The Final Storm: Managua Campaign?

Here's what we have in The Final Storm:

Updates on characters, plot lines

News of the Soviet nuke plan filtering to the west

Western Planning, White House, #10

Intro of various pilots, Hogg Sq, B-2s, B-1s, Aussie F-111s

The Georgian Coup/Battle of the Roki Tunnel

Kazakh Coup

This is already going to be a pretty big book. The question is, do we want the Managua Campaign in the front? It could work. This provides us some opportunities. The Contras and Honduran armies drive southwest toward Managua. We could bring the Brazilian carrier over for air support. Maybe Brazil even sends marines, paras? 

Ok, this would be good fun. But would it seem like we just slapped something on the front of the book? We may not make a decision on this till we've finished the rest. The Managua campaign could always go in the planned WW1990 short story comp. We must dwell on this.

The Final Storm Sans Teeth

Our Canadian correspondent threatened to forecheck us if we didn't stop bitching, stop complaining, pull a Bobby Clarke and just write The Final Storm next year.

Canuck: What do you want to write in 2020?
Yank: I don't know.

So I guess that's what we'll do.

The Final Storm

Remember The Final Storm was one big book, now it is two medium books, so many of the scenes that worked in the original itineration do not work now. They need some serious shoring up. 

Good lord, this time last year we thought, 'Hey, Final Storm...it's done while we finish this thing up....' We don't even remember what the thing was that we was working on...Baby-shark do-do-do-do...

Bastards.

But yesterday, reading The Final Storm's Death Star style attack scene, we were pleasantry surprised. Things look pretty decent.

There's still one whopper of a scene we gotta read. Anyone paying attention to what 22 SAS RGT has been doing knows what de la Billiere, Clarke* and the boys are getting up to. Feel free to speculate in the comments.

*I may kill him just to be a dick. The joke's over. Winter is coming, and it feels like a bad one. In which case we're cranky as all fuck.

The Final Storm

Today we are opening up The Final Storm for the first time in six weeks. Hopefully this will be ready for the new year.

Chao Italia!

Unknown Reader expresses his thanks for Italian forces showing up in Polish Storm.

Thank you, sir.

Just wait for The Final Storm, there will be plenty of Regia Marina.

Anyway, Unknown Reader echoes a sentiment of ours. NATO is more than just Yanks, Krauts and Brits. Henceforth all the Cannucks in Polish Storm. When we get around to doing Before the Weser, there will be a Belgian short story, a Dutch short story, etc, etc.

By the way, Unknown Reader, why not look us up on FB?

Earlier...in Produce Section

We've been wondering why Chapter I of The Battle of the Three Seas isn't working.

While at the grocery store we figured it out.

Toward the end of the chapter the Soviets do a thing which could swing the battle their way, or at least hurt the Americans. But really, they could have done that thing much earlier. 

As we grabbed a bottle of EVVO we realized we must needs a reason for why the Soviets do not do that thing much earlier. Also, this gives us a chance to add tension on the American side, and character on the Soviet side.

As we went into the produce section, we pondered the character of TU-22 Backfire pilots...then we saw that brunette shopping after the gym and our mind wondered elsewhere.

The Final Storm

Looks like we've gotten Chapter I of The Battle of the Three Seas worked out. That is, the chapter makes sense, flows, and is actually entertaining. Plenty of work remains, but the crisis has passed.

We've also figured out how The Final Storm opens, giving the book and the Politburo a pressure point to deal with. we'll be expanding on that.

Final Storm Chapters

Working our way through The Final Storm it's occurred to us that the chapter about sub-ops should be rolled into the overall chapter on northern operations.

Previously the northern-ops had two focuses, A and B. So the chapter went back and forth, A then B, A then B.

Of course folding the sub-ops into said chapter will lead to two new subjects, C and D. So you'd have something like A then B then C then D followed by A then B then C then D.

You tell me reader(s). Which is less confusing? Which is better?

Updates for Saturday

We have The Polish Storm proof.

We are working on the Final Storm. We had hoped to have the rough draft finished by the time we left for Europe but this seems most unlikely.

We are probably not releasing Polish Storm until The Final Storm is ready to go.

As we have complete control of the production process this will now happen a lot quicker.

Debbie has Pershing in Command.  There's nearly 200 footnotes and they don't reset with every chapter. This concerned us until we saw Tom Clancy did the same thing with Submarine, Armored Cav, etc etc.

We think we've probably learned all the French we're going to learn and anymore is likely over preparation.

Storm Release Dates

Concerned reader Anonymous asks about the release date for Polish Storm.

The answer to that question is we don't know.

When we get the MS back from Debbie we'll turn it in. Then Amazon formats, designs the cover, and sends us the proof, which gets read, re-edited and resubmitted. That process goes as fast or slow as we want. In theory that process can take three weeks.

But we may delay the release till we finish The Final Storm and either release them back to back, or just release both books at the same time, becuase why not? Also, fun with Amazon algorithms.

So what is The Final Storm's situation? 52,000 words, we've got the battle of the three seas (take a guess!) and we got our blockbuster finale. We need to re-research the battle of the three seas. That is, we need to go back through the naval and air action and make sure we have it as right as possible. We also need to write some of the set up for the book. Reader(s) will recall that these two books were once one book.