Solitaire Stories by Andy Hoover

This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 5/1/26. In this one, a bookish earling (like a princeling, but for earls) feels pressured to excel on a hunting weekend at the beautiful but dangerous estate of his father's political frenemy, Baron Elgin. The young nobleman performs surprisingly well in multiple ways, but there may be plots brewing in the shadows, and a certain sorrow building on his heart.

This is the Solitaire Story that I wrote on 4/15/26. This one is a light fantasy tale, or at least as light as a story centering on the unexpected death of a mostly-beloved monarch is likely to get while still retaining some emotional truth (hopefully.) Come watch Crown Princess Emmalisa as she navigates a trying but not-entirely-sorrowful week, punctuated by unexpected banquets, sibling rivalry, and near-nightly explosions over Benevolence Harbor.

This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 3/24/26. In this one, small-time, mostly-legit hustler with his fingers in a lot of local pies contemplates buying a boat. He gets a bit obsessed with the idea, in fact! Can his no-nonsense waitress girlfriend reel him in? How about the various carnies he employs? How about a retired Marine? How about the ocean itself?

This is the Solitaire Story I wrote back on February 20th. In this one, a lucky guy who doesn't know he's lucky teams up with a disreputable friend to win a bunch of money at an off-track betting place. Over the course of a rainy and chaotic morning, their plan unfolds (and unravels.) Can they work together well-enough to make some real money, or is the scheme doomed from the start? Find out in this episode! Some limited profanity in this one!

This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 3/3/26. In this story, the "real-life" subject of a hit love song by international pop superstar Catlyn "Cat" Arrow struggles with how best to help his island community -- and his own peace of mind -- following a tourism-devastating hurricane. Being "the guy that song's about" comes with perks and headaches aplenty, especially when the pop star's rumored to be coming back to town. I kept mispronouncing character names in this one... plus the beginning is a bit long-winded, and the ending is a bit abrupt. But otherwise I like it!

This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on February 1, 2026. It's about a romance cover model who feels uncertain about a recent career development. He has lunch with his agent and spies a mysterious woman and makes a late-night phone call. Kind of a meandering, character-heavy, portrait type of piece, but I like this one.

This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on January 15th. It's about a retiring science teacher who takes on a new short-term gig involving experimental educational domes. This one has both comedy (at least I think so) and tragedy (kind of)! Enjoy!

This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 1/17/26. It's called Exit Interview. A journalist assigned to cover a magical wargames conference ends up getting more directly involved than he had anticipated. It's in first person and set in a whimsical (sort of) fantasy world, if either of those elements appeal to you!

This story is set in a low-fantasy sort of realm, where knights can carve out a living in tournaments and so forth. Timely, now that Game of Thrones is back in the zeitgeist! I picked this one for the third episode both as a celebration of finally having ten of the notebook stories typed out (I'm behind in this regard), and because I wanted to experiment with a story that covered a very long time period -- in this case a century or so -- and this seemed like a fun way to do so. If you don't like fantasy stories, don't fret, most episodes going forward won't be in this genre. If you do like fantasy stories, let me know, and maybe I'll write more! When you do one a day you can theoretically consider a lot of requests.

"Quitting Time" is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 1/1/26. It's about a guy who wants to quit his job but then has trouble quitting his job.