Category: Creative Writing
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‘Comings and Goings’ Crosses Borders—Now in Spain! 🇪🇸📘
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Blogging, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, International College of Seville, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Semester in Spain Program, Sevilla (Seville), SpainA wonderful milestone just arrived with the summer heat: Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen has officially landed in Spain! The copy was purchased through Amazon.es and now resides in the hands of my long-time friend, Lisa Dolan, Student Activities Director at the International College of Seville. Lisa reached out to let…
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Book Review: ‘Haiku for the Midnight Hour’
📘 Haiku for the Midnight Hour By Dawn PisturinoPublisher: Horse Mesa PressPublication Year: 2024Genre: Poetry (Haiku), Horror, Supernatural In August 2024, poet and blogger Dawn Pisturino released Haiku for the Midnight Hour, her third collection of poetry—a book that reimagines the traditional Japanese haiku through a lens of shadow and unease. Traditional haiku, with its…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Bonds of Friendship in ‘Reunion: Coda’
🧭 Monsters, Memory, and the Men Who Stay Reflecting on the Friendship Between Jim Garraty and Mark Prieto in Reunion: Coda Some friendships aren’t just part of the story—they’re the spine that holds it together. In Reunion: Coda, Jim Garraty and Mark Prieto’s bond spans adolescence and adulthood, joy and heartbreak. It’s not loud. It’s…
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On Books and Reading: My Summer TBR Stack
☀️ What’s on my summer reading list? It’s a mix of deep dives into history and personal journeys through memory and meaning. These titles are stacked on my nightstand (okay, maybe overflowing), waiting to be explored between afternoon storms and long stretches of quiet. • The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort…
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🎭 Socks, Subplots, and Second Chances: The Accidental Novel I Wrote on Purpose
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, 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), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: CodaBack in the summer of 1978, I made a solemn pronouncement over breakfast toast: “Mom, someday I’m going to write a novel like Stephen King does.” She smiled with a bemused expression that said, “Sure, sweetie—after you remember to pick up your socks.” Forty-seven years later, I’ve finally made good on that promise… and yes,…
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Reflections on Revisiting My Writing
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Juan Carlos Hernandez, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), 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 WikmanWhy I Write and Revisit My Work “I write for the same reason I breathe — because if I didn’t, I would die.” – Isaac Asimov As the four-month anniversary of the publication of Reunion: Coda approaches, I find myself reading it again—this time not only for professional reasons, like fixing issues or being self-critical, but…
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More Lessons I Learned from Writing a Novel
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Copyright, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Novella, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stephen King (Author), Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftUnexpected Lessons in Writing On April 4, nearly four months ago, I published Reunion: Coda, the second book in my Reunion Duology and my first novel. The first book, Reunion: A Story, is a novella. I spent a little over two years writing this novel. I began in March 2022 while living in Tampa, wrote…
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Movie Review: ‘Summer of ’42’ (1971)
Summer of ’42 (1971) Directed by: Robert Mulligan Written by: Herman Raucher Starring: Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser, Oliver Conant, Jennifer O’Neill, Christopher Norris, Lou Frizzell Music by: Michel Legrand Studio: Warner Bros. Summer of ’42: The Art of Being Seen Originally reviewed in 2003. This expanded reflection carries forward the emotional imprint of that first…
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On Writing and Storytelling: More (Unsolicited) Advice to Aspiring Writers
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), On Writing Well: 30th Anniversary Edition, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftMore (Unsolicited) Advice to Aspiring Writers The Path from There to Here – Some Backstory I’ve been a storyteller and a writer for as long as I can remember. Early on, I accepted that my disability meant I probably wasn’t destined to be an astronaut or a United States Marine—two jobs that seemed very cool…
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On Being Seen (Even When You Weren’t There)
📚 Comings and Goings Update We’re now up to three reviews (and one quiet rating) for Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, and all three are graciously positive—resulting in a global average rating of 4.7 stars ⭐️. That’s a lovely surprise. The latest review comes from Jan Peregrine, who highlights the story’s…
A Certain Point of View, Too 