FIRST, THE WRITING NEWS.
My friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader has gone over my audition piece.
I'm reviewing her review now and WILL be sending it in before the end of this coming week!😀
They'll definitely get it long before deadline, but whether or not they actually like it obviously remains to be seen.
Better to have tried and lost than never to have tried at all.
Either way, barring anything unforeseen, I will return to finishing SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE ADVENTURE OF THE UNIMAGINABLE before resuming writing on the SOLITAIRE novel!
NOW, ON THE PERSONAL FRONT.
These are obviously some troubled times my friends, what with the current virus crisis upon us.
For better or worse, the life of a writer/author is kind of a solitary one to begin with, so I was already kind of self quarantining long before COVID-19 reared its ugly "head" in the United States.
Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that I'm not at risk like everyone else in the world.🌍 Just that thankfully I don't have it at the moment and am (understandably) doing everything humanly possible in the sincere hope not to get it at all!
But in its own way, this mess has taken its toll upon me.😔
Restless nights, emotional stress and worries, trying to find anything at the grocery store being an adventure unto itself.
You get the idea.
Nothing anyone else might be facing right now, but I'm just sharing to let you all know that you are NOT alone in this.
I seriously doubt there is a single spot upon this whole planet we share that hasn't been affected by this pandemic somehow.
I'm not about to get on my soapbox📦, but make no mistake that this IS a pandemic!
Soap🧼 and Water🚰 are your friends and allies in trying to stay safe.
With that in mind, here's a couple of things to help you keep your spirits up.
First, I have absolute no idea who originated this meme, but it's way too good not to share it with everyone.
Secondly, I've made it no secret that my favorite sport is baseball. ⚾
I follow and watch as much as I can from the first pitch of preseason to the last out of the World Series.
Unfortunately, baseball is one of the many things on hold at the moment for safety and health reasons.
But that doesn't mean that I can't imagine myself watching a game on TV as we approach the bottom of the eighth at Fenway Park...
Okay, going back to writing now.
Take care and STAY SAFE!
Lee Houston, Junior
29 March, 2020
Okay folks. I've got a lot going on right now, so I definitely feel like this poor fellow to the left of the text, on a tricky tight rope to traverse.
On one hand, ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON is going well. Still in-between the recently revised Chapter 15 and what will now be Chapter 16. My friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader Nancy Hansen hasn't had a chance to see either yet, because she has a lot going on in her life too, including the recent release of her latest novel MASTER'S ENDGAME, which is the exciting conclusion of the trilogy that began with "Fortune's Pawn" and continued in "Prophecy's Gambit".
Concurrently, another of my tales from the marathon short story season of 2014 has finally seen publication. That now makes 4 out of 10 written last year, with at least two more guaranteed to see print by the end of 2015.
"It All Started Innocently Enough..." is the opening story of the CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JUDSON AND GARDNER anthology from Pro Se Press. A reporter and a small town deputy's investigation into an unfortunate car accident leads to the discovery of...
Well, let's just say it was a lot more than either of them expected.
Nancy's stuff, my work, and the creative output of a lot of other great authors, like Rick Steeves, who shares the JUDSON/GARDNER anthology with me; are all available on Amazon (dot) com.
Meanwhile, out of the blue, I've been invited to contribute a short story to an anthology that is right up my creative alley.
I'll admit I was flabbergasted when asked personally by the anthology's editor, but between that and the subject matter, there was no way I could say no.
This is on top of the two short stories I have already committed to for 2015, both of which I still have to write at some point (probably in-between ALPHA 2 and HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE 3), but this invitation also came with an already on the horizon deadline, so I am hard at work on it while awaiting the pending chapter reviews from Nancy.
So to keep everything in balance, I better get back to work now.
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
29 March, 2015
FIRST, THE WRITING NEWS.
My friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader Nancy Hansen hasn't had a chance to see either yet, because she has a lot going on in her life too, including the recent release of her latest novel MASTER'S ENDGAME, which is the exciting conclusion of the trilogy that began with "Fortune's Pawn" and continued in "Prophecy's Gambit".
This is on top of the two short stories I have already committed to for 2015, both of which I still have to write at some point (probably in-between ALPHA 2 and HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE 3), but this invitation also came with an already on the horizon deadline, so I am hard at work on it while awaiting the pending chapter reviews from Nancy.
