Solitaire Stories by Andy Hoover

After about a year of tinkering, I have invented a new method of quickly writing pieces of short fiction. I plan to spend 2026 testing and refining this method by using it to craft a brand-new short story… every single day of the year! This experimental storytelling method requires only a standard pack of playing cards (plus a notebook, or whatever) and a commitment to follow the suggested narrative road wherever it leads. I've always loved writing, but have struggled with finishing anything, largely because I'm an inveterate tinkerer with perfectionist tendencies, a penchant for over-complicated plot-lines and world-building, and a fear of failure (and probably success, too). I have decided to short-circuit these liabilities and confront these fears and leave my fate to the whims of cartomancy, which I understand is the practice of divining one's fate via playing cards. I did not research this practice much, nor will I do much research of any kind on behalf any of the stories

Solitaire Stories by Andy Hoover is a fiction podcast hosted by Andy Hoover, with 35 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Andy Hoover hosts Solitaire Stories by Andy Hoover, a fiction show with 35 episodes published.

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  Episode #36

  A Junkyard Outside Yearning (Story #163)

  Sep 30, 202624 minS1

  This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 9/1/26. This is one of the ones I wrote in the mini-legal pad, but unlike others from that set this one expanded nicely in the typing phase (so no double feature this week). In this story, a professional photojournalist heads to Yearning, Montana in pursuit of a lifelong dream. He strives awkwardly to make inroads with the locals, including an attractive but acerbic coffee shop proprietress and an old lady hermit-type who seems content to dwell in a junkyard on a hill outside of town. The photojournalist suffers some expensive and embarrassing losses and reversals, but by the time the story ends he seems to have changed for the better, and/or found some inner peace (maybe.) Apologies in advance for character name inconsistencies and the kind of bizarre, quasi-witchy voice I picked for the old lady at the end. I forgot she had dialogue and didn't really think ahead, which I hope is more fun than obnoxious. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Patreon link in case anyone wants to keep tabs on the big (not that big) update I plan to get out tomorrow, as mentioned during the outro of the episode: https://patreon.com/AndyHoover?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

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  Episode #35

  The Food Group (Story #132)

  Sep 23, 202623 minS1

  This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 7/15/26. In this one, a waitress throws her hat in the ring for a promotion to management. She doesn't get the job but learns a lot from the man who does, a coworker she had initially feared and despised. He's clearly turned over a new leaf; will the mental wellness tips and tricks he shares with our protagonist help her deal with unexpected new tensions in her relationship with her increasingly-preoccupied food vlogger boyfriend? This one's a sort of shaggy, relatively grounded character piece. Not much of a hook, and arguably not much happens, but I like this one. Enjoy!

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  Episode #34

  Short(er) Story Double Feature (Stories #136 and #134)

  Sep 15, 202628 minS1

  This episode consists of two weirdly similar Solitaire Stories I wrote in July. The first one only took about 14 minutes so I decided on the fly to double up this week (partially to make up for the travel-related late release of this episode.) The first story (Story #136, written 7/22/26) is called "The Ballad of Lazy Mike". In this one, an IT professional known somewhat unfairly as Lazy Mike finds unexpected employment at an internet café. At first he finds this work a bit beneath him, and in time he becomes known -- somewhat unfairly, again -- as Angry Mike. It is the story of the rise -- and perhaps the very beginning of the fall -- of Lazy/Angry Mike. The second story (Story #134, written 7/17/26) is titled "The Last Hurrah of the Impressive Reflexes". In this one, the hard-working frontman of a hard-working local rock and ska band befriends and recruits a drummer. He then suffers through the kind of drama one might expect to befall an overbooked rock and ska band. Will he persevere and soldier on, or will he accept the sad fact that his best skanking (and management) days are behind him?

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  Episode #33

  Mosaic House (Story #133)

  Sep 5, 202619 minS1

  This is the story I wrote on 7/16/26. From my synopsis notes: "Our protagonist seeks to flip a piece of real estate following a number of ambitious aesthetic improvements. The tile guy goes overboard, which leads to multiple clashes and an eventual (sort of) catharsis." This one is a bit shorter than most as it was a one-page (rather than a two-page) story variant, though it expanded to an (almost) normal length during the typing phase. I ended up quite liking it! (Though note I have a bit of a cold, so this performance might be a bit more lethargic than most.) Enjoy!

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  Episode #32

  The Second Time Capsule (Story #130)

  Aug 28, 202620 minS1

  This is the story that I wrote on 7/10/26. In this one, an elementary school teacher, disappointed by the contents of an unearthed time capsule at his school, decides to take another run as the project... so as to do right by the schoolchildren of his day, and of the future. However, the teacher's unexpected feelings towards his own planned, "meaningful" contribution to the second capsule gives him second thoughts. Is he pointlessly sacrificing present contentment for some nebulous future benefit? (Also, it's Hawaiian Shirt Day, which doesn't help.)

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