Category: Blogging
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On Writing and Storytelling: Have a Concept, But Stuck at the Terminal Gate
Sunday, August 23, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It’s a steamy late-summer day here in Central Florida, the kind where the air feels like it’s leaning on you. Fortunately, I have no reason to be outside, so I’m writing this from the comfort of my air-conditioned room. The thermometer says 89°F (32°C), the humidity…
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Seven Albums for a Penny: Remembering Columbia House
Seven Albums for a Penny: Remembering Columbia House Wednesday, August 19, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. Well, another iconic brand from my misspent youth is about to disappear into the mists of history, taking with it a particular kind of mail-order anticipation that younger readers may know only from old magazine ads and family…
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The ‘Mean Season’ Just Keeps Getting Meaner
Monday, August 17, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Late summer is the season when the southern United States turns the heat up to its highest setting. It’s always been that way, and it’s no accident that August and September coincide with the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. Except for a few memorable detours — nearly…
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Thoughts Upon a VERY Hot Late Summer Day
Saturday, August 15, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It is another scorching late summer day in Central Florida. Like in many other countries in the Northern Hemisphere, we are experiencing a brutal heat wave in one of the hottest years on record. I’m not going to bore you by jotting down the current temperature…
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Musings and Thoughts for Thursday, August 13, 2026
Thursday, August 13, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, there. I am, once again, off to a later start with my blogging than I’d like. As I write this, it’s early afternoon on a hot late summer day in Central Florida. Currently, the temperature is 94°F (34°C) under mostly sunny conditions. With humidity at 58% and…
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On Writing and Storytelling: All Good Things – Even Sabbaticals – Must Come to an End…Just Not Yet
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Blogging, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Summer 2026, Summer in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), Writing and Editing Software, Writing as a CraftTuesday, August 11, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. Late summer in Central Florida has a way of announcing itself without saying a word. If you’ve spent any time in the Sunshine State, you already know the drill: heat thick enough to feel like a physical presence, humidity that clings like an overly affectionate relative,…
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A Glimmer of Modest Good News on a Humid Late Summer Morning
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Summer 2026, Summer in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Summer of Two Movies, Writing as a CraftSaturday, August 8, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Good morning, friends. It’s another hot and humid Saturday morning here in Central Florida—the kind of morning that reminds me I’m very much in Orlando in August. The temperature is already 83°F (28°C) under partly sunny skies, with 88% humidity and a southeast breeze at 8 MPH (13…
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A Quick Life Update from Central Florida for August 6, 2026
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Creative Writing, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion: A Story, Summer 2025, Summer 2026, Summer in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftThursday, August 6, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. I’m still—somewhat reluctantly—on vacation from Professional Daydreaming™, so I don’t have any updates on And the Horse You Rode In On… or other projects in the works. This break from creative writing feels strange. After a long, frustrating stretch of “salutary neglect” toward long-form fiction—I wrote…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Books, Breaks, and the Business of Being Bad at Marketing
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Goodreads, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Summer 2026, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Summer of Two Movies, Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftWednesday, August 5, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. I hope your middle-of-the-week is treating you kindly, wherever you are and whenever you’re reading this. Here in Central Florida, it’s late-summer business as usual: hot, cloudy, sticky, and keeping one eye on the sky just in case the rain decides to make a dramatic entrance.…
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On Writing and Storytelling: What I’m Doing in My Late Summer Sabbatical
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Goodreads, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, South Miami High School in fiction, South Miami Senior High School, The Best of All Possible Planets, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two MoviesTuesday, August 4, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. Pull up a chair, pour something cold if you’re in Florida like I am, and let’s catch up. I’m still on a sabbatical from literary fiction after a busy three-year stretch that produced Reunion: Coda, Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, The Summer…
A Certain Point of View, Too 