Author: Alex Diaz-Granados
-
Music Album Review: ‘Tchaikovsky:1812’
Tchaikovsky: 1812 – Orchestre Symphonique De Montréal, Charles Dutoit – 1812 Overture • Capriccio Italien • The Nutcracker Suite • Marche Slave Genre: Classical (Romantic Era), Orchestral Compositions Label(s): London/Decca Year of Release: 1986 🎼 Tchaikovsky for the TikTok Era: A People’s Composer Revisited In an age where musical tastes are splintered across streaming platforms…
-
Leaving Miami, Again
Later this morning, I’ll leave Miami behind—again. The city that raised me, shaped me, and held me through so many versions of myself. I’ve left before, always with a suitcase full of books and a heart full of ambivalence. This time feels different. Not dramatic, not cinematic. Just quietly significant. There’s a strange ache in…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: How – and Why – I Wrote ‘Reunion: Coda’
🎼 Writing the Coda: How Music, Memory, and Missed Chances Shaped Reunion: Coda When I first wrote Reunion: A Story in 1998, I didn’t imagine it would become the central panel of a literary triptych. It was a novella born from grief, memory, and a quiet experiment in fiction—an elegy for a classmate lost too…
-
The Garratyverse Explained: Marty’s Entrance in ‘Reunion: Coda’…and Why It Matters
The Chorus Room Door: How Marty Reynaud’s Arrival Sets the Emotional Tone of the Garratyverse In the Garratyverse, entrances matter. They’re not just logistical—they’re emotional overtures. And few are as quietly seismic as Martina (Marty) Reynaud’s first appearance in the chorus room. She doesn’t burst in. She creaks in. The door opens slowly, hesitantly, as…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: When a Reader Sees You
When a Reader Sees YouReflections on a Review That Resonated There’s a quiet kind of joy that comes when a reader truly sees your work—not just the plot or the prose, but the emotional architecture beneath it. Dawn Pisturino’s recent review of Reunion: A Story did just that. She saw Jim Garraty not as a…
-
“The Ones Who Stay” (A Poem)
“The Ones Who Stay” They clap the loudest when the room is full,Their laughter timed to match the crowd.They speak in echoes, not in truth—A friendship built on being seen, not known. They tag your name in borrowed light,A gesture made for watching eyes.But when the silence stretches long,Their presence fades, rehearsed and thin. Then…
-
Toothpaste, Jeans, and the Politics of Manufactured Outrage
🧼 Toothpaste, Jeans, and the Politics of Manufactured Outrage “If you made toothpaste illegal, people would be knocking over drugstores to get it.”– Daniel Okrent, Prohibition, a Film by Ken Burns That quote has stuck with me for years. It’s a wry observation about human nature and the unintended consequences of moral crusades. Ban something—even…
-
When Your Characters Feel Too Much: Writing Emotional Truth That Overwhelms Even the Author
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, South Miami High School in fiction, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftWhen Your Characters Feel Too Much: Writing Emotional Truth That Overwhelms Even the Author There are nights when I sit with Jim Garraty—not as his creator, but as his witness. I wrote him. I shaped his world. And still, there are moments when his emotional clarity leaves me breathless. Not because he’s dramatic. Not because…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: Six Sales, One Soul: A Quiet Celebration of Connection
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: CodaSix Sales, One Soul: A Quiet Celebration of Connection August has been quietly kind to me. Six sales. Not six hundred, not sixty thousand—just six. But each one feels like a small act of trust, a reader somewhere choosing to spend time inside the emotional architecture I’ve built. Reunion: A Story and Comings and Goings…
-
Mapping the Heart: Navigating the Garratyverse
🔍 Introduction The Garratyverse is not just a series—it’s a recursive emotional journey. Through three interlinked works, readers follow Jim Garraty across decades as he wrestles with memory, intimacy, and the quiet heroism of being seen. 🧠 Emotional Themes 📘 Book-by-Book Breakdown Title Timeframe Emotional Focus Key Motifs Reunion: A Story June 1983 (with 1998…
A Certain Point of View, Too 