Stories in the Talents Universe
Here are a couple of winter-theme stories set in the Talents universe.
Love in the Oaks is a story I was going to submit for the holiday edition of a literary magazine. They were looking for short, slam-style pieces, and I just couldn’t get it under 800 words. I let it go a bit more, so it’s somewhere between one of the snippets I post on Facebook and a full short story.
Winter Solstice…in the Back of the House is the beginning of a branch of the Talents universe I hope to nurture into more stories, possibly even into a novel. In Hidden Talents, we’ve seen how the Talents have an impact on Ren Alciatore’s careers as a photographer and soccer referee. While I’ve always had a fascination with restaurant operations, I didn’t really include them into Talents. Well, beyond Ren’s family connections, that is. As Talents began to evolve, I kept thinking, what if a cook had Talents? Or maybe a waiter? What would that do to the dynamics in the kitchen? This story makes a bit of a start on that interaction. I’ve run the concept past a friend who has a lot of restaurant experience, and they liked it. So, I’ve got a consultant for the theme! That will (hopefully) inspire me to make it work.
I’m making progress on Trusted Talents, the second novel in the Talents universe. That and the Krauss book occupy most of my writing time at the moment. The Dragons stories are always on my mind as well, and I’ll start outlining the third novel there after Krauss is off to the publisher.
All the books are available via Amazon and local booksellers. Check my Books by Edward page for details.
So, Happy Holidays, Everyone! I hope these two shorts are to your liking!
Solstice Stories (PDF Download)
