Category: The Jim Garraty Chronicles
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Florida Heat, DST Fog, and the Best‑Laid Plans
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Blogging, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Spring in Florida, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesMonday, March 9, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. My internal clock is still wobbling after yesterday’s switch to Daylight Saving Time, so I’m running behind my usual blog‑writing rhythm. I’m groggy, sluggish, and more than a little irritated—not just because I forgot about the time change, but because today is one of those hot, sticky…
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Blame It on the Clock
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Computer and Video Games, Computer Games, Creative Writing, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in the United States, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Spring in Florida, Strategic Command series, Strategic Command WWII: World at War, Strategy Games, Strategy Games, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesSunday, March 8, 2026, Orlando, Florida Normally, I tap out these posts in the late morning, coffee in hand and ideas (mostly) awake. But the first day of Daylight Saving Time has, as usual, thrown my internal clock for a loop. On this warm and muggy Sunday, my energy and creativity are hiding somewhere—probably still…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Giving a Fictional Universe a Theme Song
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Billy Joel, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Forgotten Dreams, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Leroy Anderson, Melodies and Memories: Music, Songs, and Singers, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesThe Garratyverse Has a Theme Song — And It’s “Forgotten Dreams” Every now and then, a creative universe taps you on the shoulder and says, Hey, I know what I sound like.Today, the Garratyverse did exactly that. If the world of Jim Garraty — his memories, his ghosts, his quiet victories — had to be…
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The Sunshine State of Mind (and Sales Reports)
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audible Reviews, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, Books, Brandon Padilla, 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, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Royalties, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Winter in FloridaThursday, February 26, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, there! It’s a cool but gradually warming day in Central Florida. As I write this, it’s 71°F (22°C) under mostly sunny skies. Still a touch cooler than my comfort zone—my climatic sweet spot is 75°F (24°C) or a bit higher—but far better than yesterday’s mid‑30s wake‑up call. I’ve…
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Cloudy Sunday, Light Workload, Hope for Tomorrow
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Computer and Video Games, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), MicroProse Software, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Winter in Florida, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftSunday, February 22, 2026 — Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It is a grey, brooding late‑winter day in Central Florida. It’s almost noon, and as I write this, the temperature is 74°F (24°C) under cloudy skies. We’ve already had scattered light showers, and more are expected to pop up throughout the afternoon on this last Sunday…
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On Writing and Storytelling: All Too Quiet on the ACX Front
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Books, 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, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftFriday, February 20, 2026, Orlando, Florida Another Friday in Central Florida, another workweek wrapped up. This one has been frustrating on several fronts. My producer for the Reunion: Coda audiobook, Stefan Lee, finished recording on Tuesday, February 10. I submitted the project to ACX the following morning, which kicked off their four‑step quality assurance process—a…
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On Writing and Storytelling: ACX Stalls, but the Moonglow Still Shines
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, 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, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesThursday, February 19, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi there, Dear Reader. I had hoped to announce that Reunion: Coda’s audiobook edition had at least cleared its metadata quality‑assurance test by now. After all, it’s been over a week since I submitted the finished recording to ACX, and even though the company warns authors and producers that…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Case of the Rogue “44”
Wednesday, February 18, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi there, Dear Reader. While working on the omnibus edition of The Jim Garraty Chronicles last night and reviewing the Reunion: Coda section, I stumbled across a funny little typo in the Kindle Create file. Somewhere in the process of moving the text from the original Reunion: Coda project…
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On Writing and Storytelling: When the Weather Moves Faster Than the Workflow
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Winter in Florida, Writing as a CraftTuesday, February 17, 2026 — Orlando, Florida A Sunny Day, a Slow Queue, and a Stubbornly Hopeful Writer Hello, my wonderfully patient reader. Today, Central Florida is showing off. The sun is bright, the air is gentle, and winter feels like it’s quietly packing its bags. My window thermometer reads a pleasant 71°F (22°C) under…
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Metadata, Subheadings, and Other Monday Mischief
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Blogging, Books, 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, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Winter in FloridaMonday, February 16, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi there. It’s late morning here in my corner of Orange County, and from my bedroom window it looks like one of those chilly—by Florida standards, anyway— late‑winter days. My Weather app says it’s 66°F (19°C) under cloudy skies, with a feels‑like temperature of 68°F (20°C). Not exactly beach…
A Certain Point of View, Too 