Preface

Literature doesn’t become stagnant until the author is dead. In other words ... as long as the author lives, the story has the chance to grow and improve. It is a living dynamic thing. And you, dear readers, are about to witness some of that growth.

It’s been almost fifteen years since I started writing ‘Second Time Through’ and over ten years since I first posted it on Storiesonline. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get an email or three asking about the next book. Still, my life became overwhelmed by more important things and I let the story slip away.

However, along came this thing called Covid-19...

Just so you all know, I was a good ‘ole southern boy/construction worker, complete with a pick-up truck, a full set of framing tools, and one of them-there high school ‘ed-u-kay-shuns’.

One day, back about fifteen years ago, I fell on the jobsite and broke my femur (the big bone at the top of the leg). It hurt like hell! Much worse than a broken tibia and fibula (which I’ve also had). The recovery was painful and long (about 12 months, give or take). And it was during this time that my doctor suggested I try writing to help alleviate the boredom. (She also suggested a long list of other sissy-fied hobbies which I promptly ignored).

I can’t tell you why I decided to try writing, but one day, it occurred to me that NO ONE would ever see the results, so that meant I could write any kind of story I wanted. I guess that little bit of wisdom was the spark I needed, and so I began to write. I worked on ‘Second Time Through’ for months, until I finally got cleared to go back to the job. Once back at work, I promptly forgot all about the story.

Fast forward a couple of years.

My sister was passing through town dropped by to stay with us for a couple of nights (which she did on a semi-regular basis). This time, it just so happens that her company laptop wasn’t functioning right, so my wife loaned her mine (which I hadn’t touched in two years) and that’s how my little sister discovered the story I had written. Turns out, she was a fan of a website called “Storiesonline”, so she began to encourage (beg, threaten, blackmail, etc) me to post my story on SoL.

Finally, to shut her up, I did just that. And the reception my story received was mind blowing for this ole country boy.

But I was never happy with the story. As a first effort, I guess it was okay. But as several thousand e-mails will attest, there were lots of mistakes. I eventually ended up with some great editors for Books II, III, & IV. But I still felt the story could be better.

Back to COVID-19.

Since the virus showed up, I no longer get to spend enough time with those I love. It’s too dangerous, they tell me. And since my health no longer allows me to work like I used to, I finally decided to settle down and work on Book V. But as I began to re-read the first four books (so I could re-familiarize myself with the story), I just couldn’t help myself. I HAD to make changes or corrections to just about every chapter I read. The storyline is still the same, and I didn’t take out any characters, but I think the story flows better, that it’s a little crisper.

After many discussions with Lazeez (SoL’s talented webmaster), about the best way to accomplish what I wanted to do, we decided to take-down/remove STT from the SoL website. Next, we replaced it with one hell of a long story!

And truthfully, it helped me get myself out of a corner I had written myself into. (I ended up changing a lot of the ending of Book IV).

I hope you enjoy the alterations. As usual, let me know if you still find any mistakes.

And as always, Thanks for reading my story,

Phil Brown,

January, 2023