Lee Allen Howard's Blog, page 17
May 13, 2012
Look What Came in the Mail!
Look what came in the mail the other day!
Proof copy interior looks great. Cover needs another try. Books will be ready to ship next week.
THE SIXTH SEED in trade paper, coming soon!
May 2, 2012
Book Review: DESTINATION UNKNOWN by Trent Zelazny
4.6/5.0 stars
I’ve read most of Trent Zelazny’s work, and along with TO SLEEP GENTLY, this is one of my new favorites.
Again, in DESTINATION UNKNOWN, Zelazny really puts the screws to his characters, and I relish that in a suspense tale. Just when you think you know where the story’s going,—blammo!—you’re off in a different direction and, by the end, careening downhill with no brakes. (I should warn you that I had to stop reading this one late at night becaus...
May 1, 2012
Progress Report
Just a quick progress note about what I’m working on.
I’ve had enough sales success with THE SIXTH SEED that I’ve decided to publish it to trade paperback. Cover artwork is completed, and I hope to finish editing the text (one last time) by this weekend. It should go to press by the end of the month.
DEATH PERCEPTION is undergoing a second beta read, then I’ll make some more changes and edit the whole thing again. I’ll be contracting for cover artwork by the end of the month.
I also wanted to t...
April 10, 2012
Book Review: GREENSHIFT by Heidi Ruby Miller
Mari is a beautiful young woman from the polluted planet of Deleine. Her coral-colored eyes are the result of a reaction to a childhood vaccine. She seeks to make her mark in the field of science, upgrading the hydroponic botanical bays in spaceships.
When she meets Armadan ex-military pilot David Anlow, their chemistry turns to intimacy, and the virgin's first amour becomes the one she would take as prime.
But when the slimy Dale Zapona hires Mari...
April 9, 2012
The 777 Game
Author friend Rose Vanden Eynden tagged me in her blog post today. It's a fun game, and here are the rules:
Go to page 77 of your current work in progress.
Scroll down 7 lines.
Paste the next 7 sentences into your blog.
Then tag 7 more authors to carry forward the 777 game. Add their links, and remember to link to the person who tagged you… (Also, let everyone know.)
From page 77 of DEATH PERCEPTION:
Antogonist Cecil Grinold puts protagonist Kennet Singleton to the test, to see if the young...
April 7, 2012
Wordsmithereens: To Have or Have Not
Wordsmithereens is a whenever-I-feel-like-it column where I blast the hell out of some nitpicky topic pertaining to diction, editing, self-editing, or writing. Why? Because I'm anal-retentive with a hyphen, that's why.
Over the past few years I've noticed the many uses of the verb have. It's a useful word, but often overused in prose. During editing mode, I've been substituting verbs that are more accurate or lend variety. For instance, "have" is often used to mean "need":
He had to go.
could b...
April 3, 2012
Experience Tom’s Vasectomy
THE SIXTH SEED, my dark paranormal novel that’s a mash-up of sci-fi, family drama, alien abduction, and suburban horror, is available for immediate purchase. Brace yourself for protagonist Tom Furst’s fateful vasectomy and then download for more.
Chapter 1
Tom Furst lay on his back on an examination table in Sterling Health Center, dreading the procedure he was about to undergo.
His mother-in-law had been delighted when he...
Experience Tom's Vasectomy
THE SIXTH SEED, my dark paranormal novel that's a mash-up of sci-fi, family drama, alien abduction, and suburban horror, is available for immediate purchase. Brace yourself for protagonist Tom Furst's fateful vasectomy and then download for more.
Chapter 1Tom Furst lay on his back on an examination table in Sterling Health Center, dreading the procedure he was about to undergo.
His mother-in-law had been delighted when...
March 21, 2012
Let THE SIXTH SEED Abduct You
THE SIXTH SEED, my dark paranormal novel that's a mash-up of sci-fi, family drama, alien abduction, and suburban horror, is available for immediate purchase. Enjoy the prologue and then download for more.
Prologue3:00 AM.
Even the New Year's Eve celebrations had dwindled to a drunken slumber in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
A shaft as bright as lightning blasted the roof of the suburban split-level below. As the ship settled over the house, the light...
March 20, 2012
Book Review: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE by Ron Butlin
"You are thirty-four years old and already two-thirds destroyed." This is not just the measuring rod of today's alcohol consumption, but the yardstick of your life.
Ron Butlin's The Sound of My Voice (Canongate, 1987) is another text in my self-study plan for second person point of view. In this short novel, the "you" is protagonist Morris Magellan, an alcoholic whose life is unraveling, perhaps irreparably.
Following the death of his cold and distant father, Magellan dogpaddles...
