Category: Life in South Florida
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The Last Smile
Afternoon, Friday, July 18, 2025, Miami, Florida “Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speakknits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break.”― William Shakespeare, Macbeth Today isn’t a good day—not because it’s a “sad anniversary” sort of day, though it is that too—but because daily life feels unusually heavy. I’m overwhelmed by…
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Marketing, Memory, and Miami Skies
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Beatriz Diaz-Granados, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Family History, Florida Weather, Jeronimo Diaz-Granados, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in South Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer in Florida, Victoria Eugenia Pineros Restrepo (Vicky), Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftMidday/Early Afternoon, Wednesday, July 16, 2025 — Miami, Florida I awoke this morning to the symphony of a torrential, thundering downpour. It was already past 8 a.m.—long after sunrise—yet the sky was still steeped in darkness, reminiscent of last night. The steady hiss of heavy rain filled the air, punctuated by the occasional crack-boom of…
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On Writing and Storytelling: My Answer to ‘How Do You Get Inspired?’
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, College Life, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in Miami….Again, Life in South Florida, Miami-Dade Community College, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: CodaHow Do You Get Inspired to Write? They say inspiration strikes when you least expect it. I say—it sneaks up on you like a friend who knows where you hide your best snacks. This post isn’t about formulas or foolproof strategies. It’s about the long and winding path my stories take from flickers of memory…
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July 2025: Heat, Grief, and Writing-Related Stress
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Anxiety, Blogging, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Going Full Circle: Back to South Florida I Go, Hurricane Andrew, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in Miami….Again, Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2025, Summer in FloridaWednesday Afternoon, July 9, 2025 – Miami, Florida Hi, everyone. Historically, July has never been my favorite month. Aside from the nearly six years I spent living in Colombia (1966–1972) and a more recent 10-month stint in New Hampshire, July in Florida usually means oppressive heat and humidity—weather that makes retreating indoors feel more like…
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The Weight of a Book, the Light of a July Afternoon
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Donating “Reunion: A Story” to the Conway Public Library, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in South Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2025, Summer in FloridaAfternoon, Wednesday, July 2, 2025 – Miami, FloridaIt’s a hot, muggy, and overcast summer afternoon here in southeastern Florida. Thankfully, while the atmosphere is heavy, the skies aren’t stormy—at least not at the moment. I did wake to the distant rumble of thunder, though. Tourists hoping for postcard-perfect sunshine might be disappointed; the Greater Miami…
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12 Months of Change: A Writer’s Reflection on Life and Publication
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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, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), Life in Miami….Again, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Life in the United States, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, UncategorizedMidday / Early Afternoon, Tuesday, July 1, 2025 – Miami, Florida“Time is passing: not leaden steppingBut sprinting on winged feet,Quick silver slipping by.” — Richard L. Ratliff It’s difficult to grasp, here on this sweltering South Florida afternoon, that another July has arrived. A year ago, my life looked completely different—geographically, emotionally, and in terms…
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From a Journalism Major’s String Book: – Before Jim and Marty, There Was Maria
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, College Life, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in South Florida, Miami-Dade Community College, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Student Journalist, Student NewspaperI was 24 in the spring of ’87—still holding onto the hope that someday, somehow, math would make sense to me. Spoiler: it didn’t. Not then, not now. Even the so-called “remedial” kind felt like trying to read sheet music in the dark. But while numbers left me bewildered, words felt like home. I was…
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From Typewriter Dreams to Storytelling Realities: A Writer’s Journey
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Blogging, Books, College Life, Coral Estates Park (Miami-area Neighborhood), Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in Miami….Again, Life in South Florida, Miami-Dade Community College, Miami-Dade Community College, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, South Miami High School in fiction, South Miami Senior High School, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftLate Morming/Midday, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, Miami, Florida “But there’s a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother’s story, because hers is where yours…
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Blending Personal History and Fiction: Jim Garraty’s Commencement (A Reunion: Coda Excerpt)
Forty-two years ago today, I sat in a sea of white robes at the Gibson Center, alphabetically wedged between beauty and blemishes, equal parts restless and terrified. Years later—during the depths of a snow-blanketed New England winter—I wrote this chapter of Reunion: Coda, channeling the bittersweet chaos of that June afternoon. Jim Garraty, ever the…
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42 Years Ago, in a High School Not So Far Away (A Tempus Fugit Gig)
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Billy Joel, Blogging, Cold War (1945-1991), Computers, John Williams (Composer), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in South Florida, Personal History, Personal Thoughts, Personal Thoughts, South Miami Senior High School, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Tempus fugit, U.S. History42 Years Ago, in a High School Not So Far Away…. Late Morning, Tuesday, June 17, 2025 — Miami, Florida “It was only high school, after all—arguably one of the most bizarre periods in a person’s life. How anyone emerges well-adjusted is nothing short of a miracle.” — E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly A…
A Certain Point of View, Too 