Summary

In the Preface, the author describes how many of his short stories were written as gifts to family members, a tradition established when he and his family were living in California. One, he adds, (“Without a Shadow of a Doubt”) was written to memorialize his relationship with his brother who was killed in a car accident. It was, he adds, also inspired by a trip to South Africa, and is filled with his brother’s spirit.

The author also describes various other autobiographical elements in his writing, including his studies of filmmaking, where his studies of the meaning of light reminded him of fireside evenings of storytelling. Another aspect of autobiography in the collection, he adds, can be found in the final story of the collection, “The Ghost of Michael Jackson.” That story, he says, was inspired by a story told by his nephew...