The Long and the Short of It

About the Book

Richard is a recently retired loner who walks the short distance through the well-manicured garden to the swimming pool as he has every day since moving to a villa. As he swims in the early morning hours, a Guatemalan gardener works nearby. Although the two men do not speak the same language, they soon begin to enjoy the benefits of an uncomplicated companionship that centers around the beauty and scent of flowers. In a collection of eleven short stories, RJ Stastny takes others on a poignant journey into a world of fact, fiction and fantasy—of love unspoken and love lost, magical dogs, mysterious disappearances, murder, and international adventure. It is finally time for Terry Davis to leave Peru, his friend Roberto, and the Peace Corps to return home to teach at a small college. But as a strange chain of events unfurls, Terry learns that Roberto is not who he says he is and, even worse yet, that he no longer has control over his own life. Every day, we write our own stories—the ones we are living and the others we live only in our dreams. The Long and Short of It pulls from the author’s own experiences, intertwining facts, fiction, and fantasy into eleven short tales that offer a fascinating glimpse into the lives of multiple characters facing diverse challenges and obstacles

About the Author

RJ Stastny is retired from a career in business and education that included work for the United Nations in Quito, Ecuador. He is the author of two novels, Falling Forward and The Guestbook at Asilomar. Stastny currently lives in the Chicago area with his two Golden retrievers. Visit rjsbooks.net.