Tag: book-review
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On Writing and Storytelling: On Having a Reader Like Thomas Wikman
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, Creative Writing, 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 Wikman, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftOn Having a Reader Like Thomas Wikman Thomas Wikman’s Review of “Reunion: Coda” (2025) This is a love story complicated by life. Jim Garraty is a successful History Professor who has tragically lost love and found love again. The story follows two timelines. One is focused on Jim’s high school days and his secret love…
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When Fiction Shops Local (Even If the Store Doesn’t Stock the Book)
When Fiction Shops Local (Even If the Store Doesn’t Stock the Book) There’s a moment at the start of the Jim–Maddie arc where Maddie walks into the Moonglow Club carrying a Book Culture bag stuffed with Jim’s books. Jim, of course, has no idea. He only sees a refined stranger with caramel hair, a sky‑blue…
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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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A Small, Bright Victory to Start the Week
A Small, Bright Victory to Start the Week Monday, January 5, 2026 — Orlando, Florida “Writing fiction, especially a long work of fiction, can be a difficult, lonely job; it’s like crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a bathtub. There’s plenty of opportunity for self-doubt.”— Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Florida winter—such…
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The Night Jim Garraty Kept Someone Up Reading
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesWhen a Reader Reminds You Why You Write Every so often, something happens that cuts through the noise — the sales dashboards, the algorithms, the endless comparisons to writers with marketing budgets the size of small nations — and brings you back to the heart of why you sit down to tell stories in the…
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New Year, Same Writer, Slightly Fewer Dramatic Sighs
Thursday, January 1, 2026 — Orlando, Florida “And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”— Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath Well, here we are again—another year behind us, another…
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On Resolutions, Realism, and the Year That Surprised Me
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Audible, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Family History, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesWednesday, December 31, 2025 — Orlando, Florida I’ve never been much for New Year’s resolutions. That just wasn’t the kind of tradition our little, lopsided family—Mom, my older half‑sister, and Yours Truly—ever took seriously. Sure, one of us might toss out a hopeful line now and then: “This is the year I’ll finally hit the…
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Year’s End, Big Thoughts
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Films by Ken Burns, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick, U.S. History, U.S. PoliticsThings On My Mind as 2025 Ends
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Reading in Rhythm: How the Reunion Duology Is Meant to Be Experienced
Reading in Rhythm: How the Reunion Duology Is Meant to Be Experienced Every so often, an author gets a message that reminds them why they write in the first place. This week, I received one of those notes from Paul Schingle, author of Schingle’s Blog, who—along with his wife, J—has begun reading the Reunion books…
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On Writing and Storytelling: How One Story Became Three
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Blogging, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftOn Writing and Storytelling: How One Story Became Three “I write for the same reason I breathe: Because if I didn’t, I would die.” — Isaac Asimov As 2025 barrels toward its inevitable finale and a newborn year waits impatiently in the wings, I find myself doing my best Janus impression—gazing backward and forward…
A Certain Point of View, Too 