Of all the stories I’ve had published so far, this is my favorite.
Conrad Brent is special. He is among the small group of people (one in thirty thousand) who can See the world for what it really is. There are wizards, and monsters, and even a giant troll underneath the Verrazano Bridge — deadly threats that an average citizen knows nothing about. Threats that are kept in check by the Watch — an ancient society which protects regular people from being taken advantage of by those with magic.
Conrad Brent is the Watch’s representative in Brooklyn, NY. When a powerful magic-enhancing shard of Atlantean crystal shows up in the borough, it is up to Brent to keep it out of the wrong hands. By whatever means necessary.
OK, given a little time and a medium cup of French Vanilla coffee, I could probably write a better blurb. But you get the idea. “Shard” is the kind of urban fantasy I love to read, and want to write.
Conrad Brent is a wise-cracking, irreverent, morally complicated character and I love telling his stories. I’ve already written a second Brent tale, titled “Requiem for a Druid,” where our protagonist butts heads with New York’s most prominent real estate mogul who has a penchant for firing people. That second story is currently looking for a home — sadly there aren’t a lot of pro markets interested in light urban fantasy short stories.
I’m also in the very early stages of planning out my first novel. It will be–you guessed it–a Conrad Brent story.
So please head over to Buzzy Magazine, a brand-new pro venue which was kind enough to accept this story, and read “A Shard Glows in Brooklyn.”
Posted by Alex Shvartsman 
Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction 