Category: Kindle Create (Publishing App)
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Navigating the Garratyverse, or: How to Follow Jim Garraty’s Emotional Journey (Now That It’s a Thing)
Let’s start with a confession: I didn’t set out to create a literary universe. I didn’t even set out to coin a term. “Garratyverse” began as a tongue-in-cheek nickname—a playful way to refer to the two deeply personal stories I’d written about Jim Garraty, a character who’s equal parts emotionally constipated and quietly profound. It…
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A (Tiny) Bit of Positivity in a Time of Chaos
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), 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), Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda📚 A Little Light in the Chaos I’ll be honest—this week has been rough. I’m staring down another move, and the emotional weight of packing up a life (again) is hitting harder than expected. There’s something about impermanence that always stirs up the deeper stuff: memories, regrets, hopes, and the ache of leaving behind spaces…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Bonds of Friendship in ‘Reunion: Coda’
🧭 Monsters, Memory, and the Men Who Stay Reflecting on the Friendship Between Jim Garraty and Mark Prieto in Reunion: Coda Some friendships aren’t just part of the story—they’re the spine that holds it together. In Reunion: Coda, Jim Garraty and Mark Prieto’s bond spans adolescence and adulthood, joy and heartbreak. It’s not loud. It’s…
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🎓 Unraveling Jim Garraty: Memory, Love, and the Courage to Return
🎓 Unraveling Jim Garraty: Memory, Love, and the Courage to Return There’s something quietly powerful about stories that revisit the past not for nostalgia’s sake, but for reconciliation. Reunion: Coda is one of those stories. At the heart is Jim Garraty, a history professor whose life is shaped by silence as much as speech. Split…
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🎭 Socks, Subplots, and Second Chances: The Accidental Novel I Wrote on Purpose
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, 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), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: CodaBack in the summer of 1978, I made a solemn pronouncement over breakfast toast: “Mom, someday I’m going to write a novel like Stephen King does.” She smiled with a bemused expression that said, “Sure, sweetie—after you remember to pick up your socks.” Forty-seven years later, I’ve finally made good on that promise… and yes,…
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Reflections on Revisiting My Writing
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Juan Carlos Hernandez, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger, Thomas WikmanWhy I Write and Revisit My Work “I write for the same reason I breathe — because if I didn’t, I would die.” – Isaac Asimov As the four-month anniversary of the publication of Reunion: Coda approaches, I find myself reading it again—this time not only for professional reasons, like fixing issues or being self-critical, but…
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More Lessons I Learned from Writing a Novel
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Copyright, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Novella, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stephen King (Author), Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftUnexpected Lessons in Writing On April 4, nearly four months ago, I published Reunion: Coda, the second book in my Reunion Duology and my first novel. The first book, Reunion: A Story, is a novella. I spent a little over two years writing this novel. I began in March 2022 while living in Tampa, wrote…
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On Writing and Storytelling: More (Unsolicited) Advice to Aspiring Writers
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), On Writing Well: 30th Anniversary Edition, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftMore (Unsolicited) Advice to Aspiring Writers The Path from There to Here – Some Backstory I’ve been a storyteller and a writer for as long as I can remember. Early on, I accepted that my disability meant I probably wasn’t destined to be an astronaut or a United States Marine—two jobs that seemed very cool…
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On Being Seen (Even When You Weren’t There)
📚 Comings and Goings Update We’re now up to three reviews (and one quiet rating) for Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, and all three are graciously positive—resulting in a global average rating of 4.7 stars ⭐️. That’s a lovely surprise. The latest review comes from Jan Peregrine, who highlights the story’s…
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On Being Understood: Reflections on the Response to ‘Comings and Goings’
It’s been just over a month since Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen was released into the world, gently and without fanfare. I didn’t expect a wave of attention—not for a story that doesn’t chase drama, but rather leans into stillness, nuance, and the kind of empathy that often goes unnoticed. Jim…
A Certain Point of View, Too 