Tag: A Writer's Life
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How a ‘Simple’ Story About High School and Lost Love Became Something More
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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…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Stepping Up to the Plate…for the Fifth Time
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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, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Personal Thoughts, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Royalties, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two Movies, Writing as a CraftSunday, September 20, 2026 – Orlando, Florida “The scariest moment is always just before you start.”― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Hi there, Dear Reader! I woke up this morning to one of those small but welcome surprises that occasionally drift into a writer’s inbox: a notification from Amazon Accounts Payable.…
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Musings and Thoughts for Monday, August 31, 2026
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Depression, Florida Weather, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2026, Summer in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two Movies, Writer’s BlockMonday, August 31, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, folks. Well, here we are on the last day of August, which is also the last day of meteorological summer. As I write this, it’s afternoon in my corner of Central Florida, and befitting the season, it’s cloudy, humid, and potentially stormy. I am not crazy about…
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Thoughts and Musings for Friday, August 7, 2026
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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, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Royalties, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Summer of Two MoviesFriday, August 7, 2026 – Orlando, Florida It is a dreary, stormy late summer day in Central Florida. It has been raining heavily here for the past 30 minutes, which keeps the otherwise torrid temperatures down to a tolerable level but nevertheless makes for a somewhat depressing environment. Right now, the temperature is 85°F (29°C),…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Buy Now…or Buy Later
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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 Sweden, Amazon UK, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Goodreads, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series)Thursday, July 23, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. Well, it’s been a few days since I uploaded the latest—and, I hope, final—batch of fixes for The Jim Garraty Chronicles: A Life in Four Movements to the Kindle Direct servers. From what I can tell after reading through the Reunion: Coda section on my Kindle…
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On Writing and Storytelling: When the KDP Gods Smile on a Monday
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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 Sweden, Amazon UK, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Goodreads, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Summer of Two Movies, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftWhen the KDP Gods Smile on a Monday Monday, July 20, 2026 – Orlando, Florida “The awfulness of Monday mornings is the world’s greatest common denominator. To the millionaire and the coolie it is the same, because there can be nothing worse.” — Kenneth Fearing, The Big Clock Monday mornings aren’t usually awful for me.…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Heat, Humidity, and the Great .kpf Rebuild
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Computers, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Lenovo – IdeaPad S340 15″ Touch-Screen Laptop, Lenovo IdeaCentre (PC), Life in Florida, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesSaturday, April 18, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi there. It’s a warm, bright spring day here in Central Florida. The temperature is sitting at 85°F (29°C) under sunny skies, with 55% humidity and a light southwest breeze at 2 MPH (4 km/h). Thanks to the humidity, the heat index is already up to 95°F (34°C). The…
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On Slow Weeks and Stubborn Callings
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audible Reviews, Audiobooks, Blogging, Book Reviews, 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 Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Praise Circles, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Spring in Florida, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesA brief dispatch from the post‑DST haze Thursday, March 12, 2026 — Orlando, Florida It’s midafternoon on a muggy, rain‑soaked March day in Central Florida. The temperature is hovering around 85°F (29°C) under a curtain of heavy rain, and thanks to our subtropical climate—now supercharged by global warming—it feels more like early summer than spring.…
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On the Subject of Ethical Reviewing: My Guiding Principles
On the subject of ethical reviewing: My guiding principles Last Friday, I mentioned a previous email exchange with Angela (a pseudonym), a blogger who self‑published an inspirational romance novel. She sent me her third email, again requesting that I read a sample of her book on Amazon, purchase it in Kindle or paperback format, and…
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On Writing and Storytelling: A Surreal Little Moment from the Audiobook Release
+ 🎧 A Surreal Little Moment from the Audiobook Release One of the strangest and most wonderful parts of releasing an audiobook is hearing a narrator bring your scenes to life. You think you know every beat of your own story… and then someone else performs it, and suddenly it feels new again. What really…
