Category: Books
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The Journey of a Storyteller: Embracing the Art of Writing
Thursday, December 18, 2025, Orlando, Florida “If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don’t have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Wrestling with Subheads, Holding on to Stories
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftWrestling with Subheads, Holding on to Stories Tuesday, December 16, 2025 – Orlando, Florida If you’ve ever worked with Kindle Create, you’ll know it can be both a blessing and a curse. Today, I’m spending several hours fixing subheadings in The Jim Garraty Chronicles—particularly in Reunion: Coda. It’s a formatting issue that has haunted every…
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The Chronicles, the Coda, and the Chaos
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Books, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing as a CraftWednesday, December 10, 2025 – Orlando, Florida Now that most of my belongings are finally here in Orlando instead of languishing in a warehouse in South Florida, I can turn my attention—at least in theory—to other priorities. Chief among them are the omnibus edition of The Jim Garraty Chronicles and making sure the Audible release…
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Three Stories, Three Reviews
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Dawn Pisturino, Pooja (P.J.) Gudka, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Thomas WikmanThree Stories, Three Reviews Every great series is defined not only by the stories themselves but by the way readers respond to them. Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, and Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen together form a tapestry of memory, love, regret, and the fragile beauty of human connection. Each title…
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From ’42 to ’84: The Heirship of Memory
Sidebar Note for Readers Comings and Goings is not simply a sequel or a spin‑off. It is a spiritual heir to Summer of ’42, consciously borrowing Raucher’s cadence while reimagining its architecture. It insists that intimacy is not imbalance but mutual agency, that memory is not loss but legacy, and that being seen—even once—matters.
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Book Review: ‘Star Wars: Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina’
“Mos Eisley Spaceport,” says Obi-Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker as they stand on a mesa overlooking the Tatooine metropolis in Episode IV: A New Hope. “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be careful.” Of all the eye-catching and memorable sequences in Star Wars, the fateful meeting between…
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Whoa, I Wrote That
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss, Stefan (Steve) Lee, Writing as a CraftMonday, November 24, 2025, Orlando, Florida Most writers don’t bother rereading their own books. You’d think we’d want to relive the glory—but after wrangling with my first novel, Reunion: Coda, I get it. I spent two years chasing inspiration across three cities—Tampa, Madison (NH), Miami—all just to produce a 400+ page epic that hops between…
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On Writing and Storytelling: An Unexpected (if Modest) Bonanza of Royalties
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) LeeSaturday, November 22, 2025 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. Last night, I checked my Kindle Direct Publishing account’s Reports page for the first time in about a month. I had been focusing most of my attention on the progress of the audiobooks for Reunion and Comings and Goings. I wanted to see if there were…
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Adventures in Audiobook Production: Six Purchases, One Garratyverse
The Garratyverse has officially set sail on Audible—and six listeners have already come aboard. Four chose Comings and Goings, while two picked up Reunion: A Story. Whether purchased outright, redeemed with credits, or discovered through iTunes, each copy represents a reader willing to carry Jim Garraty’s voice into their own world. For me, this is…
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On Writing and Storytelling: What Amazon Readers Say About ‘Reunion: A Story’
The audiobook edition of Reunion: A Story – my first work of fiction – is now available on Audible and Amazon. “A profound ‘what if’ scenario, poignantly told.” —Amazon Reviewer It is February 1998. 33-year-old Jim Garraty is a respected history professor and bestselling author who lives in New York City. Popular with both students…
A Certain Point of View, Too 