PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 27, 2022

 Currently I am 15,000+ words and on the tenth chapter of SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA.

Our Secretive Samaritan is still in Cancun at the moment, but the action is far from over.

HOWEVER—

As of Wednesday I will be switching from my Writing Cap to my Editor's Hat to keep a couple of promises I made for September when I heard that My Friendly Neighborhood Beta-Proofreader will be having hip surgery on August 31.

Besides being the above, Nancy Hansen has seen me through two heart💔 surgeries💖 and I want to be available in case she needs me to return the favor.

I figured it be quicker to secure and leave my computer in Editing mode than it would in Writing mode because with the latter, you always want to finish a stray thought/sentence/paragraph, etc. before you go elsewhere.

Now don't worry though folks.

I won't be away from writing forever.

Just at least the first couple of weeks of September or until I honor my commitments. Whichever comes second.

Either way, I'll still be keeping up with The Free Choice E-zine in my capacity as Editor-In-Chief during that time.

In any event I better get back to "work" now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

28 August, 2022

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 20, 2022

GOOD NEWS FIRST. 😀

I have finished both Chapter 8 and the Cancun Car Chase in SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA.

The action and thrills are far from over though because write right now I'm in the middle of Chapter 9 and 14,500+ words into the overall manuscript.

There's still plenty of events to cover in that Tropical resort area before going on to...?

Tune in to future PROGRESS REPORTS to find out what the COVERT CRUSADER is up to.

Well, that's the good news.

The "bad" news, such as it is, is that I will be spending at least the beginning of September wearing my Editor's Hat again taking care of a few projects for friends and fellow writers, so I have no idea at the moment how much of my own writing I will manage to accomplish during that time.

With that said, I better see what else I can accomplish between now and the end of August.

Take care.

STAY SAFE! 😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

21 August, 2022

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 13, 2022

 As I post this, I have broken the 13,000+ word mark on SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA, but am still on
Chapter 8 trying to figure out how to successfully end a car chase in Cancun.

As previously mentioned in past posts, staging any action scene in a non-visual medium is a challenge, having to rely only upon words to convey what's going on.

Not that it can't be done. A lot of authors have accomplished this task before me and I am persevering on the matter but, having never let the Continental United States—let alone the pleasure of visiting Cancun—it's taken a lot of research.

Drivers there do use the right side of the road and have the normal traffic lights: red, yellow and green.

But did you know those same lights were also used as COVID alert warnings during the height of the pandemic?

Also speed limits, and many other rules and regulations, are strictly enforced with the local authorities taking a dim view of lawbreakers.

So you can see the work that I've already accomplished and still have to complete this chapter.

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

14 August, 2022

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 6, 2022

Okay, let's run through this.

Still on Chapter 8 to SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA.

Still working on the big action scene of the chapter, but only somewhere between a third to near the halfway point of the sequence at best.

Have gotten over 12,000+ words though.

While I'll admit that doesn't seem like a lot compared to last week, on the other hand I've never been to Cancun in my life, so I'm working blindly except for whatever I can find on the Internet.

At least I should be finished with heart rehab sometime this week so next week will hopefully have a lot more writing time and be closer to "normal" than the last couple of months.

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

7 August, 2022

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 30, 2022

I'm afraid there really isn't that much progress to report at the moment.

Chapter 8 of SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA is underway and I'm trying to stage an action scene somewhere I've never been.

As mentioned in many past posts, research plays an important part in any project, but I'm sure someone with first hand experience would be a lot more knowledgeable than a novice like me.

In any event, I'll just keep plugging away at it until I get it write right.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

31 July, 2022

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 23, 2022

Seven chapters for over 11,000+ words completed on SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA.

Chapter 8 may take a while though because I'm trying to figure out how to stage a major action scene in Cancun. Between what I wrote before concerning presenting action scenes with just words and considering I've never been there...

For those wondering, I haven't been further West than San Antonio, Texas USA , South: Galveston, Texas and the furthest Northeast I have ever been is to a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park and wound up seeing Pitcher Jon Lester's home debut.⚾

Yet if the various formats of the entertainment industry and my vivid imagination counted, then I've been hither, yon and Beyond The Farthest Star.

(A good Edgar Rice Burroughs novel for those interested.)

Yes, everyone has dreams they'd like to see come true, and most of those comprise a person's "Bucket List" of things they'd like to do before they're no longer with us.

I have one too.

If I ever get that far in life, the first item on my list is to get a bucket.😉

Don't know what I'm supposed to do with it afterwards but anyway, it's time to get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

24 July, 2022

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 16, 2022

THIS IS FILLING BLANK SPACES #501.

Last week after my normal PROGRESS REPORT we celebrated FILLING BLANK SPACES' 500TH BLOG POST! 😀😎 And I shared a teaser by presenting the first page of the SOLITAIRE 1 manuscript.

This week...?

Well...

I did finish Chapter 6 to SOLITAIRE 2: THE AGENDA and broke the 10,000+ word mark doing so, but haven't accomplished much so far on Chapter 7 because a lot of unexpected personal stuff arose that had to be taken care of.

"Hopefully this coming week will be better" and that statement doesn't become (in)famous last words by next week's PROGRESS REPORT. 😉

With that in mind I'm gonna try to get back to writing now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!😷

And I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

17 July, 2022