Category: Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
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On Writing and Storytelling: Why ‘An Innocent Man’ Had to Score “This Night” in ‘Comings and Goings’
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Music, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, An Innocent Man (1983), An Innocent Man (song), Billy Joel, Classical music, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Ludwig van Beethoven, Music, Music & Concert Specials, Pop Music, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: CodaOn Writing and Storytelling: Why An Innocent Man Had to Score “This Night” Some choices in storytelling are deliberate. Others are instinctive—felt before they’re understood. When I wrote Comings and Goings, I knew Jim and Kelly needed music playing in the background of their brief, luminous night together. I also knew it had to be…
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Hot Weather, (Potentially) Higher Royalties
Saturday, June 20, 2026, Orlando, Florida As the temperature climbs—currently 92°F (33°C) on this sweltering, storm-threatening Saturday—so may the royalties from my Jim Garraty stories. Behold!
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How Pop Culture and Music Inform the Garratyverse
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in A Bridge Too Far (1977 film), Alex Diaz-Granados, All the Things You Are, All the Things You Are (Kern and Hammerstein), Amazon, Billy Joel, Classical music, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, John Williams (Composer), Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Ludwig van Beethoven, Melodies and Memories: Music, Songs, and Singers, Movies, Music, Music & Concert Specials, Pop Music, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Star Wars, Superman: The Movie, The Summer of Two Movies, West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast (1957)How Pop Culture and Music Inform the Garratyverse If you spend enough time inside the Garratyverse, you eventually notice something: Jim Garraty’s world doesn’t just contain pop culture and music—it breathes through them. Songs, films, TV shows, and the cultural noise of their eras aren’t background decoration. They’re emotional weather systems. They shape memory, mood,…
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The Duet That Never Was: Revisiting Jim and Marty’s Unfinished Song
Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Orlando, Florida When I wrote Reunion: A Story in the fall of 1998, I wanted to give my protagonist, Jim Garraty, a connection with Martina Elizabeth “Marty” Reynaud that reached beyond the unspoken love he feels for her in the novella. It could not, of course, be openly romantic; otherwise, Jim’s…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Back-to-Work Monday Blues
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, 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, Summer 2026, Summer in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two Movies, Thomas Wikman, Writing and EditingMonday, June 8, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It’s another steamy summer day in Central Florida, which means the sun is once again auditioning for the role of tyrannical overlord. I’ve already rescued the mail from the curbside mailbox, so I can now spend the rest of the workday indoors, where the air‑conditioning—and my better…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Sound of Modest Good News
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, CreateSpace Independent Publishing, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftThursday, June 4, 2026, Orlando, Florida Some days in the indie-author life arrive with trumpets; others show up carrying a modest little kazoo. Yesterday leaned more into kazoo than fanfare. The free Kindle edition of Reunion: Coda promo ended at midnight, and while I can’t call it a runaway success—only six readers downloaded it on…
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Want a Free Kindle Edition of ‘Reunion: Coda’? You Can Still Snag an E-Book Copy Until Midnight (Pacific Time)!
Wednesday, June 3, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. I just want to remind you that the free Kindle copy offer for Reunion: Coda is still active, but it expires at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. So, if you want to read my first novel haven’t snagged your free copy, you probably can get it for a…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Advice for Aspiring Writers
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in Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Books, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), On Writing Well: 30th Anniversary Edition, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Reunion: Coda, Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftSo, you want to be a writer. Adorable. Truly. I once wanted to be a writer too—back when I was young, cocky, undisciplined, and convinced that stories would simply materialize out of thin air if I stared at a blank page long enough. Spoiler: they did not. What did materialize was a long, slow parade…
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Kindle Book Promotion: Get ‘Reunion: Coda’ Free! (May 30-June 3, 2026)
A Free Kindle Copy of Reunion: Coda — May 30 to June 3 Some stories never quite leave you. They linger — in memory, in regret, in the quiet spaces between what was and what might have been. Every so often, a story taps you on the shoulder and says, You’re not done with me…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Girl Who Wasn’t Real (But Felt Like She Was)
Writing stories that draw, even partially, from an author’s lived experience can be a bit of a double-edged sword: wonderfully useful on one side, faintly perilous on the other. Memory is generous that way. It offers texture, specificity, and the small, telling details writers spend ages trying to invent—but it also comes with baggage, assumptions,…
A Certain Point of View, Too 