Category: South Miami High School in fiction
-

On Writing and Storytelling: Behind the Curtain – Marty’s Origins
—
by
in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Passage of Time, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, South Miami High School in fiction, South Miami Senior High School, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesBehind the Curtain: Marty’s Origins Ever since the day I first sent my novella, Reunion: A Story, out into the world back in 2018, the questions started coming. Sometimes they arrived shy and quiet, like old friends at a backyard barbecue, and other times they landed with surprising directness. Most often, it was a fellow…
-

On Writing and Storytelling: Update from the Garratyverse: Audiobook Progress
Saturday, October 25, 2025, Orlando, Florida Hi, friends and frequent readers, I wanted to share a quick update on the audiobook editions of Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, and Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen. All three are progressing well, and I’m grateful for the care and enthusiasm each producer has brought…
-

Where Fiction Begins: The Making of Marty
She first walked into the story in jeans, a white blouse, and Keds sneakers—shy, late for chorus, and clutching a schedule change form like it held her whole academic future. I didn’t know then that she’d become the emotional center of Reunion: A Story and Reunion: Coda. I didn’t even know her name. What I…
-
From Typewriter Dreams to Storytelling Realities: A Writer’s Journey
—
by
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…
-

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…
-

Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…: Hesitation, Regret, and the Power of Unspoken Words
As I continue to work on Reunion: Coda, I wanted to share with you a brief excerpt from the novel’s Prologue. Serving as the connecting tissue between Reunion: A Story (Book One of the Reunion Duology) and this new installment, the Prologue revisits some of the key plot threads from the earlier story while propelling…
-

Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…About the Characters and Settings in ‘Reunion’
Q: Is Reunion: A Story inspired by real people and events, or is it purely a product of imagination? A: It’s a mix of both. When I began crafting this story in the mid-1980s, the primary setting was always South Miami Senior High, my high school in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Even in its earliest form—a…
-

Writer’s Shop Talk: Sunday’s Unexpected Creative Marathon: Crafting ‘Reunion: Coda’ and the Journey of a Fretful Novelist
Mid-Morning, Monday, January 13, 2025, Miami, Florida From Rest Day to Writer’s Grind: Perfecting ‘Reunion: Coda’ – Insights, Reviews, and Copyrighting Although yesterday was supposed to be a rest day, I found myself knee-deep in Reunion: Coda. Rather than diving into new writing or revisions, I wisely saved those for the workweek—afternoon shift, here I…
