PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Everything is going well on the writing front.
Am now over 20,000 words on my SHERLOCK HOLMES short story novelette "THE ADVENTURE OF THE UNIMAGINABLE".
While I am definitely getting TOWARDS the end, I'm not there yet.
Still have a couple of more twists and turns to put Holmes and Doctor Watson through before I can say the story's done and send it on to my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader.

ROBERT CONRAD: 1935-2020
There are many different kinds of heroes, from the brave in real life to those who save the day against tremendous odds in the various genres and formats of the entertainment industry.

Having been born in 1962, naturally I started out with my father, followed by the historic moon landing of Apollo 11 and its crew Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, who I always thought got shortchanged by having to stay in orbit above. Then again, Collins was standing by in case of emergency, so...

A lot of the classic television programs of the 1960s I don't remember first run.

Robert Conrad and Ross Martin

The original Star Trek, Batman (and I had such a crush on Yvonne Craig in junior high!) and more I didn't see until syndicated airings in the 1970s.

One of those (re)discovered gems was The Wild, Wild, West.
The show may have never been 100% historically accurate, but overall it was a fun and entertaining adventure, especially the James West and Artemus Gordon episodes (for actor Ross Martin suffered a heart attack, making him miss the latter half of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4).

Yet through it all Robert Conrad's West kept right on going through fights, death traps, and other trials and tribulations to bring the villains to justice and maybe even getting the woman at the end of each episode too.

My dad had a slightly different opinion though. The Wild, Wild, West was "okay", but Conrad as Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington in Baa Baa Black Sheep was his favorite and he watched every episode that was on TV, even if it was a rerun! Considering he thought reruns were a waste of time when you could either be watching or doing something else, that was high praise coming from him.

Sadly, we lost Ross Martin in 1981, and Conrad passed away yesterday: February 8.
The Wild, Wild, West, along with its leads, have had a bit of influence in my writing over the years.
When I need to show a long term friendship between two characters, my mind drifts at some point to West and Gordon.
In "The Rebel" for Jaime Ramos' Singularity: The Rise of the Post-Humans, I had a Gordon designed West like weapon amongst the title character's arsenal.
There are hints of both West and Gordon within the title character of SOLITAIRE, although I can't say more about this work in progress at the moment without spilling some serious secrets.
The one thing I have yet to do, that has been on my mind for quite some time, is to write a "buddy" adventure featuring a two character team. If I ever come up with just the right tale...

In any event, take care, and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
9 February, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 16, 2019

Okay, got some work done reviewing my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader's notes concerning HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, BOOK 3: FEMME FATALE; but I am DEFINITELY going back to start my second pass on "Zephyr Lily" for Jim Beard's 1970s anthology this week.

Tried looking for an appropriate image, but no one has yet to draw the character, the word ZEPHYR either gets me classic cars or dirigibles, and there's too many flowers to sort through for LILY, although I do like this one of a Stargazer, probably so named because of the spotted interior.

Anyway, besides being a writer in general, it has always been a lifelong dream of mine to write for a comic book company.
I leaned towards DC until they started having CRISES and reboots on a regular basis, and while there are some Marvel Comics characters I like, they've hopped on the reboot bandwagon too in recent years, so I'm not completely sure where either company is continuity wise right now.

Unfortunately, the closest I've ever come to achieving this dream is getting involved with start ups that never seem to make it past the "Wouldn't it be nice if...?" stage of existence.😔
Hence everything I've ever wrote or done for them editing wise is just sitting in a computer file gathering electronic "dust", especially since I'm uncertain of the legalities concerning who actually owns what.😢

But I still have HUGH and ALPHA, along with THE REBEL I created for Jaime Ramos' SINGULARITY-RISE OF THE POST HUMANS anthology. Would love to get back to her whenever the opportunity presents itself sir!
And now I have with ZEPHYR LILY a new, mysterious champion to add to my roster!😁

So I better get back to writing/editing.
See you around the Internet!
Lee Houston, Junior
17 February, 2019

all links were active at the time this progress report was posted.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING APRIL 22, 2017

I am happy to report that my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader Nancy Hansen is now in-between full recovery of the surgery on her left eye and the impending surgery on her right eye.
Don't know if that means she'll resume her friendly neighborhood beta-proofreading service before she has to get ready for surgery on her right eye, but it will be something on the agenda to ask the next time I see her.
Under the circumstances, she has yet to go over Chapter 6 on my latest efforts concerning HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE as I work on Chapter 7 in-between other matters that require my attention.

I'm also very excited to report that SINGULARITY: RISE OF THE POST HUMANS won TWO of the 2017 Pulp Factory Awards (for 2016 material) Friday night at the Windy City Pulp & Paper Con.

David Michelinie won Best Short Story for "Lord Pemberton's Adjustment Service"!

Photo ?

Photo by Jaime Ramos

...and SINGULARITY itself won Best Anthology!

So a big thank you to our readers, fans, and voters from David, Jennie Wood, Nancy Hansen, Chris Magee, series creator/editor Jaime Ramos, along with yours truly!

Going back to writing now.
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
23 April, 2017

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JUNE 4, 2016

Cover art by Rick Johnson

Well, even though this turned out to be another work interrupted week, I did mange to almost get near the 10,000 word mark on my Sherlock Holmes story for Airship 27!

But why the interruptions?
Because...
SINGULARITY: RISE OF THE POSTHUMANS has been released from Pro Se Press!
You can read the full story here in my previous post on the subject.

As you can see by the cover illustration, it has a very unique crew of creative talent behind it, and I would love to have the chance to participate in future sequels with my character "The Rebel".

Redefining superheroes and steampunk, the anthology is already doing very well on the Amazon sales charts, and can be found in both print and digital formats.

Looking ahead, this week is looking mixed, but I will get to writing when I can.

With that in mind, take care, and I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

5 June, 2016

SINGULARITY: RISE OF THE POSTHUMANS NOW AVAILABLE!

Cover art by Rick Johnson

The journey actually began well over a year ago, when series creator Jaime Ramos privately approached several people about the possibility of contributing to "a new kind of super hero" anthology he wanted to do.
His dream project.
Cut to today, when SINGULARITY: RISE OF THE POSTHUMANS is now a reality!
Besides coming up with the background settings and overall series bible, Jamie has included stories from what has to be an A-List of writing talent, including comic book legend David Michelinie, Jennie Wood, Nancy Hansen, Brant Fowler, Chris Magee, and myself to present an unique view of a potential future.

The Technological Singularity Event left the world’s governments trembling. War ravaged the globe as the last of humanity faced off with the Nanite Army of Fire. Eventually the world was plunged into darkness.

When Earth regained its senses, technology had been reduced to the steam driven level of the 1800’s, despite the fact it is 2075! The world's governments no longer existed, until Dr. Fulbright began rebuilding English society in New Southampton.

Fate seemed to intervene when his lab exploded and carved a giant crater in the center of the city. With Dr. Fulbright believed dead (for if not, where has he been since?), the struggling city was left without guidance or authority.

"Authority" was regained when brutal Queen Anne anointed herself the new city monarch. Anne quickly established a brutal regime bathed in blood and violence.

In the shadow of death and oppression, the people of New Southampton seek saviors. In the darkness, some have heard the call for Revolution. Beings that have crawled out of the time of the Singularity to give the people hope. Many call these harbingers of salvation the Posthumans.

“It’s always fantastic,” says Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions, “when a book comes along that has every likelihood of being a genre changer. SINGULARITY: RISE OF THE POSTHUMANS is such an anthology. Taking the core concepts at the heart of tales of Superheroes and the evil they face and blending them in with aspects of Cyberpunk, Noir, and more; the stories in SINGULARITY look at the concept of Superheroes through an extremely multifaceted, complex prism and every page is a winner!”

Redefining Superhero prose, SINGULARITY: RISE OF THE POSTHUMANS is now available in print and digital formats.

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 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 AUGUST 23, 2014

Alpha

Well folks, in all honesty, the news this week is mixed.
I've completed Chapters 8 and 9 to ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON.
However, Chapter 7 has yet to come back from my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader. Nancy Hansen has just had too much on her plate at the moment between her own writing and family commitments.

Meanwhile, the short story with a Halloween deadline has grown from 3700 words to 4715 words! Have been working on it off and on for a while now, but will have to devote a solid time block to finish it soon before the deadline.

So let's take a quick peek at my current things to do list.
*ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON; in progress.
*Last short story commitment for 2014: in progress.
*Sherlock Holmes short story for Airship 27: work starts as soon as the above is done.
*HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE: BOOK 3; work starts as soon as the above is done.
*ALPHA, BOOK 3: work starts as soon as HUGH 3 is done.

Right now, I only have the one short story commitment scheduled for 2015, ironic considering all the short stories I have written, which in part has contributed to the delay on having the manuscript for ALPHA 2 completed.
Three have been published so far this year.
*THE DEATH DEALER in The New Adventures of Diamondstone The Magician, Volume One; from Pro Se Press/Pulp Obscura/Altus Press.
*WOLF HUNT in Once Upon A Six Gun from Pro Se Press, and
*CAPTURED in The New Adventures of The Man In Purple, Volume One; from Pro Se Press/Pulp Obscura/Altus Press.

Out of the other stories that I have already written, REBEL will be out by the end of this year as part of Singularity: Rise of the Post-Humans from New Babel Books.

I have two more short stories awaiting publication at Airship 27 that are more than likely 2015 releases, one more (to date) pending at Pro Se Press, and two short stories that I have absolutely no idea when or if they will ever see the light of day at this point.

I will keep everyone posted as things develop, but I better get back to work now.
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
24 August, 2014

BLOG HOPPING WITH LEE HOUSTON, JUNIOR*

(*And a few special guest that will be announced later.**)

Hello Everyone.

There is a movement afoot amongst us independent writers called Blog Hopping, to try and gain some notice by sharing a few thoughts and very active links in hopes of increasing our public exposure.

Nancy Hansen tagged me, Chuck Miller, and Jamie Ramos after she was invited along with Lisa M. Collins, and Bonnie J. Sterling to participate. 

I will be sharing the love shortly, but first: the questions!

01. What am I working on?

Alpha

Art by Marc Guerrero

In-between short story commitments, I am currently writing Alpha, Book 2: Wayward Son; the next installment within my superhero series published by Pro Se Press.

Book 2 picks up the plot threads from the end of Book 1: Project Alpha, as the title character tries to find his place in the universe after the conclusion of his first mission.

Not sure when the manuscript will actually be completed and turned in, because I'm only about half-way through my plot at the moment. More on that in my answers to Questions # 2 and 4.

Meanwhile, I am starting to branch out some. I will have at least one short story (although there is another in progress) published by Airship 27 before the end of 2014, and I am really looking forward to SINGULARITY: RISE OF THE POST-HUMANS, scheduled for release later this year from New Babel Books! Just look at the author line up for the anthology!

02. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

Honestly? That's for the fans and readers to decide because in the end, it's THEIR opinions that matter most.

I take great care to make sure everything I create is entertaining, enlightening whenever possible, and is the best I can humanly make it, because I'm always more concerned about quality than quantity when I write. 

03. Why do I write what I do?

Author as a young reader

I create to add to the genres I love to read: science fiction, fantasy, superheroes, mysteries, etc.

I grew up with books.

My parents read to me as a child. Being able to read and comprehend what I read was stressed since my first day of school.  

From my first comic book to finishing my first all prose/no pictures novel (Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars), I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else but writing.

I have always believed that you should do what you love and love what you do, and with writing I am fulfilling a lifelong dream.

04. How does your writing process work?

Usually after breakfast, unless I wake up with a good idea. I sit myself down in my comfy chair in front of the computer screen and just start writing. If necessary, I'll go retro with pen and paper if I'm nowhere near my PC or the power goes out, an occupational hazard living in a rural area.

Hugh covers by David L. Russell

I do plot to some extent, but more-so when I'm working on Hugh Monn, Private Detective stories or other mysteries, because I need to know all the clues and the solution to the case beforehand.

Otherwise, I do not like to completely plot out a tale 100% beforehand, because that doesn't leave me open to explore other ideas if they arise while I'm writing.

As the work progresses, my trusted friend Nancy Hansen beta/proofreads everything for me, and I will revise and keep on writing until the project is done. The one thing I have to remember is when to say "THE END" to a story, because I become so enamored with the characters that my reader's instincts take over and I've just got to know what happens next.

(**It's later, now.)

Speaking of which, it's time for me to end my Blog Hop and pass the torch onward to Bobby Nash; Ralph Angelo, Junior; and Sean Taylor.

Hope everyone enjoyed the above and will help out some deserving authors.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MAY 24, 2014

Hello Everybody.
It's the Memorial Day weekend here in the United States of America. A time of warmer weather, outdoor activities, plenty of sales, and somewhere along the way we should also be remembering those past and present who served in this country's military branches to protect the freedoms that we enjoy today.

In any event, I did finish Chapter 9 to Alpha, Book 2: Wayward Son and have a good start on Chapter 10.
Unfortunately my friendly beta/proofreader Nancy A. Hansen is still working on the last short story I gave her to go over (after she finished reviewing the galley PDF to her next book), so I'm not sure when she will get to that, let alone Chapters 7 and 8.

Meanwhile, New Babel Books is getting closer to publishing the Singularity: Rise of the Post Humans anthology. More details on that as they develop.

I still have one more short story that I am committed to writing in 2014 (so far) that will be done long before its current October deadline, and I have been jotting down some ideas for what will be Book 3 in the Hugh Monn, Private Detective series! Work on that will start when Alpha 2 is done.

Wish I could say more besides the above and brag about the fact that The Free Choice E-zine has already reached 3000+ page views again this month!
I do have a few other things on the creative back burner, but they are nowhere near ready to start working on.

In any event, have a great week folks and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
25 May, 2014

SINGULARITY, RISE OF THE POST-HUMANS' NEW INFORMATION!

As told in yesterday's Progress Report, I can now reveal more details about the forthcoming anthology: SINGULARITY, RISE OF THE POST-HUMANS!

The book is to be published sometime later this year by

And concept creator Jamie Ramos has released the following background information about the series that all the participating contributors can share with their fans...

"In the year 2030, the technological Singularity event encompassed the world. Man no longer controlled the evolving super-sciences. Seed A.I. groups began taking control of broad-based neural-nets and developing life forms.

"Mankind tried integrating full techno-biological based Transhuman soldiers in an attempt to turn back the Singularity. The Transhuman armies rebelled against mankind and wanted to take over the world and re-shape society to reflect their values.

"War erupted between the technology based Transhumans and the United World Government and the Seed A.I. Nanite armies. The Great War of Transhumanity began and the world exploded and burned with technological based instruments of brutality. Humanity lost its soul. Five years of devastating war between the Humans, Transhumans, and the ever-increasing Nanite Army of Fire began reducing society and technology to ashes and cinder.

"Telecommunications and satellites failed. Computers and the Internet no longer held the spark of life. The world is a dark, nightmare. Mankind’s numbers are reduced as the world governments dissolve. Chaos ran rampant and Mankind was no longer living at the top of the food chain.

"By the year 2050, history was no longer recorded. The Nanite armies began eating themselves and the darkness slowly faded. The fires had reduced the Earth to a mere semblance of its former glory. It was in 2050 that I began to rebuild society. My first step was the city of New Southampton in what was left of England. I used the technology of steam to usher in a new world and vision based upon an age of civility. I knew that the Nanites would not thrive in a steam environment and I placed my labs deep down into the depths of shadow beneath the city that I held so dear.

"By the year 2060 my research center in the depths began development of a new power source that would fuel my steam and my laws and slowly bring Mankind back to an age of Enlightenment.

"But I was wrong. However well-intended my work was, it blew up like a volcano of Creeping Green radiation! The utopian steam-society I was creating was cast in a green-hued din. Mutants were now seen emerging from the recesses and strange stories emerged with urban legends of secrets that lay in the Nether-world of the Crater of Noxious Adversity.

"It is now 2075. A woman named Anne Eliza Wintersmith has declared herself Queen of New Southampton. She spreads fear with her army, the Regulators of Discord. The Queen is ruthless and conniving, imprisoning anyone that opposes her. The citizens cry out and beg for salvation. A unique collection of individuals have heard these cries of anguish. I call them The Posthumans. They are a group that shall soon come together as heroes and right these wrongs and gain freedom for the oppressed. The Posthumans do not see this vision yet. They have not put on the mantle of heroes yet, but they have heard the calling. I wish that I could be there to see them Rise.”- Dr. M.E. Fulbright.

AND WHAT A LINE UP FOR THE ANTHOLOGY!

I honestly don't know at this moment if the image above lists the stories in actual order of appearance, but I will definitely be sharing more information with you as we get closer to a release date.

Until then, see you around the Internet! (While it's still here?)

Lee Houston, Junior

10 March, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MARCH 8, 2014

Well, the past 7 days have certainly a mixed week folks.


I spent the first couple of days getting over that dang head cold I ended the previous week with, and then took Wednesday off to celebrate my 52nd birthday, but have been back at the keyboard writing ever since.



Work on ALPHA, BOOK 2: WAYWARD SON is proceeding apace. Got all my timeline problems fixed and have even added another chapter to the manuscript!

Things are going well at The Free Choice E-zine too, where tomorrow I'll be posting both a book review and a new interview with author Jim Beard!

I've also had another short story accepted for future publication! More on that soon.

PLUS: Tomorrow, I'll be able to share some new information with you about the Singularity anthology, and there is an idea that has been nagging at me to the point where I am going to have to stop long enough to at least devote some computer space to it, if not actual writing time.

You do NOT ignore your muse when she comes a'calling!

With all this stuff on my agenda, I better get back to work; that is, if you can call doing what you love "work".
In any event, see you around the Internet!

Lee Houston, Junior
09 March, 2014

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JANUARY 18, 2014

I before E, except after sea?

Well, another week has come and gone, and I'm still wearing my editor's hat
at the moment.

Wish I could tell you more, but right now I'm trying to clear my agenda because my creative friend and writing buddy Nancy A. Hansen has informed me that at some point before my birthday (March 5th), I will be receiving the manuscript for the conclusion of her trilogy that began with Prophecy's Gambit and Fortune's Pawn to proofread for her!

Also, I hope everyone saw the big announcement Monday concerning the Singularity: Rise of the Post Humans project that I am contributing to.
If not, either click the link above for more details, or check out this line up of contributors below...

And, in case you missed it, I have created a new banner of recent work to accompany my G+ and Facebook pages...

Art by David L. Russell and Marc Guerrero

Hope to be getting back to work on Alpha, Book 2 soon; but in the meantime, take care and I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior
19 January, 2014

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: SINGULARITY!

AT LAST IT CAN BE TOLD!

A short story I wrote on spec(ulation) last year has been accepted for the anthology SINGULARITY: RISE OF THE POST-HUMANS!

And look at this line-up of stories/talent that is participating:

Jennie Wood (Flutter, FUBAR, etc.); Nancy Hansen (Fortune's Pawn, Prophecy's Gambit, etc.); John F. Allen (Ivory Blaque, Knight Ranger, etc.); Brant Fowler (Wannabez, Gonzogoose, etc.); Singularity concept creator Jaime Ramos (numerous short stories); and my humble self.

Yet my inner "fan boy" is as excited as can be about being in a publication with the one and only David Michelinie, a noted comic book writer who has done some serious work for The Big 2 (DC and Marvel)!

Singularity itself is a steam punk, science fiction, superhero anthology featuring a shared world of the possible future with discord regulators, an evil queen, the creeping green, and so much more!

There will definitely be more announcements about this project as it nears publication later this year!

For now, I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
13 January 2014