Fiction
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A Book of Short Stories by TA Saunders is out now. Thirteen short stories in one book: Life-changing Faraway House Jeremy Hardwicke Hopeless Silver spoon The secret Dodgy business Josephine McGaskell Old Joanna Motivated and happy Fear of change Good neighbours Foolish mistake Short stories are fun to write and not too demanding to read. In this collection I have enjoyed creating a variety of characters who experience some of life's challenges with a mix of outcomes. Age old afflictions of greed and addiction are touched upon while happier themes such as motivation and the power of friendship also feature. Below is one complete short story from the collection. Jeremy Hardwicke Jeremy Hardwicke had taste. Expensive taste. At a shade under 6ft tall, he wasn’t handsome and he wasn’t ugly but he sported a handmade suit and brogues, an expensive watch on his left wrist. It was always important to look the part in the world of public relations. One might be forgiven for thinking that Global PR was his company but in reality he was but a small insignificant cog, a lowly bookkeeper, earning a bookkeeper’s wage. His father had established the business in 1975 and a decade later had overseen its flotation on the stock exchange. Clients included international airlines, banks and oil companies. There were 200 staff spread across the globe and his father very much believed in his employees earning their place in the organisation. There was no favouritism for family. While Jeremy had passed his various exams with ease he had never demonstrated the flair for business that his father had so desperately hoped he would inherit. When his father thought too much about this it depressed him because he blamed himself for this failure. He concluded that business acumen was not something that could be passed on and when he needed to appoint a financial controller he did not even consider Jeremy, instead recruiting Rex Clayhorn. It didn’t bother Jeremy who was happy coasting along in life never raising his head above the parapet. The full story can be enjoyed in: A Book of Short Stories by TA Saunders |
