PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 10, 2026

 The HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES is still under review before I write the concluding chapters of that mystery adventure.

For those who came in late...

HUGH's original publisher folded and closed shop in 2025.

As part of trying to find a new home for the Private Detective of the Far Flung Future, I am writing a new novel explaining his backstory and how he acquired his Private Detective's license before the start of representing the existing material that will be reworked into new and better novels inbetween writing other new HUGH mysteries since I will (presumably) have a higher word count to work with at a new publisher.

Part of the current review process is to make sure all my clues are in place before HUGH solves the mystery involved.

Another part is to... unterse myself, so to speak.

The past publisher demanded everything be between 60,000 to 65,000 words.

Most publishers nowadays are looking for a minimum of 80,000.

Then again, it's not just a question of adding words per se, but adding the right words.

Case in point...

The following is from when HUGH is remembering being caught by a Cryobomb blast,

"The blast cut a chip off the upper corner of my icy prison as I took aim with my free hand, hoping to target the enemy when he came out to take another shot at us."

That's okay, but untersing myself and adding a few more words when necessary in this case meant adding a touch more detail to the scene. To wit...

"The blast cut a chip off the upper corner of my icy prison that thankfully didn’t contain any part of me as I took aim with my free hand, hoping to target the enemy when he came out to take another shot at us."

See what I mean?

Not too many words overall, but not any additional words just for the sake of adding words either.

And all of them do add up over time because I'm about to break the 52,000+ word mark.

But I still have a long way to go to finish reviewing what I've already written so I can work on the rest of the novel, which means 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

11 October, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 3, 2026

How last week felt to me.

 In all honesty, the only way this past week could have been any worse was if it was composed entirely of Mondays.

From the last Progress Report to this one, I only managed to proofread another 3/THREE pages in the manuscript for HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE'S prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES.

There was just so much to do in regards to housework, chores, errands and other tasks that it's a small wonder I managed to complete THE WEEK IN REVIEW for The Free Choice E-zine.

How I should look at adversity.

It also didn't help my mood that the Boston Red Sox were knocked out of the first round of the Wild Card⚾ playoffs by those {censored} New York Yankees.

And for the topper, the magazine that I sent the HUGH MONN short story "Dineena's Dilemma" to sent me a brief form rejection email only stating that my submission "didn't fit their present needs", whatever those are.

Well, there are other magazines.

There's always next season for the Red Sox.

And a new week is upon me.

So with that in mind I better get back to writing proof reading now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

4 October, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 26, 2026

 The first 27 chapters of HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE's prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES are still under review.

I worked until the Nor'easter hit the Eastern Atlantic Coast of the United States this weekend and left me in the dark for awhile.

I have added details here and there, a little bit more dialogue or explanation when necessary, and just tried not be be as terse as I usually am during the first draft of any manuscript.

The above has resulted in adding nearly almost a full thousand words so far, but I'm still within the high end of the 50,000+ word count at the moment.

I will resume work tomorrow (Monday) and pick up where I left off now that the bad weather has blown away until the next whatever rears its ugly head.

With my post length discussion about plotting last week, I forgot to mention that I had another Last Kiss contribution published! 😁

The September 15 installment of John Lustig's comic was a collaborative effort between my original suggestion "Of course I have a bucket list, and as soon as I acquire a bucket, I'll work on the rest of the list." and John's wry sense of humor.

I do have a couple of more submissions "in the que" as they say and will keep you folks posted in regards to when/if the next one is used.

But right now, as tense as things were during the Nor'easter, I think I'm taking the rest of tonight off to relax and go to bed early since I couldn't sleep between the lack of electricity to operate my CPAP machine and all the roaring winds keeping me awake before the power went out.

In any event, take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

27 September, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 19, 2026

MANUSCRIPT REVIEW TIME!

 At this point I have written over 50,000+ words while completing the first 27 chapters of what will be HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE's prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES to restart the series once I have acquired a new publisher.

No word from that magazine yet concerning the HUGH MONN short story I submitted for consideration.

Based upon my hand written notes the novel is about to enter the "final act", where all the pieces come together as the mystery is solved and the culprit(s) revealed before facing justice.

But before I start writing those last chapters, I need to go back and reread the previous 27 to make sure everything is in place and all the clues are there.

Growing up, I've always enjoyed the "fair play" mysteries and detectives like Ellery Queen more than any other.

You discover the clues when they do and while your solution may not be the right one, it was always a question of misinterpreting something instead of the detective having specialized knowledge in a particular field that is vital to the outcome of the mystery but isn't shared with anyone until revealing who did what.

Plotting, so to speak

Regardless of what I'm writing, I do plot out my stories to a point.

Especially the mysteries where you have to make sure everything makes sense, all the suspects are accounted for at any given moment and the solution is viable even if the clues present other possibilities.

However, my plots are not so rigidly strict that if another idea arises while I'm writing that I can't use it.

My plots are more like points on a map for a leisurely road trip that still allows for alternate destinations along the way if an interesting attraction appears.

But to resume that journey I better get back to writing reviewing the manuscript now.

Take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

20 September, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 12, 2026

 Even if not on the novel in progress, it has been a long but productive week.😎

As far as the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES is concerned,
while I'm still on Chapter 27, I have broken the 49,000+ word mark.

That may not seem like much compared to last week, but this time it isn't because of the never ending battle of housework, errands, chores and other life commitments.

It's because I've been working on a HUGH MONN MARKETING STRAGETY!

When I finally finished cursing out the universe and pulled myself back together after the demise of his previous publisher in 2025, I've been trying to figure out how to get HUGH back into the public eye.

While writing the PREQUEL NOVEL as the beginning of a new series of books is a good start, there is still a long way to go.

Once I've finished the PRIVATE BATTLES manuscript and find a new publisher, I'll need to reintroduce HUGH to a new audience as his existing fans welcome back the Private Detective of the Far Flung Future.

So I've taken "DINEENA'S DILEMMA", the very first short story from the previous HUGH MONN collection (Book 1 from the original publisher) and have reread, amended and reformatted it for magazine submission consideration.

It has already been sent to the first possibility. If they say no, then I'll send it on to the next.

If they say yes, then I'll prepare "SHORTAGES", the next short story in the original collection and the debut of fan favorite Big Louie, for possible submission.

More on the short story front when I hear something.

Yet whatever happens with the short story submissions, at least I'll have already done some preliminary work preparing them for eventual inclusion in BOOK 2: EARLY DAYS of HUGH's new continuity.

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

13 September, 2026

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 5, 2026

Good and Bad in Balance

 Depending on how you look at it, I have good news and bad news concerning the writing front.

Last week I did manage to get some writing done, and even broke the 48,000+ word count doing it on the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES.

However (you knew that was coming, didn't you?), after I finished rereading what I wrote yesterday, I decided that instead of being the start of Chapter 27, most of the material worked better as the new latter half of Chapter 26 instead.

Hey, it happens.

Sometimes writing is like working on a jigsaw puzzle.

You move the pieces around and think you've got them in place only to discover the proper arrangement later.

Of course in this case, I'm working on everything from scratch and making all of it up as I go along.

Now on to some other business.

FIRST, I would like to thank everyone for granting my humble writing blog 46,460 page views during August 2026!😎

SECONDLY, Monday is Labor Day here in the United States. So for those of you who actually have the day off, enjoy the break!

THIRD, 2026 has a lot of 60th anniversaries this year. We've already had the Adam West-Burt Ward version of Batman in January while Dark Shadows celebrated in late June.

Now Star Trek turns 60 September 8 as the franchise holds its annual STAR TREK DAY while The Monkees hit the big 6-0 Saturday September 12.

All of these and the rest that lie ahead are kind of bittersweet since most of the original casts are no longer with us, but us First Generation fans have our memories while new generations discover what is so amazing about some of our favorites.

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

6 September, 2026

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 29, 2026

 After such a great week writing completing TWO chapters, things are back to "normal".

I'm still on Chapter 26, but at least I've moved into the 46.000+ word neighborhood on the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE prequel novel PRIVATE BATTLES.

Not sure what lies in the week ahead yet. Errand Day will be sometime within the next 72 hours and there's the never ending battle of housework and other chores like making meals, so we'll just have to see how things go.

And for those of you interested, while I'm somewhere between the halfway and three quarters point in my plot at the moment, I have no idea how long PRIVATE BATTLES will turn out to be.

I can tell you that while there is no actual limit, because my plot looks more like a cross between an outline and a story summary, all the previous HUGH MONN novels wound up in the 30s, chapter wise.

Then again, I'm trying to restart the series from basically scratch to find a new audience with a new publisher (identity to be determined) since the old one folded and delisted all their offerings (including my works) from Amazon.

Yet to achieve that fresh start I better get back to writing now, so take care.

STAY SAFE!

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

Lee Houston, Junior

30 August, 2026