already discussed my long term plans for the series revival in previous posts, but day to day life events sometimes regularly have a way of interrupting things, which is why I'm not as far along in the novel as I would prefer to be.

I also have a SPECIAL SURPRISE to spring upon everyone next week!😁

More details on that as we get closer to the target date.

In any event I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

8 March, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 28, 2026

View out my window February 22!

 I am SO glad that today is the first of March!

While there is still unfortunately plenty of winter weather to deal with over the next few weeks, Spring is at least on its way. 😀

Hopefully it has a better travel agent than last year and arrives at least close to, if not actually on time for once because I would love to see a few consecutive days AND nights ABOVE freezing for a change!

The blizzard of February 22-23 was no fun at all, as I'm sure many who also experienced it can attest.

The subsequent snow storms, while nowhere near as intense as the TWENTY FIVE INCHES OF SNOW that the blizzard left, sure weren't enjoyable either. Neither was the power outage, but thankfully that was just during the day.

Anyway, not much writing accomplished on HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE's prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES this past week. But while I'm still on Chapter 12, at least I've made it to the 23,000+ neighborhood word count wise.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow (March 2) and the usual errands and chores to tackle throughout the rest of the week, but hopefully I'll get more writing done in-between all that and trying to stay warm.

I've also got a surprise coming up for all my readers and fans, but unfortunately I can't share it with everybody yet.

But that time is coming...

Until then, I better get back to writing.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior,

who thanks everyone for the 4,471 page views this blog received over February 2026.

1 March, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 14, 2026

 Another busy week is behind me, but at least I got some writing done.

Had to get both an eye exam and my car past emissions this past week, on top of the usual cooking, cleaning, laundry and other assorted errands and chores.

Since I was dilated, that day was a total loss to everything except the radio. 😕 I did get to hear some good music while my eyes readjusted to normal.

The optometrist says that while I may be facing cataract surgery someday, it happens to everyone in time but it won't be within my foreseeable future.

No pun intended.

And I'm over 22,000+ words and into Chapter 12 of the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE prequel novel: PRIVATE BATTLES.

So you have to take the good with the bad.

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

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

15 February, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7, 2026

 I've made it to Chapter 12 and am about to break the 21,000+ word mark on the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES.

I admit that Chapter 11 took a little longer to complete than I first thought it would.

Part of it was trying to work things out.

Another part was going back to tweak stuff in previous chapters as the novel evolves to where it is now and what it might be by the time I finish.

The rest was the usual requirements of life that I've discussed before. Like cooking, cleaning, etc.

One aspect that I haven't touched much on lately has been the weather.

As I post this, there hasn't been a day or night ABOVE freezing in my neck of the woods so far in 2026!

And this streak extends into the last few days of 2025 before New Year's Eve!

The weather forecasts claim by this time next weekend it might be a different story, at least during the days. We might even make it to like 37 or 38 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.

However the nights will still dip back down below 32F.

On the plus side, I'm staying in more to keep warm, which does get me some extra writing time.

On the other hand, all I can think of is trying to stay warm and wondering when all this {bleep} will end?

Except for missing the holidays and my family, I always thought bears had the right idea about hibernating until Spring.

In any event, take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

8 February, 2026

And still available from Amazon...

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JANUARY 31, 2026

 The first month of 2026 is over. Wish its winter was too!

It has been SERIOUSLY cold these last few weeks.

HOW COLD IS IT?

It has been so cold... you folks will have to make up your own jokes about it because I'm too busy trying to stay warm to do so myself. 😉

In any event, while I'm still on Chapter 11 of the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE PREQUEL
NOVEL: PRIVATE BATTLES, I have broken the 21,000+ word mark.

This has been one heck of a novel to write so far because, while I'm trying to set up the series for whoever winds up being the revived HUGH's new publisher once I'm done with this manuscript and start looking for them, I don't want to use anything that I already did in the existing books.

The previous HUGH MONN novels from the late, lamented Pro Se Press are part of my long term plans to restart the series.

I plan to take as many of the cases from the original short story collection and rework them into one novel to be called EARLY DAYS, which starts after PRIVATE BATTLES' last page when HUGH has earned his private detective license and sets up his own practice.

Whether or not there will be a totally new novel after that book remains to be seen, but there will be a new case for the private detective in the far flung future between the rereleases of CATCH A RISING STAR and FEMME FATALES, the other books Pro Se published in HUGH's previous print history.

Of course I will be going back over and revising those manuscripts before they're published again but afterward everything will be brand new from that point on.

Now then, two quick points of interest before I end this post.

The first being I would like to thank everyone for the 8,368 page views FILLING BLANK SPACES received this past month, which is the highest ever according to Google's Blogger logs.

The second should come as no surprise, but SOLITAIRE'S DEBUT NOVEL as well as SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA are both on sale at Amazon from Airship 27.

Now then, I better get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!
And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

1 February, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JANUARY 24, 2026

😀 GOOD NEWS THIS WEEK!😁

I'm well into Chapter 11 and the 19,000+ word mark on the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE PREQUEL NOVEL PRIVATE BATTLES.

Obviously I still have a long way to go to complete the first draft, let alone consider the manuscript ready to submit to whoever HUGH's new publisher will be, but at least there IS progress!

ALSO, I even got as good of a medical checkup as an almost 64 year old man can get from his cardiologist this past week.

While two bouts of pneumonia, congestive heart failure and an aortic aneurysm have taken their toll on my overall health, I'm still here AND my weight is even lower than my last visit.😀

While I have never been obese by any stretch of the imagination, I have been fighting the proverbial battle of the bulge since puberty, so it's wonderful to see a favorable scale reading.

AND FOR THOSE INTERESTED...

Please don't forget that the original SOLITAIRE novel and it's sequel SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA are both on sale at Amazon from Airship 27.

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

25 January, 2026

All links were active at the time of posting.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JANUARY 17, 2026

 I'm on Chapter 10 of the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES and about to break the 18,000+ word mark.

For those who follow my PROGRESS REPORTS from one week to the next, I know that may not seem like a lot since last week's report, but from my perspective it is considering I also have to cook and clean as well as run errands and do a lot of other stuff in the course of an average day since my entire household "staff" consists of me, myself and I.

Speaking of which, I've got grocery shopping, laundry and an appointment with my cardiologist in the coming week around whatever writing I can get done.

See my point?

AND FOR THOSE WHO CAME IN LATE...

Besides SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, the original SOLITAIRE novel is also available from Airship 27 on Amazon in both print and e-book formats.

Ted Hammond covers and Chuck Bordell interior illustrations surround the opening adventures of the Secret Samaritan written and created by yours truly.

No matter what the quality of their prose, in the end the only true measure of a writer is the response of their readership, so I hope everyone enjoys my humble attempts to entertain you.

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 January, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JANUARY 10, 2026

 This is the first Progress Report of 2026 and there HAS been progress!

I am on Chapter 9 and over 16,700+ words into the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE PREQUEL NOVEL: PRIVATE BATTLES.

There is one pretty intense flashback sequence concerning how Hugh's medical condition happened.

For those who came in late, he can't stand cold temperatures (anything below 70 degrees Fahrenheit!) after being caught in a cryobomb blast during Universal War One.

I've also got other scenes planned along the way to reveal how he became the man he is in the far flung future where all his adventurous mysteries take place.

Readers and fans of the original series already know those answers and a whole lot more, but it's time for a restart and bring everyone back to the fold starting from Page 1.

The entire cast, including fan favorites Big Louie the Primoid, Attorney Mau Mynx and Sandra Bunnae, Hugh's girlfriend at the time when Pro Se Press folded WILL be reestablished and returning, but the first novel in the new series deals with Hugh trying to figure out his personal future while earning his private detective license.

However, I don't think I'll be going the Self-Publishing route after all because it's just too much work for one person.

If I was at least 30 years younger, maybe.

But I'll be 64 this coming March and don't always get as much writing time in any given day as I would like, so you can see how all the business end matters in regards to selling and promoting a book would tie up a lot of anyone's time.

Best to leave that to the professionals and just let me concentrate on the writing.

Ted Hammond cover

Who HUGH MONN's new publisher will be is something I will have to figure out after I complete the manuscript to PRIVATE BATTLES.

Yet before I return to writing, A FRIENDLY REMINDER that SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA is available from Airship 27 on Amazon in both print and e-book formats.

A Ted Hammond cover and Chuck Bordell interior illustrations accompany the second adventure of the Secret Samaritan written by yours truly.

So on that note♫, take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

11 January, 2026

2025/2026

 For those expecting the weekly PROGRESS REPORT today, afraid there wasn't much progress to report.

Cover art by Ted Hammond

Been way too busy with household chores, errands and other personal responsibilities—including taking down all the Christmas decorations—and wound up with less than 100 words on the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE PREQUEL NOVEL: PRIVATE BATTLES.

Hopefully this coming week will be better, but we'll see how it goes.

Despite my best efforts, 2025 only saw one book release, but it's a real winner.

SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA is out from Airship 27 and available from Amazon in both print and e-book formats!

Featuring a cover by Ted Hammond, interior illustrations by Chuck Bordell and a terrific story by yours truly, it is a worthy sequel to the original SOLITAIRE novel without suffering from "sequelitis" like some second installments of popular media properties have experienced over the years.

You can read one or the other or preferably both, but you'll never find those dreaded words "To Be Continued" at the end of any of my novels.

I really do hope you enjoy the Secret Samaritan's latest adventure and when there is word on SOLITAIRE 3 I will share it with everyone as soon as I can, but first I've got to get HUGH back up and running since his original publisher Pro Se Press folded this past Spring.😢

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

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

January 4, 2026