Are there any autobiographical elements in the Reunion Duology, or is it purely fictional?
When I unintentionally began the Reunion Duology with an assignment in my college creative writing class back in 1987, I aimed to anchor the necessary dream sequence into some semblance of reality. The only way to achieve this within my one-week deadline was to make Jim a student at either Miami-Dade Community College, where I studied journalism, or a Cobra at South Miami Senior High School, my alma mater. I opted for the latter due to my fresh and vivid memories of high school, especially my senior year. Much of the description of SMSH on the last day of the 1982-1983 academic year is drawn from memories still sharp four years post-event. (Of course, artistic license played its part, and I’ve since corrected some misremembered details in the final version of Reunion: A Story.)
When creating Jim Garraty, I infused him with many of my own high school experiences. For example, like Jim, I sang in two of South Miami’s choral groups during 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. His audition for Mrs. Quincy in Reunion: Coda is a fictional portrayal of my audition before the legendary Ms. Joan Owen on a chilly January day in 1981. Other than changing names, all other details—including Jim’s choice of the song “Ben”—are true to life.
Other reflections of my high school years resonate through Jim’s journey. I served as a staff writer for the school newspaper during my sophomore and senior years; so did Jim. In my junior year, I worked on the 1982 yearbook because not enough students enrolled in Newspaper Production and Editing. Unsurprisingly, so did Jim!
However, I intentionally made Jim a more academically ambitious student than I ever was in high school. I refrained from making him valedictorian or salutatorian. In Reunion: Coda, which delves deeper into Jim’s high school years than Reunion, he ranks in the Top 25 rather than the Top 10. (My own standing was a humbler 125th in a class of over 400 in 1983.) To further distinguish Jim from his creator, I had him take Advanced Placement classes on the college-bound track, something I did not pursue.
In real life, I declared my affection just weeks into my sophomore year. Though my crush appreciated the gesture and even joined me for a candlelit dinner at my house in March 1981, she clarified that while she liked me as a friend, she wasn’t interested in a serious relationship. Thus, when I penned Reunion: A Story and initiated the Jim-Marty narrative explored in both books, I flipped my story by having Jim conceal his emotions much more than I ever did.
Alex Diaz-Granados
The starkest contrast between fiction and reality lies in our romantic exploits. While both Jim and I harbored crushes on classmates, Jim held his feelings tightly, perhaps too tightly, waiting until the eleventh hour to confess his love to Martina “Marty” Reynaud—and he does so in a manner that boomerangs back at him.
In real life, I declared my affection just weeks into my sophomore year. Though my crush appreciated the gesture and even joined me for a candlelit dinner at my house in March 1981, she clarified that while she liked me as a friend, she wasn’t interested in a serious relationship. Thus, when I penned Reunion: A Story and initiated the Jim-Marty narrative explored in both books, I flipped my story by having Jim conceal his emotions much more than I ever did.
A Certain Point of View, Too 
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