LOOKING FORWARD AND BACK (2014/2015)

As I begin my second full year of maintaining a writer's blog, although the actual second anniversary of Filling Blank Spaces won't be until later this year, I decided that New Year's Day would be a perfect time to not only look back over what I've accomplished during the previous year, but to look ahead at what's on my creative agenda.
So let's briefly turn the page back to...

Sadly, I seriously over-extended myself on short story commitments this past year. On one hand, I did manage to honor ALL those promises and made every deadline, but alas, that seriously pushed back my novel writing, so ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON and any other book will not be released until later in 2015 at the earliest.


However, THREE of those short stories were released in 2014!

*THE DEATH DEALER in The New Adventures of Diamondstone the Magician, Volume 1; from Pro Se Press/Pulp Obscura/Altus Press

*WOLF HUNT featuring Sheriff William “Bat” Masterson meeting Little Red Riding Hood, appeared in Once Upon A Sixgun, Volume 1 from Pro Se Press; AND

*CAPTURED featuring the Man In Purple appeared in The New Adventures of The Man In Purple, Volume 1; from Pro Se Press/Pulp Obscura/Altus Press.

Looking ahead, most of the remaining short stories should appear sometime this year, including TWO from Airship 27, at least one from Pro Se Press, a superhero adventure from Mechanoid Press, and one from New Babel Books!

Alpha

On the writing agenda for this coming year...

*First and foremost is to finish the manuscript for ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON and get it to the publisher so all the superhero's fans can read it at last. Book 1, PROJECT ALPHA presented his origin and first adventure, while Book 2 lays the foundation for the future of the series.

After losing Shambala, can Alpha find a new home amongst the stars?

*Once that is completed, I have TWO, and only 2, short story promises to honor, for I will not make the same mistake twice.

One is a Sherlock Holmes tale for Airship 27, and the other I'm afraid I can't talk about at this time.

Hugh Monn

*But once the short stories are done, then I will finally get started on whatever the third book in the HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE series will be.

And of course, all of this is on top of my duties as Editor-In-Chief of The Free Choice E-zine and whatever else comes along.

Looks like 2015 is going to be a busy year.

I better get started on it first thing in the morning after breakfast.

Good night everybody, surf the Internet safely, and don't forget to tip your waitstaff.

Lee Houston, Junior

1 January, 2015.

All books mentioned above are available in both print and e-formats through Amazon and other fine retailers.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 27, 2014

The holidays are a magical time, filled with a special joy and wonder uniquely their own. Sure, it's easy to get lost in the hectic rush preparing the "perfect" Christmas or get caught up in all the commercialism, especially if you work in the retail industry.
But when you take the time to truly savor the moment, there IS something special about this time of year.

Or at least, that's how I feel about the subject.

Other than getting to read Chuck Miller's story for the upcoming superhero anthology that will include the works of David Michelinie, Jim Beard, Erwin K. Roberts, and myself; for better or worse I didn't get anything else accomplished creatively this past week.

However, I did have a great time with my extended family and friends, so I think that is a far better achievement than anything I could of written this past week.

This week might wind up being a different story, for all I have to do is attend a New Year's Eve party and I don't even drink. So depending upon errands and housework, there are several days wide open that I might accomplish something in.

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas time.
Please party responsibly this New Year's Eve, for I'm sure your loved ones would like to enjoy the pleasure of your company in 2015 and beyond.

Take care, and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
28 December, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 20, 2014

In all honesty, it's been a very busy week as the holidays approach.
Wrapping gifts, shopping, wrapping gifts, shopping for more wrapping supplies since I'm such a lousy gift wrapper to begin with.
Unfortunately not much accomplished on the writing front.

AGAIN!

I did get to read a story by Erwin K. Roberts that will be in that superhero anthology with David Michelinie, Jim Beard, Chuck Miller, a few other people, and myself.

But other than finishing going over Chapter 12, not much else regarding ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON this past week.

My friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader has asked me to hold off sending her any more work until after the holidays, and with the first of two coming up this week, I'm not sure how much I'll get accomplished writing wise this week as it.

Then again, how often do you get to spend quiet moments with family and friends?
So with that in mind...

Hope I didn't leave any out, and I'll see you around the Internet folks.
Lee Houston, Junior

21 December, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 13, 2014

Pretty good writing week, despite the interruptions.

On the personal front, I had to scramble to finish my Christmas shopping this past week, because I have to take at least part of tomorrow off away from writing to wrap and package everything that is going back to the family I still have living in and around my original stomping grounds. I think they'd appreciate actually getting presents on Christmas, so I have to mail early before it's too late.

Professionally, I went over all of Nancy Hansen, my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader's notes on Chapter 11 to ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON. I incorporated the corrections and even came up with a few additions along the way. Well into Chapter 14, and even sent and received Chapter 12 back, but haven't had a chance to go over her notes to it yet.

But I bet everyone has a lot of questions, like:
*What planet is Alpha on at the moment?
*Will he stay or go when all is said and done?
*And what does the object on the right have to do with the second half of the novel?

Everyone will find out sometime in 2015.
Meanwhile, I better get back to work.
See you around the Internet!
Lee Houston, Junior
14 December, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 6, 2014

Let's see how the week went.

Got a lot of Christmas shopping done on Cyber Monday and never had to leave the comfort of my own home.

Tuesday I was privileged to read a brand new short story by the legendary David Michelinie for an anthology project we are both contributing to that is scheduled for 2015.

This will be the SECOND book that we both will have stories in, for Singularity: Rise of the Post-Humans from New Babel Books is scheduled for release within the next few months.

Wednesday I finished Chapter 13 of ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON and started Chapter 14, which puts us in the transition period (also known as night) between the second and third day on "the mysterious planet".

Thursday, got Chapter 11 back from Nancy Hansen, my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader who is reportedly feeling much better now, but haven't finished going over all her notes or sent her Chapter 12 yet.

And the rest of this past week has been spend dealing with family, friends, errands, and other personal matters. After all, household chores do not take care of themselves, no matter how great your appliances are.

So overall, a lot accomplished. More on the personal than writing front this past week, yet getting all that personal stuff out of the way now leaves more time in the coming week for writing.
I hope.

In any event, I better get back to work now.
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
7 December, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 29, 2014

Okay, there was a little more progress than I expected there to be this past
week, considering there were more interruptions than I was originally aware of.
Besides the Thanksgiving holiday, I welcomed a new niece into the world!
Both mother and child are doing fine.

On the writing front, have finished going over Chapter 10 of ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON; and my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader has Chapter 11, but the new grandmother is now fighting a cold, so I'm not sure when she will be getting to it.
Meanwhile, I am in the transition scene between Chapters 13 and 14.

As for Thanksgiving itself, had a lovely time with friends and family. Even chatted long distance with some kin back where I originally hailed from too.
Christmas shopping is far from done, but as I said in my Free Choice E-zine editorial, I refused to go out any of the "Black Friday" period because opening a store at SIX PM on Thanksgiving night was just plain ridiculous in my humble opinion.
I DID patronize some local establishments yesterday on "Small Business Saturday", and will probably do some shopping tomorrow on "Cyber Monday", but I refuse to go to any establishment that puts profits before people on a family holiday.
Your mileage/opinions may vary.

But to close out this week's Progress Report, I'd like to share with you the poem I post as part of every Black Friday editorial.

SOME DARE BRAVE THE GLOOM OF BLACKEST NIGHT, 
QUESTING FOR BARGAINS UPON THEIR TREK,
HITTING EVERY SALE BEFORE DAYLIGHT.

ME? I PLANNED WELL AHEAD.
NO NERVES, CREDIT, OR CAR SUFFERED WRECK.
JUST RESTFUL SLUMBER WITHIN MY OWN BED.

Well, back to writing now.
See you around the Internet!
Lee Houston, Junior
30 November, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 22, 2014

Well, it's been a mixed week folks.

Had my every other year eye exam this past Tuesday. Reading glasses prescription needed a bit of tweaking, but otherwise my vision is still 20/20.
However, the exam entailed having my eyes dilated, which cost me the entire day writing wise.

Art by Marc Guerrero

But most of my time at the keyboard has been spent going back over Chapter 10 to ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON.
No, the chapter was not that bad.
However, my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader wanted me to go back over my facts and make sure that all the details I used about thermal imagery were accurate.
While doing so, I found some exciting new information on the subject, which led to creating a couple of new scenes and rewriting a few others, which resulted in resubmitting the chapter back to Nancy Hansen for another review.

So you can see why I've always been pro-research.

Thermal image of a cat!

Not that my original data was wrong, but if I hadn't found the new information, I wouldn't have done the extra work and you the readers would not have a better chapter when the book comes out next year.

But what does thermal imaging have to do with superheroes?
The idea of using heat sensitive equipment to detect objects has some serious applications in the real world; like detecting lost people at night, discovering a missing person in the midst of a fire, possibly finding some forms of cancer within a patient sooner, etc.
The hotter the part, the brighter the color display on the scanner display.
So if someone were to go looking for an invisible superhero...

AH-HA! Now you get it!
The way I see it; a "plain" superhero, someone who just has a special skill like judo or archery, would probably show up on a thermal scan just like any other human being.
But someone who has actual power(s) would probably read a little higher.

Meanwhile, the plan for this week is to get as much as humanly possible done around the Thanksgiving holiday.
Monday and Tuesday should be productive. Wednesday is iffy and I'll be surprised if I accomplish anything writing wise Thursday beyond posting in my capacity as Editor-In-Chief of The Free Choice E-zine.
But the only place I intend to be on the dreaded shopping frenzy known as "Black Friday" is in a very deep conversation with my pillow until my normal wake up time that day.

So in any event, I better get back to work now.
Have a great week, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
And I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
23 November, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 15, 2014

AH... THERE'S GOOD NEWS THIS WEEK!

While I am still unfortunately fighting the remnants of this dang cold (stuffy nose and the occasional cough), I am well into Chapter 13 of ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON and have gotten both Chapters 9 and 10 back from my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader Nancy A. Hansen!

I have gone over 9 and made the appropriate corrections and tweaks, but have not completed reviewing Chapter 10 yet, before I resume working on 13.

Hope to have both 10 and 13 done this week, and will send Chapter 11 off for review while I begin work on 14.

Considering all the revisions, changes, and outright restarts this book has had; since I am technically on the fifth attempt of a first draft for the manuscript, I'm uncertain what the final chapter count will be. But I do foresee having the novel done within the next two-three months for a 2015 release date.

Meanwhile, a lot of Alpha's fans have been asking me: "Where is he?"
After I explain over extending myself on short story commitments and trying to get everything right in Book 2 since I'm laying down crucial foundations for the future of the series, they want to know where exactly the "mysterious planet" is that Alpha spends most of WAYWARD SON visiting.

Well, I've debated long and hard on whether or not to say anything about that.
After all, I certainly don't want to spoil everything and spill the proverbial beans before you've gotten a chance to read the novel.
But since you've been such a great, supportive audience to this humble scribe, I've decided to present a clue.
The "mysterious planet" is somewhere in the image below.
Ready?

Identify the galaxy, and you've narrowed the search to 1 "corner" of the universe.

Okay. I've "talked" enough for one post.
Better get back to work now.
See you around the Internet!
Lee Houston, Junior
16 November, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 8, 2014

Well folks, I wish things were at least as good as they were last time.

I did finish Chapter 12 to ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON and finally got Chapter 9 back from my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader Nancy Hansen, but that's been about the only real progress this past week unfortunately.

It's cold and flu season, and despite the fact that I got my annual anti-flu shot, they still have yet to come up with an anti-cold shot so, you guessed it.

*ACHOO!*

Being a heart patient after having survived both congestive heart failure and an aortic aneurism, there isn't much professionally I can take for it.

Tissues, chicken soup, orange juice, and aspirin are about it for me.

And even if it wasn't for the fact that sitting up is the only way I can safely sleep without my C(onstant) P(ositive) A(ir) P(ressure) machine, you should sleep elevated whenever fighting a cold to keep mucus and other junk from building up in your lungs.

In any event, I'm hoping to get back to work and make up for lost time this coming week.

See you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

9 November, 2014 

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 1, 2014

AH, THERE'S GOOD NEWS THIS WEEK!

Since we last "talked", I have not only finished Chapter 11 to ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON; but I'm also within a page of finishing Chapter 12 too! Will definitely be well into Chapter 13, if not further ahead, by next weekend.
At this point in the novel, Alpha is well into his second day on the mysterious, unknown planet; whose identity I have yet to reveal.
Whether he decides to stay or leave remains to be seen, but there will be plenty of drama and action before the end of the last page of the manuscript.
Unfortunately, Chapter 9 has yet to come back from my friendly, neighborhood beta/proofreader, but you have to take the good with the bad.

Meanwhile, thanks to its loyal readership, The Free Choice E-zine had a milestone October, finishing the month at 5,644 PAGE VIEWS!
This is the first time that blog site has ever broken 5,000 page views in any given month, and its proud Editor-In-Chief (me) and the rest of the staff (myself and I) couldn't be happier.

Well, better get back to work.

See you around the Internet!
Lee Houston, Junior
2 November, 2014
And a Happy Wedding Anniversary to my parents, married on this day back in 1957!
Or in other words, they've been married 5 years longer than I've been alive!

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 25, 2014

FOR THOSE WHO CAME IN LATE...

Time flies!

I am currently on the fifth, and hopefully last, attempt to complete the manuscript for ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON.
Over extending myself on short story commitments between the latter half of 2013 and a major chunk of 2014 kept putting this project on the proverbial back burner, along with hitting a couple of snags in the work itself trying for a high, yet very believable sense of realism in the manuscript; hence this being the fifth take on the novel.
But I honored all those short story promises without missing any deadlines, and am now fully concentrating on this novel!

Technically, the book is not late, since there was never a deadline assigned to ALPHA 2, but I do feel bad that this hasn't already been finished.

A motto to live by

However, I stand by my promise of "quality over quantity" and will not hack out anything just to have something out there. The readers and fans deserve the best I can humanly create each and every time I write.

With that said, since last week, I have finished Chapter 10 and am now currently on Chapter 11!
However, my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader still hasn't had a chance to go over Chapter 9 yet. I know the reason(s) why and also know that she will get to it and her other commitments as time permits.

What will he do?

Chapter 11 is the transition period not only between the first and second acts of the novel, but also the switch between Alpha's first and second days on the "mysterious planet whose name I won't reveal, yet". Chapter 12 will fully be part of Day 2, where Alpha tries to come to terms with the world he finds himself on now, and decides whether or not he will stay.

Sorry I can't say more right now, but I'm sure you'll want to read/buy BOOK 2 when it comes out in 2015.

So I better get back to work.
See you around the Internet!
Lee Houston, Junior
26 October, 2014