Tag: Fiction
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Comfort of Lasagna, the Weight of Goodbye
By the time I began writing Reunion: Coda in the spring of 2023, I was facing an uncomfortable truth: this was my third attempt to write a novel since 2015 and my fourth attempt overall. Each previous project had stalled out somewhere between ambition and exhaustion. I knew I couldn’t afford to abandon another one.…
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The Last Afterschool Walk Home – June 15, 1983 (An Excerpt from ‘Reunion: Coda)
This vignette is the third movement in the four‑part Prologue of Reunion: Coda. The Prologue begins with Jim’s wry rejection of clichés, then shifts into his candid admission of why he never pursued Marty in high school. This passage picks up only minutes after the final 1983 scene of Reunion: A Story, following Jim and…
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“The Morning I Became Someone Else” — A Poem from Jim Garraty’s POV
Every so often, while revisiting Reunion: A Story and Reunion: Coda, I find myself returning to the emotional fault lines that shaped Jim Garraty long before he ever set foot in Cambridge or New York. Graduation Day 1983 is one of those fault lines — the day when childhood ended, adulthood began, and the girl…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Small Victories Are Better Than None
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Book Reviews, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Computers, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Lenovo IdeaCentre (PC), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, Writing as a CraftWednesday, April 29, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. Central Florida is doing its best impression of late July today. As midday slides into early afternoon, we’re sitting at 86°F (30°C) under mostly sunny skies, humidity at a deceptively polite 46%, and a shy little southwesterly breeze at 3 MPH (4 km/h). The heat index, however,…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Under Partly Sunny Skies, I Keep Going
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Blogging, Book Reviews, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Depression, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Life in the United States, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Scrivener 3 for Windows, Semiquincentennial, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, WriteItNow 5/6, Writing and Editing SoftwareTuesday, April 28, 2026, Orlando, Florida It’s a hot, muggy mid‑spring afternoon here in my corner of Orange County on this second day of my workweek. As I write, the temperature sits at 82°F (28°C) under partly sunny skies. With humidity at a sticky 60% and an east‑southeast breeze of 4 MPH (6 Km/H), the…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Trekking from WriteItNow 5 to Scrivener 3
Monday, April 27, 2026, Orlando, Florida Writer’s Log; Stardate 2604.27 It’s been several days since I boldly traded my trusty WriteItNow 5 for Scrivener 3 — a leap that felt equal parts daring mission and necessary upgrade. So far, the switch feels like a win. Not only am I dodging those $100‑a‑year Hemingway Editor subscriptions,…
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WriteItNow Is Gone — And What I Chose Instead
There’s a particular kind of heartbreak only writers understand: the moment you go looking for the tool that shaped years of your creative life… and discover it’s simply gone. That’s what happened to me with WriteItNow. For those who never used it, WriteItNow was a quirky, affordable, surprisingly powerful piece of writing software — part…
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On Writing and Storytelling: An Unexpected (But Minor) Setback
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Computers, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Reunion: Coda, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftThursday, April 23, 2026, Orlando, Florida It’s a warm, sunny, and unmistakably humid spring afternoon here in Central Florida. As I write this, the temperature sits at 80°F (26°C) under partly sunny skies. With humidity hovering at 48% and an east‑southeast breeze of 9 MPH (15 Km/H), the air feels closer to 85°F (29°C). We’ve…
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The Garratyverse: Official Guide to the Books by Alex Diaz‑Granados
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) LeeThe Garratyverse is a literary universe created by Alex Diaz‑Granados, centered on the life of Jim Garraty and the quiet, formative moments that shape who he becomes. Told through interconnected stories that blend memory, nostalgia, emotional intimacy, and the quiet heroism of everyday people, the Garratyverse explores how small encounters and long‑carried regrets echo across…
