A Writer’s Dual Life – One Foot on the Creative Side, the Other on the Business Side

Midday, Friday, May 30, 2025, Miami, Florida

With meteorological summer looming just around the corner – June 1, to be exact, when the Atlantic hurricane season officially kicks off – the heat has taken no prisoners. It’s 92°F (33°C) outside, the kind of heat that hangs heavy in the air, pressing against your skin. The sun is high, the sky mostly clear, and the world feels like it’s simmering in a pot with the lid clamped shut. Add a sticky dose of humidity, and thanks to a lazy southerly breeze crawling by at 9 MPH (15 Km/H), it feels closer to 100°F (37°C). They say we might get a reprieve later, a little rain to cool the earth, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Late spring in Miami doesn’t just knock on the door of summer—it kicks it wide open and waltzes in like it owns the place.

And me? I’m in the thick of two undertakings that couldn’t be more different, yet feel like mirror images of the same beast. On one hand, I’m throwing myself into the whirlwind of promoting my new novel, Reunion: Coda. On the other, I’m coaxing to life a fresh short story, another chapter in the saga of Jim Garraty. It’s a strange sort of juggling act, this dance between the calculated chaos of book promotion and the focused solitude of storytelling. But there’s a rhythm to it, a pulse that keeps me going.

Writing is where it all starts and ends. It’s the weave and weft of characters, the snappy rhythm of dialogue, the thrum of action, and the delicate tightrope of plot. It’s the intoxicating thrill of creating a world that doesn’t exist until I breathe it into life. But let me tell you, it’s not all muses and midnight inspiration. Writing is long hours, relentless second-guessing, and the kind of solitude that can feel like both a gift and a punishment. Yet, here I am, day after day, chasing the magic. It’s not just what I do—it’s who I am. And no matter how exhausting or demanding it may get, I can’t imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else.

As much as the new story calls to me—the kind of pull that tugs at your ribs and whispers promises of untapped worlds waiting to be shaped—I know I can’t give it my full attention yet. Reunion: Coda deserves its moment in the sun, and promoting it feels less like a choice and more like an obligation I owe to the very pages that carry my voice. Problem is, my promotional arsenal is modest, a patchwork of tools cobbled together by necessity.

There’s the endless cycle of social media shares—tweets and posts woven with snippets of reader reviews, short but heartfelt, the kind you hope will intrigue just the right pair of eyes. Goodreads beckons too, with its treasure trove of literary quotations aching to absorb a few choice lines from Reunion: Coda. Then there’s word-of-mouth—the quiet ripple that spreads when authors band together to champion each other’s work. My network, mostly tucked away in the corners of WordPress, has its own pulse, its own rhythm of support. Just last night, I reached out to the owner of Smorgasbord Blog Magazine, hoping to sneak an excerpt into her May promotional series. I was too late, sadly—timing, as it turns out, is everything—but she graciously offered me a spot in her mid-June feature.

Self-promotion isn’t my forte; it’s a different kind of creativity entirely, one that feels almost alien next to the quiet, intimate craft of writing.

Alex Diaz-Granados

Self-promotion isn’t my forte; it’s a different kind of creativity entirely, one that feels almost alien next to the quiet, intimate craft of writing. I’m no P.T. Barnum spinning grand spectacles, nor am I a Thomas Edison with an endless flair for innovation and ruthless self-promotion. Still, I can’t afford to let that side of things slide—not as an indie author grappling to carve out space in a crowded literary room. I don’t love it, but I respect it. It’s part of the job, a necessary cog in the machine that keeps the words alive, circulating, finding their way to the hearts and minds of readers I’ve never met. And so, I try— I strategize, I plan, I reach out—knowing that every little bit of effort adds a thread to the tapestry. Even if promotion doesn’t ignite the same fiery passion as storytelling, it’s bound to the process, inextricably linked to the dream. (That said, there are two tactics I won’t use: pay for reviews or self-review my work. I might not be an angel, but I don’t believe using shady methods to put my books in readers’ hands or digital libraries reflects well on my character or artistic credibility.)

I’m not sure if today’s the day to dive into the new story. The desire is there, humming quietly in the background, but for now, I need to stay grounded. There are other facets of the writer’s life demanding my attention, and they won’t wait.