Frequently Asked Questions
When is the book coming out?
The eBook of The Sheltered Storm will be out for Kindle on March 20th, 2025. You can (pre)order it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DW97L5GW/
Is this the same version that was posted in 2019-2020?
No. It’s been totally revised and updated. It is still recognizably the same story (it’s a non-fiction book after all) but there are many major changes. It’s quite a bit shorter (see below), with the narrative more focused on the Sandy Hook shooter and Nancy Lanza. It’s also been updated to include sections on the shooter’s YouTube account, which is a very significant development that enhances understanding of the case.
What are the differences between the new edition and the original?
Length
It’s about one-third shorter than the first version.
Originally, The Sheltered Storm was written serially and posted as each chapter was finished. As I was writing it, I included a lot of scenes that touched on similar cases or related legal and social issues. This version has a lot of that peripheral content removed, and other parts trimmed down, while leaving in nearly all of the content that is central to the Sandy Hook case, with more added.
That’s not to say that this version ignores the context and implications of the Sandy Hook case, though; it doesn’t. It just doesn’t spend as much time doing it, and overall the story moves faster.
(Note: Amazon’s detail page says that it’s 788 pages. It’s certainly not a short book, but that’s overdoing it. In reality the main text would be closer to 550 pages, plus end notes in finer print.)
Chapters
The original had 80 numbered chapters. This one has 65. Some of the titles of chapters are different, and the chapter breaks happen at different points in time in a few places.
Subtitle
The subtitle of this version is “The True Story of the Man-Made Disaster That Struck Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.” (The original’s ended in “…That Struck the Village of Sandy Hook, Connecticut on December 14, 2012“.)
Paragraph format
The original was in a “block” format, with spaces in between each paragraph. The updated version uses the more familiar format of indented paragraphs, with breaks only between scenes or sections.
How long will the eBook be exclusive to Amazon?
At least 90 days. Possibly another 90 days after that, it depends on several factors. I’ll update when I know more.
Will there be a print version?
At some point, yes. But I plan to release the audiobook version before that.
When will the audiobook version be available?
Later this year, hopefully by the summer. I’ll update when I know more.