Musings & Thoughts for Monday, October 30, 2023, or: Starting the Week on an Anxious Note

Late Morning, Monday, October 30, 2023, Lithia, Florida

Hi, everyone. I hope all of you who read A Certain Point of View, Too had a nice weekend, and that your Monday – whether it’s a back-to-work, back-to-school, or just a first-day-of-the-new-week day for you – has been good to you so far.

Here, it’s a nice Florida autumn day – it’s sunny and mild (75°F/24°C) – although it looks like it’s going to be a bit hot in the afternoon cos the high for today is going to be 86°F/30°C (with mostly sunny skies). Tomorrow – Halloween 2023 – will be pretty much the same, but then we’ll have a two-day cooldown that is expected to bring temperatures in the 70s/20s during the day and 50s/10s at night.

As for me, I slept okay last night, although I did get restless between 5:15 and 7:30 in the morning. I fell asleep sometime after 11 PM while watching something on Amazon Prime Video (don’t ask me what it was cos I can’t recall), but anxieties related to my not-too-distant future intruded into my dreams, so even though I slept, it wasn’t the blissful, restful kind of sleep I needed to recover from that awful bout of all-night-long insomnia that ushered in the weekend.

I have a lot on my mind lately. Some of my worries and anxieties, of course, center on my writing career as I try to figure out how to write a “first novel” (short answer, “By writing it one chapter at a time.”) while simultaneously promoting the one good book (Reunion: A Story) that’s already available via Amazon and the online version of Barnes & Noble. I’m a good writer – I don’t believe in false modesty when it comes to my one known talent – but I don’t have the sales skills necessary to “sell” my books without resorting to paid advertising.

Still, according to the Reports feature in my Kindle Direct Publishing account, four people bought copies of Reunion: A Story in October, based on the number of completed transactions on Amazon. It’s only going to add $11.02 to my bank account – I never earn the full amount of my books’ retail price – so my dreams of buying my own place anywhere won’t be turning into reality any time soon.

I have other, more pressing reasons to be anxious about, but those I’ll keep to myself – for now. All I can say is that they’re far more important than my worries about whether Reunion: Coda will be any good or if I’ve sold one more copy of Reunion: A Story.

About Reunion: A Story – What Some Amazon Customers Have to Say

                Thomas Wikman

5.0 out of 5 stars The big “what if”

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

This relatively short story underscores how different a teenager and an adult view life and themselves, leading to the many “what if” scenarios in life. It is a sad love story about regret and loss as well as friendship. The author describes the feelings and the thoughts of the characters in a manner that is realistic and easy to relate to. The story has something to tell us, especially young people.

I was planning to read it over a couple of days, but after I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down, so I read it all at once. It is very well written, and emotional but not too sentimental. It is an easy and quick reading and one of the best short stories I’ve ever read.

CSB

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed the book very much

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2018

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed the book very much. The author has written a coming-of-age story about older teens and the regrets some may have because of missed opportunities. Even though it is a short story, the characters come alive on the page and you find yourself caring about them and identifying with their feelings. A collection of short stories by Alex Diaz-Granados would be a treasure.

Kindle Customer

4.0 out of 5 stars A Trip Down Memory Lane

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2023

Verified Purchase

In this bittersweet story of the innocence and naivety of youth, the reader is transported back to his or her own high school days. We’ve all been Jim. We’ve all had our Marty. Wrapping the story in today while jumping back to days past is not always easy to pull off, but it works here. A recommended read.

                Meg learner

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, well written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

A lovely lyrical book and excellently written. It makes use of flashbacks, yet these are expertly woven into the story so that you always know where you are and how they contribute to the tale. This is quite a short read (I downloaded it to my Kindle and read it on my train journey) but it certainly packs a lot into the story and the idea is fresh and novel. I have not read a story like this before. It’s not my normal type of reading material, as most of my reading these days is factual or business related but I really enjoyed it and was sorry when it was finished.

The book basically makes the point that it is better to be sorry for sins of commission, rather than regret sins of omission, yet it also shows how the angst of high school and teen fears get in the way of true love. One point I would make – I would LOVE to see a sequel to this, written from Marty’s point of view. PLEASE?

Author’s Note: Some of these reviews have been slightly edited for grammar/typing errors.