Category: Book Reviews
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Gratitude Tour Continues – Crossing the Atlantic (Virtually) to Thank the ‘Godmother of Reunion: Coda’
Gratitude Tour, Stop #4: Meg Learner — The Godmother of Reunion: Coda Next, I want to thank someone whose influence on the Garratyverse runs deeper than she probably realizes: Meg Learner, whom I’ve affectionately dubbed the Godmother of Reunion: Coda. Meg and I first crossed paths years ago on the now-defunct writing site Persona Paper.…
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On Writing and Storytelling: On Having a Reader Like Thomas Wikman
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, Creative Writing, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger, Thomas Wikman, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftOn Having a Reader Like Thomas Wikman Thomas Wikman’s Review of “Reunion: Coda” (2025) This is a love story complicated by life. Jim Garraty is a successful History Professor who has tragically lost love and found love again. The story follows two timelines. One is focused on Jim’s high school days and his secret love…
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When Fiction Shops Local (Even If the Store Doesn’t Stock the Book)
When Fiction Shops Local (Even If the Store Doesn’t Stock the Book) There’s a moment at the start of the Jim–Maddie arc where Maddie walks into the Moonglow Club carrying a Book Culture bag stuffed with Jim’s books. Jim, of course, has no idea. He only sees a refined stranger with caramel hair, a sky‑blue…
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Facing Sales Challenges in Self-Publishing
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, UncategorizedSaturday, December 20, 2025 — Orlando, Florida This morning, I received my monthly email from Amazon Accounts Payable with my Kindle Direct Publishing royalties for November. According to Amazon, I’ll be receiving $10.55 for books sold between November 1 and 30, 2025. While $10.55 is certainly better than nothing, it’s still a steep drop from…
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A Holiday Shopper’s Guide to…’Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen’
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: CodaBut I kept that night. I kept the way she looked at me afterward, the way her thumb traced circles on mine, the way she said, “You were here. That’s what matters.” ― Alex Diaz-Granados, Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen : A Jim Garraty Story With Christmas 2025 less than a…
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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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Book Review: ‘Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier’
⚓ Carrier: Tom Clancy’s Guided Tour of American Sea Power Tom Clancy’s Carrier, the sixth installment in his Guided Tour nonfiction series, offers readers a vivid exploration of the U.S. Navy’s most iconic asset: the aircraft carrier and its accompanying battle group (CVBG). More than six decades after Pearl Harbor signaled the end of battleship…
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The Music That Hurt Less: A Response to Thomas Wikman’s Review of ‘Comings and Goings’
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The Music That Hurt Less: A Response to Thomas Wikman’s Review When Thomas Wikman described Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen as a luminous prelude to Reunion: Coda, I felt seen—not just as a writer, but as someone who stitched memory and melody into fiction, hoping someone might hear the emotional subtext.…
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Being Seen in Kenya: A Quiet Thank You to Pooja
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, 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), Pooja (P.J.) Gudka, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, ReviewsThere are moments in a writer’s life when the work speaks louder than the person. When a reader—not just any reader, but one who truly listens—echoes back the emotional architecture you’ve spent years building. Pooja Gudka, the voice behind Lifesfinewhine, has done just that. Her review of Comings and Goings – The Art of Being…
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Book Review: ‘The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’
The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Five Novels in One Outrageous Volume By: Douglas Adams Publisher: Del Rey Publication Date (Reissue): April 30, 2002 Genre: Humor, Space Opera, Science Fiction 🛸 Know Where Your Towel Is: A Hitchhiker’s Primer for the Mildly Panicked Blog Reader If you’re reading this and you know where your…
A Certain Point of View, Too 