Category: Life in Florida
-

Rainy Days and Writing Aren’t a Good Mix for Me, It Seems….
Afternoon, Thursday, June 5, 2025, Miami, Florida Summer in South Florida is, despite the Tourist Bureau ads that promise lots of sunshine and bikini-clad women at the beach, often gray and rainy. The sky looks heavy, gloomy, and leaden, not too unlike a cold winter day in New England when you know it’s going to…
-

Reunion: A Story of Words, Work, and What Comes Next
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami….Again, Life in South Florida, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2025, Summer in Florida, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftWriter’s Log, Stardate 2506.3Miami, Florida – Tuesday, June 3, 2025, Afternoon It’s been two months since I officially became a published novelist—words that still feel surreal even as I type them. Reunion: Coda, the long-awaited second book in the Reunion Duology, is out in the world, and while I’ve managed to sell a few copies…
-

Echoes of Memory: Nostalgia, Myth, and the Stories We Tell
Midday/Early Afternoon, Monday, June 2, 2025, Miami, Florida Earlier this morning, I came across a charming Facebook post from an old friend from my Amazon reviewing days. She’s a bit older than I am—by about a decade—and enjoying her retirement, sharing delightful glimpses into her daily life in rural Midwest America. Her posts often feel…
-

A Rainy Sunday Marks the Start of a Writer’s (Meteorological) Summer
Afternoon, Sunday, June 1, 2025, Miami, Florida Well, folks, meteorological summer is off to a wet, gray, and thunderous start. As I write this, it is a hot and cloudy Sunday afternoon in my corner of South Florida. The temperature is 87°F (31°C) under cloudy conditions. With the wind blowing from the west-southwest at 8…
-

The Season Changes and a New Story Waits in the Wings
Late Morning/Midday, Saturday, May 31, 2025, Miami, Florida Today marks the end of meteorological spring, as opposed to traditional or astronomical spring, which ends on June 21 (the summer solstice) for us in the Northern Hemisphere. Regardless of which “spring” you prefer, it feels like high summer in my corner of South Florida. On this…
-

Quality Matters in Independent Publishing: Fixing ‘Reunion: Coda’…and Other Matters
Afternoon, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, Miami, Florida Hi, there. It’s another scorching late spring day in South Florida on this last “Hump Day” of May 2025. Outside, it’s 89°F (32°C) under mostly sunny skies. With humidity at 63% and a gentle 9 MPH (15 Km/H) breeze from the southeast, it feels like 98°F (37°C). We’ve…
-
Reunion: Coda Lands in Spain!
Exciting news—Reunion: Coda has officially reached Spain! This morning, Lisa Dolan, student activities director at the International College of Seville, received her copy and shared a photo on Instagram Messages, proudly holding up the book. Her caption? “Yay! I’ve got some good reading to do!” Lisa and I go way back—our friendship started during my…
-

Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story About Friends and Beers—But Not the Whole Story
Afternoon, Monday, May 26, 2025, Miami, Florida Hi, there, folks. It’s a hellishly hot late spring day in South Florida. Currently, the temperature is 90°F (32°C) under mostly sunny skies. That’s hot, but with 66% humidity and a southeasterly breeze blowing at 12 MPH (19 Km/H), it feels like 97°F (36°C). The original forecast high…
-

Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…About Homecomings and Memories (a ‘Reunion: Coda’ Excerpt)
Revisiting the Past: Two Sequences from the Coda of Reunion: Coda Returning home is rarely a simple act. It carries the weight of memory—both cherished and bittersweet—and forces a confrontation between who we were and who we’ve become. In Reunion: Coda, Jim Garraty’s journey back to Miami is more than a physical return; it’s a…