Tag: Books
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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…
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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: ‘Haiku for the Midnight Hour’
📘 Haiku for the Midnight Hour By Dawn PisturinoPublisher: Horse Mesa PressPublication Year: 2024Genre: Poetry (Haiku), Horror, Supernatural In August 2024, poet and blogger Dawn Pisturino released Haiku for the Midnight Hour, her third collection of poetry—a book that reimagines the traditional Japanese haiku through a lens of shadow and unease. Traditional haiku, with its…
