Sunday, August 21, 2016

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 20, 2016

Art by David L. Russell
Things are proceeding apace right now.

Have a little over 3100 words on what will be Book 3 of HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE; despite a few interruptions this past week.

Still don't have a title for the story I'm working on, let alone know at this point whether it will be the opening tale or the entire book, but that is one of the joys of writing: the unknown.


One thing I have noticed since I started working on Book 3 is that, at least within my mind, Hugh's voice has changed.

Not sure this is true for everybody, but when I read and/or write material, I hear a lot of the character voices in my mind, like an old time radio production. After all, one knows a specific set of voices for such properties as Star Trek, Star Wars, etc.
Bogart, circa 1945, via Wikipedia

In the past, I never had a "set" vocal rendition for Hugh though.
Although he plies his trade on another planet in the far flung future, being a traditional/old school private detective, I started off my initial work on the character hearing what I personally believe to be the epitome of the private detective, at least vocally, in Humphrey Bogart.

I mean, between films like The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca, who doesn't think of Bogie as the personification of the hard edged man who will do what's right regardless of the consequences.
Granted, a lot of hard work went into creating Hugh beyond just imagining what he might sound like, but you get the idea.

In time though, Bogie's voice did start mutating as I got a clearer picture of what Hugh was like as a person.
Yet nowadays as I write Hugh, I cannot help thinking of vocal artist Pete Milan.

Pete, along with engineer Chris Barnes at Dynamic Ram Audio, did a fantastic job on the audio adaptation of HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, aka Volume 1, the anthology of short stories that introduced the character to the universe that would have been published in Pro Se Press' Masked Gun Mystery magazine, had that title lasted past issue 2.

I keep getting asked by fans when will CATCH A RISING STAR (Hugh's second book and first full length novel) be released in audio?

Unfortunately, the only answer I have is "You will have to ask Tommy Hancock at Pro Se." Although you can count me among those anxiously awaiting an audio edition of Book 2 too, especially if Pete Milan returns as narrator!

But for now, all I have is my copy of Book 1's audio and an over active imagination, which I better get back to using now if Book 3 is going to have any more progress, especially with what I know of the interruptions that loom in my schedule in the near future.

Take care, and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
21 August, 2016

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