PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 16, 2016

The Sherlock Holmes adventure that I have sweated over and worked on for weeks now is FINALLY in the capable hands of my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader Nancy A. Hansen!
She is going over it with a fine toothed comb, an electron microscope, and whatever else she uses.

When I get the edited copy back from her, I will be going over it with at least as much attention to detail as she displayed, making sure everything is as accurate as humanly possible in regards to the details of life during Victorian England as well as it is a tale worthy of the famous consulting detective, before submitting it to Ron Fortier at Airship 27.

I kind of find myself at loose ends at the moment waiting for Sherlock to come back, but that doesn't mean I'm idle.

I've been going over ideas for what will eventually be the third volume in my Hugh Monn, Private Detective series from Pro Se Press, as well as kicking around some other project ideas.

Some of those ideas are short stories, for I know of two projects that I WILL be contributing to once they are given the green light to start. Others are for anthologies that I want to contribute to as time permits, especially encore engagements to Ghost Boy and Sinbad-The New Voyages.

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci

There are also some new concepts I've been considering too. Whether these work out to the point that I actually write them remains to be seen.
However, I also need to learn how to be more proficient with my writing time as well.
It's way too easy to be emotionally or Internet distracted by something.
After all, I'm only human.

On that note♫, take care everyone!
Lee Houston, Junior
17 July, 2016

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MAY 7, 2016

"IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES. IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES."

Opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

Not THIS bad, but it felt like it!

WHERE DO I START?
Last Sunday morning after breakfast, I returned to my computer to attempt getting some writing done for the day, including posting on this blog; and found that my computer had crashed!
Not the most auspicious start to the day, let alone the week.

After some scrambling, replacement parts, serious system updates, and a few well chosen curse words along the way that will NOT be repeated in a public forum, I was finally up and running again, only to discover that I was now seriously behind.
Why?

During my unplanned down time, I was sent TWO different PDFs, with each publisher wanting me to review my short story for errors and send the search results to them PDQ!

The first is out now, as Airship 27 has released the fifth volume in their ongoing Sinbad anthology series.
Under a beautiful cover by Terry Pavlet with interior illustrations by M. D. Jackson, you will find stories by Barbara Doran, Ron Fortier, and Percival Constanstine accompanied by my own contribution: "Sinbad and the Sinister Statue".
It's available from Amazon.com in both print and e-book formats.

It was great fun working in the creative realm sailed by the legendary Ray Harryhausen, the master of special effects long before the advent of computer generated images, and I hope to make another voyage in the future.


The other PDF happened to be in regards to my story for the upcoming Singularity: Rise of the Post Humans anthology spearheaded by series creator Jaime Ramos, to be released by Pro Se Press.
My humble contribution, "The Rebel", is joined by a lot of talented folks, including David Michelinie (yes, HIM!), Jennie Wood, Nancy A. Hansen, Brant Fowler, and Chris Magee, with Jaime contributing the finale that will set the world of New Southhampton on its ear and make folks wonder how long they can wait for Book 2 to discover what happens next.

And of course, once I took care of reviewing the PDFs, I did manage to get some more work done on my Sherlock Holmes short story for Airship 27, but with everything else I had to report this week, discussing my thoughts on who (if anyone) was the best portrayer of the Victorian Era's original consulting detective will have to wait another week until the next progress report.

So with that in mind, have a great week everybody. I'll see you around the Internet and HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY!
Lee Houston, Junior
8 May, 2016

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING APRIL 16, 2016

All right. It's been an interesting writing week. So let's recap everything I've done up to this point.

*First, a friendly reminder that I've turned in the manuscript for PROJECT ALPHA 2, although the subtitle is now PROVING GROUND, not Wayward Son. Now it's just a question of when it gets through production for Pro Se Press to release it.

*I've also turned in a 2200+ word essay about writing for an upcoming benefit anthology for Logan Masterson that Pro Se is planning to publish.
I never really met or corresponded with the man, but Logan recently lost a personal battle and is no longer with us. When this anthology will be published remains to be seen.

*The work of myself ("It All Started Innocently Enough") and fellow scribe R. P. Steeves ("The Backward Pawn") is now available on audio through Amazon.com with the Radio Archives' release of CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JUDSON AND GARDNER.

*I've signed the contract so Airship 27 can publish my short story "Sinbad and the Sinister Statue" in their next SINBAD: THE NEW VOYAGES anthology.

*Currently, I am now 4000+ words into the Sherlock Holmes story I promised Airship 27. I still have several pages of handwritten notes to transcribe, for one must craft the best Victorian era mystery they can to satisfy Holmes enthusiasts, but I humbly think my tale will please them when finished.

*THEN I will begin work on whatever will become HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE BOOK 3 as I consider some other irons in the fire beyond that.

So it's turning out to be a good Spring so far. Just wish the weather in my neck of the woods was as warm as it should be this time of year but alas, you can't have everything.
Better get back to work now.
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
17 April, 2016

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING APRIL 9, 2016

Sadly, I have no progress to report for this past week, mainly because I was stuck in bed most of the time fighting the flu or whatever it was I had.

Despite my nose being stopped up a lot, which prevented me from wearing my reading glasses, it wasn't a cold and if it was some version of the flu, I DID get a flu shot, but unfortunately there isn't one shot that covers everything.

Thankfully I turned in the manuscript for PROJECT ALPHA 2 just as I was getting ill, but a friendly reminder, the subtitle is now PROVING GROUND, not Wayward Son.

Anyway, I did electronically sign the contract with Airship 27 to clear the way for the Sinbad adventure I wrote them last year to be published in the upcoming fifth volume of Sinbad: The New Voyages; and I'm chomping at the bit to get back on that Sherlock Holmes story I owe them, as well as all the other tales I want to write so I better get busy.

See you around the Internet!
Lee Houston, Junior
10 April, 2016