Echoing the words of Carol Burnett, “Make your own breaks,” this version of Precursory Tales is a tip of the hat to the words of the actor/comedian, who did make a remarkable break. As we know, the rest is television history.

The importance of that message and its relevance to this work is highlighted in the “Introduction. ”Hence Precursory Tales features two short stories, plus excerpts of the author’s first novel, What’s in a Name, and his forthcoming second, The Perfumed Shroud.

By including this additional content, Garie McIntosh marks where it all began for him and where he is headed in his determination to make his own breaks. The third novel to join the thematic series, called The Barred-Spiral Trilogy, will be Whaleseasons.

The Two Short StoriesHotel GoodbyeCinderBeginning with a foreword that draws attention to the Finnish word sisu, this publication carries an important message about grief. The two short stories will be a part of a future collection called The Bendiness of Rivers.

This work is precursory to that collection. Norma West, a grieving thirty-year-old woman, finds herself in 2020 in a Toronto hotel room during the coronavirus pandemic in a no-way-out type of situation.

It has cost her more than losing her shoes. She feels duped by death.

Through the stories, “Hotel Goodbye” and “Cinder,” Garie McIntosh takes us on a journey of grief, memories and restoration that leads us to finding out what grief has to do with love. Grief can be that emotion that helps you face reality and say goodbye, especially when it is necessary.

That process can also ground you. .