Category: Amazon Reviews
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On Writing and Storytelling: A World I Didn’t Mean to Build (But Did Anyway)
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two MoviesFriday, March 27, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hey there! Here in Central Florida, another workweek is rolling to a close on a sun‑soaked, muggy spring afternoon that’s auditioning for summer. Right now, it’s a balmy 81°F (27°C), skies are clear, and the humidity’s flexing at 58%. The wind meanders in from the southwest at just 3…
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Musings for Saturday, March 14, 2026
Saturday, March 14, 2026, Orlando, Florida It’s midafternoon on a cloudy, warm, and unmistakably springlike day here in Central Florida. The humidity is already creeping in, the kind that reminds you we’re firmly in the subtropics, where temperatures rise and fall as if Mother Nature were having mood swings of her own. It feels more…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Movies That Built Jim Garraty (and, Let’s Be Honest, Me Too)
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in A Bridge Too Far (1977 film), Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Casablanca (1942), Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 40th Anniversary Edition, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Films by Steven Spielberg, Garratyverse, Indiana Jones Movies, Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures (2012 Blu-ray Set), Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Movies, Movies & Television, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Star Wars, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Summer of ’42 (1971), Superman: The Movie, The Longest Day (1962), West Side Story (1961 Film)🎬 The Movies That Built Jim Garraty (and, Let’s Be Honest, Me Too) Somewhere in the middle of revisiting old scenes from Reunion, I stumbled onto a realization that made me laugh out loud: Jim Garraty’s 1983 movie shelf is basically a psychological X‑ray of who he was at seventeen — and who I was,…
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On Slow Weeks and Stubborn Callings
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audible Reviews, Audiobooks, Blogging, Book Reviews, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Praise Circles, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Spring in Florida, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesA brief dispatch from the post‑DST haze Thursday, March 12, 2026 — Orlando, Florida It’s midafternoon on a muggy, rain‑soaked March day in Central Florida. The temperature is hovering around 85°F (29°C) under a curtain of heavy rain, and thanks to our subtropical climate—now supercharged by global warming—it feels more like early summer than spring.…
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Bridging Two Stories: An Excerpt from ‘Reunion: Coda’
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a Craft✨ Introductory Note for the Excerpt When I first wrote Reunion: A Story back in 1998, I believed it was complete—a self‑contained tale about a man haunted by a moment he never fully understood. I didn’t know then that I would return to Jim Garraty’s world decades later, or that the emotional fault lines of…
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Florida Heat, DST Fog, and the Best‑Laid Plans
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Blogging, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Spring in Florida, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesMonday, March 9, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. My internal clock is still wobbling after yesterday’s switch to Daylight Saving Time, so I’m running behind my usual blog‑writing rhythm. I’m groggy, sluggish, and more than a little irritated—not just because I forgot about the time change, but because today is one of those hot, sticky…
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On Ethical Reviewing: Honesty is the Best (and Only) Policy
My Reviewing Philosophy: Loving Something Enough to Tell the Truth About It I’ve been a Star Trek fan for most of my life. I grew up with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. I admire William Shatner—yes, genuinely—and I wanted nothing more than to love Star Trek V: The Final Frontier when it premiered in 1989. I…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Why Dishonest Praise‑Circle Reviews Harm Indie Authors, the Industry, and Readers
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Audible, Blogging, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, CreateSpace Independent Publishing, Creative Writing, Ethical Reviewing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Miami-Dade Community College, Personal Thoughts, Praise Circles, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Student Journalist, WordPressWhy Dishonest Praise‑Circle Reviews Harm Indie Authors, the Industry, and Readers I’ve been writing entertainment reviews for most of my life—long before “content creation” became a buzzword and long before social media turned book promotion into a popularity contest. My first real assignments came in high school, where I cut my teeth as a student…
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On Writing and Storytelling: A Year of Stories, Memory, and Gratitude
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Blogging, Book Reviews, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Personal History, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftA Year of Stories, Memory, and Gratitude Marking the 11‑Month Anniversary of Reunion: Coda and My 63rd Birthday March 5th is a meaningful date for me this year—not only because I’m turning 63, but because it marks eleven months since Reunion: Coda first stepped out into the world. When I released it last April, I…
A Certain Point of View, Too 