Tag: Book Reviews
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On Writing and Storytelling: How – and Why – I Wrote ‘Reunion: Coda’
🎼 Writing the Coda: How Music, Memory, and Missed Chances Shaped Reunion: Coda When I first wrote Reunion: A Story in 1998, I didn’t imagine it would become the central panel of a literary triptych. It was a novella born from grief, memory, and a quiet experiment in fiction—an elegy for a classmate lost too…
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On Writing and Storytelling: When a Reader Sees You
When a Reader Sees YouReflections on a Review That Resonated There’s a quiet kind of joy that comes when a reader truly sees your work—not just the plot or the prose, but the emotional architecture beneath it. Dawn Pisturino’s recent review of Reunion: A Story did just that. She saw Jim Garraty not as a…
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The Garratyverse: Amazon Reviews That Matter
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Book Reviews, Books, 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), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: CodaThe Garratyverse: Amazon Reviews That Matter. In a literary landscape often dominated by algorithms and fleeting attention, it’s easy to overlook the quiet power of a reader who truly sees you. The Garratyverse—my evolving universe of emotionally intelligent fiction—has always been about memory, intimacy, and the dignity of small moments. So when readers respond not…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Reviews Matter! (A Lot! Really!)
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, 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), Reunion: Coda, Reviews, Writing as a Craft✍️ Echoes and Endings: What Readers Are Saying About Comings and Goings By Alex Diaz-Granados When I released Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, I didn’t expect fanfare. It’s a quiet story — 51 pages long — about a first-time encounter that isn’t quite romance, isn’t quite nostalgia, but something softer, more…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Why a Prologue Was Necessary: Reopening the Door to Jim Garraty’s Emotional Past
Why a Prologue Was Necessary: Reopening the Door to Jim Garraty’s Emotional Past When I returned to the world of Reunion: A Story nearly 25 years after its original publication, I wasn’t simply revisiting old characters—I was confronting the emotional residue they left behind. Reunion: Coda demanded more than a sequel; it required a bridge.…
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Understanding ‘Reunion: Coda’: Why the High School Chapters Matter
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Book Reviews, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in South Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, South Miami Senior High SchoolWhy the High School Chapters Matter: A Reflection (and Rebuttal) I didn’t hate high school. I didn’t romanticize it either—not like those who peaked there and never quite came down. But South Miami Senior High gave me something I didn’t expect: a sense of community. I sang in the choral department, wrote for the newspaper,…
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Book Review: ‘Special Forces – A Guided Tour of U.S. Army Special Forces’
📚 Review: Special Forces – A Guided Tour of U.S. Army Special Forces By John D. Gresham (with Tom Clancy)Berkley Books, 2001 | 366 pages | ISBN: 9780425172681Status: Out of print, but available via Internet Archive and select used book retailers. Publisher’s Blurb: They are sent to the world’s hot spots-on covert missions fraught with…
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On Writing and Storytelling: ‘Comings and Goings’ Gets a New Review on Amazon UK!
Across the Pond: Comings and Goings Receives Its First International Review Some mornings begin quietly—but this week, one brought a small, extraordinary ripple. Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen just received its first international review, courtesy of Amazon UK. Meg Learner, a thoughtful reader and longtime fan of Jim Garraty’s journey, offered…
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Book Review: ’38 North Yankee’
38 North Yankee By: Ed Ruggero Publisher: Atria Books Publication Year: 1990 Genre: Military Fiction, Late Cold War Era “Hot War Scenarios,” Second Korean War Fiction 📚 Review: 38 North Yankee by Ed Ruggero Set in the precarious shadow of 1990, 38 North Yankee unfolds at a time when the Cold War has drawn its…
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Book Review: ‘The Greatest Generation’
The Greatest Generation By: Tom Brokaw Publisher: Random House (now Penguin Random House) Year of Publication: 1998 Genre: American history, World War II, Biographical Portraits/Non-Fiction Reconsidering “The Greatest Generation”: A Reflection on Tom Brokaw’s Timeless Tribute There was a time I questioned the phrase Greatest Generation—it sounded too sweeping, too sentimental, maybe even a little…
A Certain Point of View, Too 