Tag: Book Reviews
-
How a ‘Simple’ Story About High School and Lost Love Became Something More
—
by
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…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: First One In….
—
by
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, Books, Creative Writing, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series)Friday, September 18, 2026 – Orlando, Florida It’s early afternoon on a cloudy, hot, and humid day in Central Florida. The temperature sits at 86°F (30°C) under partly sunny skies, but with 70% humidity and an east‑northeast breeze at 12 MPH (19 Km/H), it feels closer to 93°F (34°C). Scattered rain showers are expected later,…
-
Which Trope in Fiction Annoys Me the Most? The Meet Cute
—
by
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, Books, Creative Writing, Literary Fiction, Literary Genres, Meet-Cute, Meet-Smart, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), Tropes in Fiction, Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftWhich Trope in Fiction Annoys Me the Most? The Meet‑Cute — And Why My Work Favors the Meet‑Smart Every writer has a trope that makes them wince. For some, it’s the chosen one. For others, it’s the villain who monologues. For me, the most grating trope — the one that feels flimsy, overused, and emotionally…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: An Unexpected Boost in Sales!
—
by
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, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Epinions, Life in Florida, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2026, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), Writing as a CraftWednesday, August 26, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone — and happy Wednesday from the land of iced drinks, sunscreen, and weather that still hasn’t gotten the memo about fall. Well, folks, summer may be winding down on the calendar — meteorological fall begins on September 1 — but here in Central Florida, the weather…
-
Thoughts and Musings for Friday, August 21, 2026
—
by
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 Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion: A Story, Royalties, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Summer of Two MoviesFriday, August 21, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It’s afternoon on a spectacularly hot and potentially rainy late summer day in Central Florida. Currently, the temperature is a sizzling 94°F (35°C) under partly sunny skies, but with a weak 3 MPH (5 Km/H) breeze blowing from the east southeast and humidity at 58%, it…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: ‘The Jim Garraty Chronicles’ is Almost One Month Old!
—
by
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, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two MoviesWednesday, August 12, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost a month since I published The Jim Garraty Chronicles: A Life in Four Movements, an omnibus that presents Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, and the bonus tale The Summer…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: My New Book Earns a First Review!
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Goodreads, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Summer of Two MoviesSunday, August 9, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, there! I’m pleased to announce that The Jim Garraty Chronicles, my latest book, has earned its first customer review on Goodreads. Yep. That’s right. As of last night, Amazon-owned Goodreads published Adria K’s five-star write-up of my omnibus! Here it is: August 8, 2026 Alex Diaz-Granados has…
-
Vox Critici: What Readers Say About the Jim Garraty Stories
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, Creative Writing, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series)Vox Critici: What Readers Say About the Jim Garraty Stories Reunion: A Story – The Jim Garraty Chronicles Book 1 (Originally written in 1998, based on a college creative writing class assignment in 1987. First edition published in 2018; second edition published in 2023) From the Publisher: It is June 1983. Jim Garraty is a…
-
Thoughts and Musings for Friday, August 7, 2026
—
by
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),…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: Buy Now…or Buy Later
—
by
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…
