Category: The Jim Garraty Chronicles
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Girl Who Wasn’t Real (But Felt Like She Was)
Writing stories that draw, even partially, from an author’s lived experience can be a bit of a double-edged sword: wonderfully useful on one side, faintly perilous on the other. Memory is generous that way. It offers texture, specificity, and the small, telling details writers spend ages trying to invent—but it also comes with baggage, assumptions,…
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On Steamy Days and Sluggish Muses
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Blogging, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, 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, Pooja (P.J.) Gudka, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two MoviesMonday, May 18, 2026 — Orlando, Florida It’s early afternoon in my corner of Central Florida, and it is, in a word, steamy. The temperature outside is 89°F (32°C) under mostly sunny skies. With humidity at 47% and an easterly breeze at 11 MPH (18 km/h), the feels-like temperature is 94°F (35°C). We’ve already hit…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Stories, Sunshine, and the People Who Read Them
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Bogota, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 and Onward), Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftThursday, May 14, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, there. It’s another scorchingly hot late‑spring afternoon in Central Florida. As I write this, the temperature sits at 87°F (30°C) under mostly sunny skies. With humidity at 42% and a west‑northwest breeze of 11 MPH (17 km/h), the heat index nudges up to a sticky 92°F (33°C). The…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Pushing Forward, Even When My Heart Wants to Work on Something Else….
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two Movies, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftWednesday, May 13, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, there. It’s another torrid and sticky late spring day in Central Florida. As I write this, it’s already early afternoon, and the temperature is summer-like 85°F (29°C) under partly sunny conditions. With humidity at 70% and the wind blowing from the west-northwest at 8 MPH (13 Km/H), the…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Between the Work I Want and the Work That Needs Doing
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, 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, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, Stalled Projects, The "New Story", The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftMonday, May 11, 2026, Orlando, Florida Vapor, Vessel, and a Very Warm Monday Hi there, and welcome to the Monday edition of A Certain Point of View, Too. Although we’re still a few weeks away from the first day of summer—June 1 for those of us who follow the meteorological calendar, or June 21 at…
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When Spring Cosplays as Midsummer
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two MoviesFriday, May 8, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, Dear Readers. It’s early afternoon here in Central Florida, and the heat has settled in like an uninvited guest who refuses to take the hint. As I type this, it’s 90°F (32°C) under partly sunny skies, the kind of sunshine that looks friendly until you actually step outside.…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Comfort of Lasagna, the Weight of Goodbye
By the time I began writing Reunion: Coda in the spring of 2023, I was facing an uncomfortable truth: this was my third attempt to write a novel since 2015 and my fourth attempt overall. Each previous project had stalled out somewhere between ambition and exhaustion. I knew I couldn’t afford to abandon another one.…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Chronicles vs. Kindle Create: Round… I’ve Lost Count
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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, Scrivener 3 for Windows, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing and Editing, Writing and Editing Software, Writing as a CraftTuesday, May 5, 2026 — Orlando, Florida It’s one of those classic Central Florida afternoons—so hot the air practically sizzles. My weather app insists it’s 86°F (30°C) under a sky that can’t quite decide if it’s sunny or not. With 38% humidity and a gentle east-southeast breeze at 3 MPH (4 Km/H), you’d think it…
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When a Florida Spring Gives the Keys to Summer Prematurely
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Denise Longrie, Florida Weather, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Scrivener 3 for Windows, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing and Editing SoftwareFriday, May 1, 2026, Orlando, Florida “God, it was hot! Forget about frying an egg on the sidewalk; this kind of heat would fry an egg inside the chicken.” – Rachel Caine May didn’t stroll in this year — it kicked the door open and asked where the nearest sauna was. Today isn’t so much…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Under Partly Sunny Skies, I Keep Going
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Blogging, Book Reviews, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Depression, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Life in the United States, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Scrivener 3 for Windows, Semiquincentennial, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, WriteItNow 5/6, Writing and Editing SoftwareTuesday, April 28, 2026, Orlando, Florida It’s a hot, muggy mid‑spring afternoon here in my corner of Orange County on this second day of my workweek. As I write, the temperature sits at 82°F (28°C) under partly sunny skies. With humidity at a sticky 60% and an east‑southeast breeze of 4 MPH (6 Km/H), the…
A Certain Point of View, Too 