Stormwatch

Stormwatch, A Reader's Guide.

Important update to the Stormwatch series.

When I first wrote the Stormwatch series, the episodes were intended to be read in alphabetical order. However, the series grew far beyond the three episodes I originally planned. The popularity of Stormwatch overwhelmed me and I pressed on with a slight idea of where I was headed. The one thing I want to press home was the problems faces by disabled veterans.

It's no mystery to readers that Josh has problems, both physical and emotional. It also came a surprise to the readers that Veronica has a darker past than they expected. There's one episode that comes as quite a surprise to many readers and has generated a lot of unrest. What I want to show is that nobody is perfect, even the ones that look near perfect. I'm going to redo A Queen and a Rook and try to emphasize that loneliness can force people to make decisions we can't understand. Some of the loneliest people I've ever met were like Veronica. Beautiful, smart, competent, talented, and kind, but deep inside they hide self-doubt. This self-doubt is fueled by people who think that someone so beautiful is unapproachable.

The Love Boat is getting a major re-write. When I first wrote it, it happened after Josh and Veronica got married, but as Andi's Dream unfolded, it happened long before that point. So I'm taking Josh and Veronica's honeymoon cruise away from them and moving The Love Boat up in order where it belongs in the timeline. This will be a congratulatory cruise for all three couples involved, and I think I'm going to invite Danny Jarecki to come along for the ride. Paul will not want to put him down for a couple of months.

The timeline got messed up, and the alphabetical order got confusing and feedback from new readers made me realize it's time to fix that while I'm finally getting around to completing the series. The proper order for the stories is listed below. One of the first big changes is that there are now eleven months between A Date Which Will Live in Infamy and A Party of Four. Two episodes will be added between them to ensure the timeline remains in sync with Andi's Dream.

If questions on the timeline arise, We're a Wonderful Wife is cannon. All Aboard Andi's Dream is synchronized with We're a Wonderful Wife, and hopefully by early 2026 Stormwatch will be in sync also.

Very soon I'm going to move the primary focus of the story line away from Andi's Dream and over to Stormwatch. We'll let the Jarecki family relax, recover, and hopefully get the twins under control and put the story telling on Josh and Veronica's shoulders. I've also had some thoughts of skipping ahead and doing stories of the twins as teens. Any thoughts on that, dear readers? Please leave comments below.

Paul, Andi, John, and Macy are not going away. I'm going to let their story rest for a while and gather ideas like I did with Stormwatch. Astute readers realize that Paul and Andi still have one more child (a boy) to add to the brood. Probably in 2 timeline years. As I re-write the Stormwatch series, I'll draw Andi and Paul into the Stormwatch stories more so you'll still see them, especially in stories after The Love Boat.

I'm preparing the Stormwatch series like I did with Andi's Dream and We're a Wonderful Wife so all reader input is invited. Please leave comments, requests, and ideas of what you'd like to see in the updated Stormwatch series below.

Unfortunately, Stormwatch was my first attempt at a long form story, and I made a lot of mistakes when I first wrote it, like not numbering the episodes. Each episode was supposed to be a standalone story, and they were to be read in alphabetical order, but that kind of fell apart. When updates get posted you will see that the episodes are numbered as Chapters.

Here's the order they're supposed to be read in:

Stormwatch - A Blizzard in Buffalo*

Stormwatch - A Date Which Will Live in Infamy*

Stormwatch - A Day in the Country***

Stormwatch - A Day in the Church***

Stormwatch - A Party of Four*

Stormwatch - The Love Boat**

Stormwatch - A Queen and a Rook**

Stormwatch - A Rest and Recovery*

Stormwatch - A Serene Summer Day*

Stormwatch - Mike and Audrey***

Stormwatch - A Wedding in the Woods*

Stormwatch - Thundersnow*

Stormwatch - Dirty Pool *

Stormwatch - Little Ellie***

Stormwatch - The Family Gravely***

* Rewrite needed

** Major rewrite needed

*** Needs to be written, and the title isn't set in stone yet.