Category: Book Reviews
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The Garratyverse: Amazon Reviews That Matter
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: CodaThe Garratyverse: Amazon Reviews That Matter. In a literary landscape often dominated by algorithms and fleeting attention, it’s easy to overlook the quiet power of a reader who truly sees you. The Garratyverse—my evolving universe of emotionally intelligent fiction—has always been about memory, intimacy, and the dignity of small moments. So when readers respond not…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Reviews Matter! (A Lot! Really!)
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion: Coda, Reviews, Writing as a Craft✍️ Echoes and Endings: What Readers Are Saying About Comings and Goings By Alex Diaz-Granados When I released Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, I didn’t expect fanfare. It’s a quiet story — 51 pages long — about a first-time encounter that isn’t quite romance, isn’t quite nostalgia, but something softer, more…
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Understanding ‘Reunion: Coda’: Why the High School Chapters Matter
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Book Reviews, Creative Writing, 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, South Miami Senior High SchoolWhy the High School Chapters Matter: A Reflection (and Rebuttal) I didn’t hate high school. I didn’t romanticize it either—not like those who peaked there and never quite came down. But South Miami Senior High gave me something I didn’t expect: a sense of community. I sang in the choral department, wrote for the newspaper,…
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Book Review: ‘Star Wars: Cloak of Deception’ (2001)
Star Wars: Cloak of Deception By: James Luceno Publisher: Del Rey/Penguin Random House Year of Publication: 2001 (First Edition), 2002 (Paperback) Genre: Space Fantasy/Politics, Star Wars (Legends) Publisher’s Blurb: From New York Times bestselling author James Luceno comes an all-new Star Wars adventure that reveals the action and intrigue unfolding directly before Episode I: The Phantom Menace.Mired in greed…
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Book Review: ‘Close-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream’
Close-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream By: Sam Staggs Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Publication Year: 2003 Genre(s): Film history, Making of Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood history, Classic cinema 🎬 Book Review: Close-Up on Sunset Boulevard by Sam StaggsEven if you’ve never seen the film, the drama behind it is…
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Book Review: ’38 North Yankee’
38 North Yankee By: Ed Ruggero Publisher: Atria Books Publication Year: 1990 Genre: Military Fiction, Late Cold War Era “Hot War Scenarios,” Second Korean War Fiction 📚 Review: 38 North Yankee by Ed Ruggero Set in the precarious shadow of 1990, 38 North Yankee unfolds at a time when the Cold War has drawn its…
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Book Review: ‘Haiku for the Midnight Hour’
📘 Haiku for the Midnight Hour By Dawn PisturinoPublisher: Horse Mesa PressPublication Year: 2024Genre: Poetry (Haiku), Horror, Supernatural In August 2024, poet and blogger Dawn Pisturino released Haiku for the Midnight Hour, her third collection of poetry—a book that reimagines the traditional Japanese haiku through a lens of shadow and unease. Traditional haiku, with its…
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Book Review: ‘The Greatest Generation’
The Greatest Generation By: Tom Brokaw Publisher: Random House (now Penguin Random House) Year of Publication: 1998 Genre: American history, World War II, Biographical Portraits/Non-Fiction Reconsidering “The Greatest Generation”: A Reflection on Tom Brokaw’s Timeless Tribute There was a time I questioned the phrase Greatest Generation—it sounded too sweeping, too sentimental, maybe even a little…
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Book Review: ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace – The Illustrated Screenplay’
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace – The Illustrated Screenplay By: George Lucas Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine Books Year of Publication: 1999 Genre: Film, Space Fantasy, Star Wars, Screenplay I first fell under the spell of screenplays in the spring of 1980 when I discovered Carol Titleman’s The Art of Star Wars—a treasure trove of…
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On Being Seen (Even When You Weren’t There)
📚 Comings and Goings Update We’re now up to three reviews (and one quiet rating) for Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, and all three are graciously positive—resulting in a global average rating of 4.7 stars ⭐️. That’s a lovely surprise. The latest review comes from Jan Peregrine, who highlights the story’s…
A Certain Point of View, Too 