Tag: Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen
-
How Pop Culture and Music Inform the Garratyverse
—
by
in A Bridge Too Far (1977 film), Alex Diaz-Granados, All the Things You Are, All the Things You Are (Kern and Hammerstein), Amazon, Billy Joel, Classical music, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, John Williams (Composer), Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Ludwig van Beethoven, Melodies and Memories: Music, Songs, and Singers, Movies, Music, Music & Concert Specials, Pop Music, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Star Wars, Superman: The Movie, The Summer of Two Movies, West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast (1957)How Pop Culture and Music Inform the Garratyverse If you spend enough time inside the Garratyverse, you eventually notice something: Jim Garraty’s world doesn’t just contain pop culture and music—it breathes through them. Songs, films, TV shows, and the cultural noise of their eras aren’t background decoration. They’re emotional weather systems. They shape memory, mood,…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: The Back-to-Work Monday Blues
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Books, 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, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2026, Summer in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two Movies, Thomas Wikman, Writing and EditingMonday, June 8, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It’s another steamy summer day in Central Florida, which means the sun is once again auditioning for the role of tyrannical overlord. I’ve already rescued the mail from the curbside mailbox, so I can now spend the rest of the workday indoors, where the air‑conditioning—and my better…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: The Sound of Modest Good News
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, CreateSpace Independent Publishing, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftThursday, June 4, 2026, Orlando, Florida Some days in the indie-author life arrive with trumpets; others show up carrying a modest little kazoo. Yesterday leaned more into kazoo than fanfare. The free Kindle edition of Reunion: Coda promo ended at midnight, and while I can’t call it a runaway success—only six readers downloaded it on…
-
New Month, New Season, and New Workweek
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2026, Summer in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two MoviesMonday, June 1, 2026, Orlando, Florida “Green was the silence, wet was the light,the month of June trembled like a butterfly.”— Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets Another month begins, and with it, another season. June 1 marks the start of meteorological summer—the way professional weather scientists divide the year. Most folks still go by the…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: A Welcome Bit of News
A small but welcome streak this week: a paperback sale of Comings and Goings on May 26, followed today by four free Kindle downloads of Reunion: Coda. Little ripples, but they keep the momentum alive.
-
On Writing and Storytelling: Behold…the Power of Stories!
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Family History, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Bogota, Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftMonday, May 25, 2026, Orlando, Florida If you are a regular visitor to this space, you already know my favorite label: storyteller. Not influencer, not pundit, not a man with suspiciously strong opinions about semicolons—just a storyteller. I have been under the spell of stories for as long as I can remember: first as a…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: 10 Quotes About Writing (and Writers)
10 Quotes About Writing (and Writers) “Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” ― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned…
-
Excerpt from ‘Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen’: An Unexpected (and Fateful) Escape from a Bad Party
An Excerpt from Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen Boston, 1984. A party Jim Garraty never wanted to attend. A girl who didn’t look away. A night stitched together by mixtapes, quiet courage, and the ache of choosing to stay. Jim isn’t chasing romance—he’s just trying to outrun the noise. But when…
-
On Steamy Days and Sluggish Muses
—
by
in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Blogging, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Pooja (P.J.) Gudka, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two MoviesMonday, May 18, 2026 — Orlando, Florida It’s early afternoon in my corner of Central Florida, and it is, in a word, steamy. The temperature outside is 89°F (32°C) under mostly sunny skies. With humidity at 47% and an easterly breeze at 11 MPH (18 km/h), the feels-like temperature is 94°F (35°C). We’ve already hit…
-
On Writing and Storytelling: The Moving Image – ‘Sunny in the Village of Crickets’
I am, first and foremost, a writer. I tell stories mostly through literary works, such as novellas (Reunion: A Story), novels (Reunion: Coda), and novelettes (Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen). This is my main creative outlet, and even though I don’t strictly work in a vacuum with no support (I benefited…
