Tag: Books
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A Writer’s Life: Refreshing My Amazon Author Profile
🛠️ A Quiet Update: Refreshing My Amazon Author Profile Last night, I made a small but meaningful update to my Amazon Author Profile. It wasn’t a major overhaul—just a refinement to better reflect the scope and emotional focus of my work. These kinds of updates often go unnoticed, but they matter. They’re part of the…
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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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Typos, Royalties, and the Indie Hustle
Midmonth Musings from the Garratyverse Late Afternoon, Saturday, August 16, 2025 – Miami, Florida Hi, everyone. Here’s a little update on my writing life and book sales for August—such as they are. I’m not exactly launching a new project at the moment, and honestly, my royalties this month will barely cover the spare change Stephen…
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Writing Intimacy with Grace: A Garratyverse Reflection
Writing Intimacy with Grace: A Garratyverse Reflection In the Garratyverse, intimacy is never just about bodies—it’s about breath, memory, and the quiet courage it takes to be seen. I don’t write sex scenes. I write moments of emotional sanctuary, where characters undress not just physically, but emotionally, in the presence of someone who makes it…
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The Twins from Different Families: Male Friendship and Emotional Architecture in ‘Reunion: Coda’
The Twins from Different Families: Male Friendship and Emotional Architecture in Reunion: Coda Romantic love may haunt the pages of Reunion: Coda, but it’s male friendship—quiet, loyal, and emotionally fluent—that gives the novel its ballast. Jim Garraty’s bond with Mark Prieto isn’t just a subplot; it’s a mirror, a refuge, and a reminder that intimacy…
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Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen — A Garratyverse Reflection on Memory, Music, and Emotional Truth
Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen — A Garratyverse Reflection on Memory, Music, and Emotional Truth There’s a moment in the closing voiceover of Summer of ’42 that lingers long after the credits roll: “Life is made up of comings and goings. And for everything we take with us, there’s something we leave…
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Book Review: ‘Star Wars: Cloak of Deception’ (2001)
Star Wars: Cloak of Deception By: James Luceno Publisher: Del Rey/Penguin Random House Year of Publication: 2001 (First Edition), 2002 (Paperback) Genre: Space Fantasy/Politics, Star Wars (Legends) Publisher’s Blurb: From New York Times bestselling author James Luceno comes an all-new Star Wars adventure that reveals the action and intrigue unfolding directly before Episode I: The Phantom Menace.Mired in greed…
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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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Navigating the Garratyverse, or: How to Follow Jim Garraty’s Emotional Journey (Now That It’s a Thing)
Let’s start with a confession: I didn’t set out to create a literary universe. I didn’t even set out to coin a term. “Garratyverse” began as a tongue-in-cheek nickname—a playful way to refer to the two deeply personal stories I’d written about Jim Garraty, a character who’s equal parts emotionally constipated and quietly profound. It…
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Book Review: ‘Close-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream’
Close-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream By: Sam Staggs Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Publication Year: 2003 Genre(s): Film history, Making of Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood history, Classic cinema 🎬 Book Review: Close-Up on Sunset Boulevard by Sam StaggsEven if you’ve never seen the film, the drama behind it is…
A Certain Point of View, Too 