Category: The Jim Garraty Chronicles
-
No ‘Fair Weather’ Friend is He: Constant Reader Profile – Juan Carlos Hernandez
Thursday, October 15, 2026 – Orlando, Florida This is one of my best friends from South Miami Senior High, actor-director Juan Carlos Hernandez. We met in Drama class during the 1982-83 school year; he was a junior who liked performing, and I was a senior who needed an elective because I’d taken Economics and Government…
-
October Reveries
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 – Orlando, Florida October has always been a difficult month for me. Its arrival brings a chill that has little to do with the weather; before the calendar has turned its first few pages, I can already feel the weight of memory settling in. Whether I choose to dwell on the…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: When Fiction Meets Reality – an Excerpt from ‘Reunion: Coda’
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Books, Creative Writing, Life in Florida, Life in South Florida, Reunion Duology, Reunion: Coda, South Miami High School in fiction, South Miami Senior High School, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesWhere Fiction Meets Reality – An Excerpt from Reunion: Coda If you’re a regular visitor here, you may know that several episodes in my Jim Garraty stories draw on my experiences at South Miami Senior High from late August 1980 to mid-June 1983. Jim’s academic path, however, is vastly different from mine. He is college-bound…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: From Brain to Book: The Strange Magic of Making Stories Real
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Books, Creative Writing, Family History, Jeronimo Diaz-Granados, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), Writing as a CraftFrom Brain to Book: The Strange Magic of Making Stories Real This morning, I picked up the hardcover edition of The Jim Garraty Chronicles and felt something I’ve felt many times before, but never quite this sharply: a kind of quiet awe. The weight of the book, the texture of the cover, the solidity of…
-
Thoughts and Musings for Sunday, October 4, 2026
Sunday, October 4, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hey, Dear Readers! It’s the second day of this first weekend in October, and I’m taking a well‑earned breather from And the Horse You Rode in On, the fifth entry in the life and times of Jim Garraty. I need it. I’ve been working almost nonstop in the…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: Recovering from a Narrative Tailspin
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Autumn 2026, Autumn in Florida, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftSaturday, October 3, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi there, Dear Reader. I’m running a bit late today. The weather in my corner of Central Florida has been unsettled; it’s been rainy here over the past two days, and we even experienced a thunderstorm around 3 PM. After that, my landlady decided that we needed to…
-
Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Buy ‘The Jim Garraty Chronicles’ Omnibus
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Summer of Two MoviesTop 10 Reasons Why You Should Buy The Jim Garraty Chronicles Omnibus Thursday, October 1, 2026 – Orlando, Florida 1. Because Jim has been around longer than most streaming services. Jim Garraty first showed up during the latter days of the Reagan Administration—back when phones had cords and “binge-watching” meant staying up past midnight. I’ve…
-
Have a Good Monday!
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, And the Horse You Rode In On, Blogging, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series)Monday, September 28, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. I’m running behind schedule on this sunny, warm afternoon in Central Florida. Aside from yesterday’s arrival – in the late afternoon hours – of my hardcover copy of The Jim Garraty Chronicles, I don’t have much in the way of news. I also need to work…
-
A Hardcover on the Way, and a Hint of Fall in the Air
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Autumn 2026, Autumn in Florida, Books, Creative Writing, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), Personal Thoughts, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), Winter (2023-2024)Sunday, September 27, 2026 – Orlando, Florida It’s early afternoon on this last Sunday of September 2026. The current temperature is 82°F (28°C) under sunny skies, but with 37% humidity and a southeasterly breeze blowing at 5 MPH (8 Km/H), it feels more like early summer than early fall. The oppressive heat of this past…
-
How a ‘Simple’ Story About High School and Lost Love Became Something More
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Book Reviews, Books, Creative Writing, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftWhen I finally sat down to write my first serious work of non-genre fiction since my college creative-writing class, the plan—if I’m being generous enough to call it one—was simple: tell the story of a high school romance that never quite got off the ground. As I’ve explained elsewhere—including in a behind-the-scenes interview two years…
