Category: The Jim Garraty Chronicles
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A Maddening Monday
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Computers, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Lenovo – IdeaPad S340 15″ Touch-Screen Laptop, Lenovo C560 All-in-One PC, Lenovo IdeaCentre (PC), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Shop with Points, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesMonday, February 2, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. Today has been… a day. My Lenovo Idea Centre all‑in‑one decided it had had enough of this mortal coil and tapped out this morning. The machine is only three or four years old, and it had been behaving well enough — except for the increasingly stubborn power…
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Gray Skies, Cold Wind, and Editing Misadventures
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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, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Winter in Florida, Writing as a CraftSaturday, January 31, 2026 — Orlando, Florida Hello again, Dear Reader. Central Florida is wearing its grayest winter coat today. The sky is a solid sheet of cloud, the air sits at a brisk 59°F (15°C), and the wind promises to make things even chillier as the afternoon rolls on. It’s hardly the sort of…
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All Quiet on the Writing Front….
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Blogging, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Kindle Unlimited (subscription service), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Novella, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Stalled Projects, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Winter in FloridaFriday, January 30, 2026 — Orlando, Florida It’s early afternoon here in Central Florida, and while the weather is cooler than usual — 69°F (21°C) under bright, steady sunshine — it’s still a lovely late‑January day. Several cold‑weather alerts remain in effect until February 1, but the chill will pass soon enough. No snow, no…
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Cold Snap, Penny Bump
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, 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, Life in Madison (NH), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in the United States, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Winter 2023-2024, Winter in FloridaWednesday, January 28, 2026, Orlando, Florida It’s another brisk winter day here in Central Florida. As I write this, the thermometer reads 53°F (12°C) under bright, generous sunshine, though the feels-like temperature edges closer to 68°F (20°C). Not exactly frigid by national standards, but certainly cool enough to make you pause before stepping outside. Of…
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Fourteen Dollars and a Dream
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Book Reviews, 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 ChroniclesMonday, January 26, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. I’m still working on The Jim Garraty Chronicles despite my misgivings about my ability to cope with Kindle Create’s formatting issues and low expectations for how well it will sell once I publish it. Fixing subheads and nitpicking the text for errors I missed when I published…
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On Writing and Storytelling: My Ex-Co-Editor, Always
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Books, Brandon Padilla, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, South Miami High School in fiction, South Miami Senior High School, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing as a CraftGratitude Tour, Stop Five: My Ex-Co-Editor, Always When I first mapped out my “Gratitude Tour,” the plan was simple: shine a little light on the readers who not only devoured the three existing Garratyverse books—Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, and Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen—but also took the time to leave…
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A Little Order, A Little Magic
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), 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, Writing as a CraftMonday, January 12, 2026 — Orlando, Florida Hey there, friends— Today I’m gearing up (or at least trying to gear up) for another round with The Jim Garraty Chronicles inside the ever‑infamous Kindle Create app. The mission: wrangle those unruly subheadings in the Reunion: Coda section into something resembling order. I won’t pretend I’m thrilled…
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Sunday, Syntax, and Sanity
Sunday, January 11, 2026, Orlando, Florida I’m delighted to share some good news: the revisions I made to Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen are officially “in the system” and live on Kindle. I addressed a minor continuity slip in the chapter “Soft Lights, Quiet Courage,” so fingers crossed, the fix will now…
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On Hope, Hustle, and the Jim Garraty Chronicles
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon UK, Audible, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, Stephen King (Author), The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftShifting the Blog’s Focus Hey, there! If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been steering the blog more toward a “writer’s life” vibe instead of the old grab‑bag of “Here’s what’s on Alex’s mind today besides, you know, writing.”Yep — that’s intentional. I do miss mixing things up with personal updates, reviews of books, movies, and music,…
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‘Leaving the Party’: An Excerpt from ‘Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen’
Leaving the Party – An Excerpt from Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen Some nights begin with promise and end with the unmistakable scent of regret—usually stale beer, cheap speakers, and someone else’s bad decisions. Jim Garraty has survived more than a few of them, but in this moment from Comings and…
A Certain Point of View, Too 