PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 25, 2018

♫Second verse, same as the first.♫—Herman's Hermits (Henry the 8th)

Still working on HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, BOOK 3: FEMME FATALE.

Have reached "Point A" in Chapter 21 and am right now trying to decide the best way to reach "Point B".

Or, in other words: I know what I want to do, just not sure how to do it.

Have a doctor's appointment and a few other things to do this coming week, but any available writing time will be dedicated to HUGH.

In any event, I better get back to writing now.
Have a great week and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
26 August, 2018

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 18, 2018

WELL... better late than never.

"Like sands through the hourglass..."

A few things and other matters kept me busy over the weekend, so I'm just now getting to my weekly progress report.
Don't worry. Everything's about as right as it can be in my life at the moment.
In any event, once again I spent all my available writing time this past week on HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, BOOK 3: FEMME FATALE.
The story is beginning to shape up wonderfully.
I'm on Chapter 21 and 51,000+ words into it.
Minimum word count is 60,000; yet there's still a ways to go and a few twists and turns yet to be explored before Hugh can declare the case closed.

Yeah, I'll be the first to admit that this has taken awhile.
Far longer than I originally planned or hoped.
Various short stories and PROJECT ALPHA, BOOK 2: PROVING GROUND had to be completed before I even began work on HUGH 3.
The fact that my publisher suggested delaying what I originally had planned for Book 3 until the next one left me with a big empty hole to fill, plot wise.

Then a couple of false starts, along with having to go back to Square 1 (a lonely, barren place if there ever was one) more times than I wanted to before I even came up with what I'm now calling FEMME FATALE, and all of this was long before losing most of October 2017 because of losing my mother.

None of the above should be taken as an excuse, but it is an explanation as to where the time has gone.
In any event, I'm definitely on the right track now.
Just need to put in the time and effort to finish the first draft of the manuscript before sending it to my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader for her editing and input.
With that in mind, I better get back to writing now.

Take care, and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
20 August, 2018

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 11, 2018

I'll keep it simple.
Worked on HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, BOOK 3: FEMME FATALE every available writing moment I had this past week.
Didn't have as many moments as I would have liked, but then again, I think every writer can say that to some extent.
Anyway, I now have 20 complete chapters and roughly 50,000 words.
Starting to approach the grand finale, but not quite in range of it yet.

Better get back to writing now.
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
12 August, 2018

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 4, 2018

Well, I've been all over the place this past week.

Most of the time I did work on HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, BOOK 3: FEMME FATALE.

But I spent one day in Victorian England kicking around ideas for a new Sherlock Holmes tale (or two), and had to put everything aside for a while Friday to create and review back cover copy for KIRI'S QUEST, the Companion Dragons novella I co-wrote with my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader Nancy Hansen, before the manuscript was submitted.

Hmm...
Between HUGH'S far flung future, Sherlock's vintage setting, and my writing desk being in the present, I wonder if I can get frequent flyer miles for all the time travelling I did??? 😕

In any event, I better get back to writing now.
Have a great week and I'll see you around the Internet, whatever century I'm in. 😉

Lee Houston, Junior
5 August, 2018

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 28, 2018

SHORT BUT SWEET...

Books 1 & 2, available at Amazon.com!

Every writing moment I had this past week was devoted to HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE,
BOOK 3: FEMME FATALE.

I know where the novel is going, but have yet to type the grand finale at the end of all my books, "THE END...for now."

Twenty chapters and almost 50,000 words is nothing to sneeze at though.

In any event, I better get back to writing now.

Take care, and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
29 July, 2018

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 21, 2018

Spent all my available writing time this past week working on HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, BOOK 3: FEMME FATALE! 😁

But I hit a snag late Friday. 😕

Don't worry. The problem wasn't bad enough to make me start all over on the project again. 😌
I've had enough false starts and restarts on this book as it is, especially when I lost most of last October because of my mother's passing.

Anyway, I had to stop and do some serious thinking about one particular locale on Hugh's world 🌐that I've referenced a lot in previous mysteries but have never given more details about.

The (as yet) unvisited west end of Galveston 2 known as The Dragon's Tail. 🐉

Not that I didn't already have some idea💭 of what that area was like, but I never stopped to completely think it out before now.

As my friendly neighborhood beta-proof reader keeps reminding me, world building is an important part of writing.
Even if everything isn't revealed, the author should know every detail, nook and cranny of where their tales take place.

I may not know everything, but I know more now than I did before.

So I better get back to writing now.
Have a great week and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
22 July, 2018

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 14, 2018

WELL...
"Kiri's Quest" has come and gone! 😀
I've made my final pass and sent it onward.

Am back to work on HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, BOOK 3: FEMME FATALE.
Now 18 Chapters and 45,000+ words into the private detective of the far flung future's next novel length mystery and will probably wind up sending Hugh somewhere he has never been before.

"Where's that?" you ask.
Sorry.
Afraid I can't tell you right now.
But I've got to get back to writing now, and don't worry, my equipment is a lot more advance than what's pictured in that old clip art image I sometimes use.

Anyway, see you around the Internet!
Lee Houston, Junior
15 July, 2018