The Long and The Short of It
A Collection of Short Stories
Recipient - 2022 "Editor’s Choice" and "Rising Star" Awards.
Runner-up, Short Story Category: 2023 New England Book Festival
Nominated: 2023 Eric Hoffer Award
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, canine magic, 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.
The Guestbook at Asilomar
Recipient - 2014 "Editor's Choice and Rising Star" Awards
Finalist - 2015 Indie Book Awards
Caution: Your dreams may be closer than they appear.
Maurice Summerlin is a frustrated writer who plans a short vacation in Spain to escape his routine life and ponder his stalled career. Soon after arriving, a sudden rainstorm causes a chance meeting with Claire, an aging American traveler, who convinces him to join her on a journey to a remote fishing village on Spain's Mediterranean coast. Maurice soon discovers that the best adventures are never planned.
After Claire leads him to an enchanting inn called Asilomar, he learns he is one of many wistful travelers who are on daring pursuits to fulfill their dreams. Maurice's unintended arrival is accompanied by fear and self-doubt, but it is not long before he transforms from observer to participant. His new friend, Claire, proves she's not afraid of mortality but dares to race it to the finish line.
Julian, Asilomar's host, is determined to inspire his guests to risk comfort and security in exchange for exhilaration and fulfillment. But for all of his efforts he may just make the ultimate sacrifice. Euphrates, Julian's best friend and assistant, lives in a silent world. Yet while he quietly helps to inspire those around him he yearns for the love which has eluded him.
The Guestbook at Asilomar is the engaging tale of one man's adventurous quest during which he, along with other guests at this unconventional Spanish retreat, discovers there is no such thing as coincidence and that his dreams are closer than they appear.
Falling Forward-A Novel
Inspired by a true story
Falling Forward-A Novel
Inspired by a true story
...because life never unfolds the way we plan
Inspired by true events Falling Forward celebrates resiliency of spirit and the gift of loving and of being loved. It closely represents the author's own experience of losing a long term partner and having to start his life over again.
Wes, a romantic and accomplished gay man in his forties, thinks that he has his life in order. He has been in a relationship for years, and he is confident that he knows what the future holds.
But when his partner dies suddenly,Wes finds himself “falling forward” into a future filled with grief, uncertainty, and untapped potential. Now Wes must fight to regain his equilibrium and build a new life in a new city—while somehow holding on to the stability of his lost past. A disparate group of friends, lovers, and acquaintances become his guides on a new series of international escapades in which Wes finds himself uncompromisingly involved.
Falling Forward is an anthem for the positive acceptance of change in an uncertain world. After accepting that life never unfolds the way we plan Wes discovers that the one thing he wants has been in front of him all the time.