Tag: Garratyverse
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On Writing and Storytelling: Writing Intimacy as Emotional Truth
🛗 Between Floors and Feelings: Writing Intimacy as Emotional Truth In Reunion: Coda, there’s a moment suspended in time—an elevator ride, a kiss, and a song that shouldn’t belong. It’s not a grand gesture or a climactic reveal. It’s quiet. Intentional. Sacred. “The elevator is unusually empty as we step inside. The Musak version of…
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Garratyverse Motif Map: Memory, Music, and Emotional Echo
Introduction to My Motif Map Understanding the Threads That Weave My Stories When I begin to dive into a story, I often find myself tracing patterns—recurring symbols, images, or themes—that act as connective tissue running through the narrative. I call this intricate web a “motif map.” For me, a motif map is more than just…
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A Breath Between Heartbeats, Now Protected
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Copyright, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, U.S. Copyright OfficeLate Morning, Friday, August 15, 2025 – Miami, Florida Well, folks, it’s official: Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen is now under copyright protection. As I may have mentioned earlier this summer, I registered my short story—a “breath between heartbeats” set between Reunion: A Story and Reunion: Coda—with the United States Copyright…
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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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Somewhere Between Memory and Music
🎓📚 Reunion: Coda is not a romance novel. It’s a novel with romance. And music. And trauma. And a British-accented heartbreaker named Marty who sings Schubert like your soul depends on it. If you’re the kind of reader who thinks “romance novel” means shirtless Fabio and windblown heroines, let me gently redirect you. This is…
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Behind the Names: Origins of the Garratyverse Cast
✨ Introduction: Where Memory Meets Myth The Garratyverse didn’t arrive fully formed—it grew, name by name, from the soil of memory, friendship, and imagination. Some characters were born from childhood crushes or fleeting encounters. Others carry the names of mentors, friends, or people I once knew in passing but never forgot. And a few are…
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On Writing and Storytelling: ‘Comings and Goings’ Gets a New Review on Amazon UK!
Across the Pond: Comings and Goings Receives Its First International Review Some mornings begin quietly—but this week, one brought a small, extraordinary ripple. Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen just received its first international review, courtesy of Amazon UK. Meg Learner, a thoughtful reader and longtime fan of Jim Garraty’s journey, offered…
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🎓 Unraveling Jim Garraty: Memory, Love, and the Courage to Return
🎓 Unraveling Jim Garraty: Memory, Love, and the Courage to Return There’s something quietly powerful about stories that revisit the past not for nostalgia’s sake, but for reconciliation. Reunion: Coda is one of those stories. At the heart is Jim Garraty, a history professor whose life is shaped by silence as much as speech. Split…
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On Being Understood: Reflections on the Response to ‘Comings and Goings’
It’s been just over a month since Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen was released into the world, gently and without fanfare. I didn’t expect a wave of attention—not for a story that doesn’t chase drama, but rather leans into stillness, nuance, and the kind of empathy that often goes unnoticed. Jim…