Tag: Jim Garraty
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The Night Jim Garraty Kept Someone Up Reading
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesWhen a Reader Reminds You Why You Write Every so often, something happens that cuts through the noise — the sales dashboards, the algorithms, the endless comparisons to writers with marketing budgets the size of small nations — and brings you back to the heart of why you sit down to tell stories in the…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Why Jim Garraty Isn’t ‘Self-Insertion’ or a Gary Stu
Why Jim Garraty Works: On Writing a Flawed, Decent, and Believably Human Protagonist Every writer eventually faces the same quiet accusation — sometimes whispered, sometimes shouted: “Is this character just you in disguise?” And if the protagonist happens to be male, introspective, and emotionally literate, the dreaded label lurks in the shadows: Gary Stu. When…
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A Holiday Shopper’s Guide to…’Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen’
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: CodaBut I kept that night. I kept the way she looked at me afterward, the way her thumb traced circles on mine, the way she said, “You were here. That’s what matters.” ― Alex Diaz-Granados, Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen : A Jim Garraty Story With Christmas 2025 less than a…
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The Quill and the Lyre: Music and ‘Comings and Goings’
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Music, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Billy Joel, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Ludwig van Beethoven, Music, Music & Concert Specials, Pathetique Piano Sonata (Adagio cantabile), Reunion DuologyEvery story has its soundtrack. For Comings and Goings, the most overtly relevant piece isn’t tucked away in a concert hall—it’s right there in Billy Joel’s “This Night”, spinning from Kelly’s stereo in Mission Hill. Yet, at the heart of this pop ballad lies Beethoven’s Adagio cantabile, whose timeless melody Joel borrowed and reimagined, creating…
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Adventures in Audiobook Production: The First Listener Response!
🎧 Listener Spotlight: Peggy Jensen Cai I’m thrilled to share some early feedback on the Comings and Goings audiobook. Peggy Jensen Cai wrote: “I just finished listening to it and it was wonderful… I will write a review later today.” Peggy’s words mean a lot — not just because they affirm the narration and production,…
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Adventures in Audiobook Production: Gratitude, Garraty, and Growing Momentum
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, Books, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Uncategorized🎧 Comings and Goings — Our Audiobook Journey Continues On November 15, I shared some wonderful news with Bryan Haddock, the narrator and producer of Comings and Goings: our audiobook adaptation officially went live on Audible the day before. The road to publication wasn’t without a hiccup. My original cover design included borders—a detail that…
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Adventures in Audiobook Production: Celebrating the First Garratyverse Audiobook…and the Fine Art of Creative Collaboration
🎧 Comings and Goings Is Now on Audible! Well, we did it! Yesterday afternoon, our audiobook adaptation of Comings and Goings officially went live on Audible. The release was briefly delayed because my original cover design didn’t meet ACX’s requirements—borders, I discovered, are a big no‑no—but once I corrected that, the project cleared review. The…
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Adventures in Audiobook Production: ‘Comings and Goings’—Now in My Ears
🎧 Comings and Goings—Now in My Ears Last night, for the first time, I listened to Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen in its entirety. Not in fragments. Not in editing mode. Just… as a listener. It felt surreal. These were words I typed in Word, often late at night, chasing memory…
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🛠️ One Step from Release: Comings and Goings Clears Audio Review
Friday, November 14, 2025, Orlando, Florida I’m pleased to share that the audiobook edition of Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen has officially passed the Audio Files review on Amazon’s Audiobook Creators Exchange (ACX). This marks the third of four pre-release phases that every audiobook must complete before it’s released on Audible…
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Adventures in Audiobook Production: Waiting, Wondering, and Hoping for ACX Approval
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesThursday, November 6, 2025 – Orlando, Florida “We never live; we are always in the expectation of living.” —Voltaire Today marks the first full day since I approved Brandon Padilla’s audiobook adaptation of my novella Reunion: A Story on ACX, Amazon’s platform for independent audiobook production. The project—47 minutes of audio paired with a cover…
A Certain Point of View, Too 