Tag: Books
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On Writing and Storytelling: Themes, Subtext, and the Uninvited Guests of Fiction
Themes, Subtext, and the Uninvited Guests of Fiction Thursday, December 11, 2025 — Orlando, Florida I don’t believe every novelist consciously aims to send a message for readers to ponder about themes or social issues. Sure, on some level, we authors create stories reflecting human needs and desires, exploring our religious, philosophical, and political beliefs,…
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The Chronicles, the Coda, and the Chaos
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Books, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing as a CraftWednesday, December 10, 2025 – Orlando, Florida Now that most of my belongings are finally here in Orlando instead of languishing in a warehouse in South Florida, I can turn my attention—at least in theory—to other priorities. Chief among them are the omnibus edition of The Jim Garraty Chronicles and making sure the Audible release…
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Three Stories, Three Reviews
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Dawn Pisturino, Pooja (P.J.) Gudka, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Thomas WikmanThree Stories, Three Reviews Every great series is defined not only by the stories themselves but by the way readers respond to them. Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, and Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen together form a tapestry of memory, love, regret, and the fragile beauty of human connection. Each title…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Behind the Curtain – Marty’s Origins
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Passage of Time, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, South Miami High School in fiction, South Miami Senior High School, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesBehind the Curtain: Marty’s Origins Ever since the day I first sent my novella, Reunion: A Story, out into the world back in 2018, the questions started coming. Sometimes they arrived shy and quiet, like old friends at a backyard barbecue, and other times they landed with surprising directness. Most often, it was a fellow…
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Book Review: ‘Star Wars: Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina’
“Mos Eisley Spaceport,” says Obi-Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker as they stand on a mesa overlooking the Tatooine metropolis in Episode IV: A New Hope. “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be careful.” Of all the eye-catching and memorable sequences in Star Wars, the fateful meeting between…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Writing Romance Without Reading Romance
📖 Writing Romance Without Reading Romance: Why Reunion: Coda Works I’ll admit something: when I started writing Reunion: Coda, I worried. I don’t, as a general rule, read romance novels. My shelves are filled with history, memoir, and fiction of other stripes, but not much in the way of “romance.” So when I realized my…
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Whoa, I Wrote That
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss, Stefan (Steve) Lee, Writing as a CraftMonday, November 24, 2025, Orlando, Florida Most writers don’t bother rereading their own books. You’d think we’d want to relive the glory—but after wrangling with my first novel, Reunion: Coda, I get it. I spent two years chasing inspiration across three cities—Tampa, Madison (NH), Miami—all just to produce a 400+ page epic that hops between…
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On Writing and Storytelling: An Unexpected (if Modest) Bonanza of Royalties
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) LeeSaturday, November 22, 2025 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. Last night, I checked my Kindle Direct Publishing account’s Reports page for the first time in about a month. I had been focusing most of my attention on the progress of the audiobooks for Reunion and Comings and Goings. I wanted to see if there were…
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On Writing and Storytelling: What Amazon Readers Say About ‘Reunion: A Story’
The audiobook edition of Reunion: A Story – my first work of fiction – is now available on Audible and Amazon. “A profound ‘what if’ scenario, poignantly told.” —Amazon Reviewer It is February 1998. 33-year-old Jim Garraty is a respected history professor and bestselling author who lives in New York City. Popular with both students…
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Book Review: ‘Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier’
⚓ Carrier: Tom Clancy’s Guided Tour of American Sea Power Tom Clancy’s Carrier, the sixth installment in his Guided Tour nonfiction series, offers readers a vivid exploration of the U.S. Navy’s most iconic asset: the aircraft carrier and its accompanying battle group (CVBG). More than six decades after Pearl Harbor signaled the end of battleship…
