Solitaire Stories by Andy Hoover

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 4/2/26. It's a love story featuring two hardworking entrepreneurs in the meatpacking/catering trade (for narrative convenience their professional roles are somewhat vaguely defined). Will a troubling rumor regarding one of their father's purportedly unsavory business practices scuttle this relationship before it even begins? (This one gets a little weird, but I would argue not that weird.)Content warning: rumors of cannibalism. Enjoy!

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 on 3/16/26. This is the story of three sets of couples who all yearn to be close friends with other couples. It starts as an aspirational, "successful adult couples have couple friends" sort of thing, but becomes something a bit more important to all of them. The tone of this one is a bit too silly to be a proper satire, and a bit too serious to be a farce... I guess it kind of lands in "droll comedy of manners" territory, but I like to think it's slightly weirder-in-a-good-way than that description would imply. Find out if you agree!

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 3/6/26. An anti-mob vigilante who fancies himself something of a Batman gets distracted from his mission of vengeance by a fun fling enabled via his cover career as a D.J. Can his concerned and disenchanted inner circle get him back on track? (Note: I had a bit of a technical/recording issue with this one, but hopefully the resulting necessary stitch isn't too distracting.)

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 2/14/26. It concerns the first mate of the exploratory sailing ship the Prudent Duchess and what he learns about himself and his fellows on an voyage around a largely-uncharted peninsula. It's a story about unexpected career paths, and also the power of art, and also storms. Enjoy!

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 1/28/26. It concerns the career anxieties and related struggles of a park ranger who really loves pirates, but does not much care for office politics. By the end of the story, she has a better handle on what she really wants, but beyond that I can't say there's much of a traditional arc to this one. Enjoy!

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!

Happy Valentine's Day! As an apology for being a couple days late on dropping this episode, this one is a double feature. "The Premiere of the Redeemed" (written 1/20/26) and "The One That Got Away" (written 1/21/26). Appropriate for the holiday, these are two love stories (that are also about other things.) The first is happier than the second, but I think I like the second a little better.

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!

Alternate title: "Chainsaw Guy and The Frogman (2006)." An employee for a haunted hayride pitches an idea to his boss, and then is forced to see it through. Sorry for a few verbal flubs in this one!

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.

Story written on 1/5/26. A dinner party guest with a secret and a crush attends an unusual sort of dinner party. Mortal peril ensues!

"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.