The Long & The Short of It

By Paul Budd

A compelling and wide-ranging collection of short stories exploring memory, identity, love and loss.

From quiet moments of everyday life to dark, unsettling encounters, these stories trace the fragile threads that connect us-across families, relationships and the passing of time. A chance meeting on a platform, a long-delayed return home, a conversation that changes everything-each story captures a moment where something shifts, often imperceptibly, but irrevocably alters the course of a life.

Set in familiar landscapes-suburban streets, country lanes, city caf s-these stories draw their strength from the ordinary, revealing the emotional depth that lies just beneath the surface. Some are tender and reflective, others quietly unsettling, but all are rooted in recognisable human experience. Whether exploring grief, reconciliation, memory or missed opportunity, they offer glimpses of lives shaped as much by what is unsaid as by what is spoken.

Moving between the reflective and the uncanny, the intimate and the ambiguous, this collection offers a rich and humane portrait of people navigating the complexities of everyday life. These are stories about the moments we carry with us-the small decisions, fleeting encounters and lingering memories that define who we are, often long after they have passed.

Perfect for reading in short sittings or returning to over time, this is a collection that invites reflection and rewards attention, lingering in the mind long after the final page.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 191132327X
• ISBN13: 9781911323273
• Release Date: May 2026
• Publisher: Speart House Publishing
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"