Tag: Life in Florida
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July 2025: Heat, Grief, and Writing-Related Stress
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Anxiety, Blogging, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Going Full Circle: Back to South Florida I Go, Hurricane Andrew, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in Miami….Again, Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2025, Summer in FloridaWednesday Afternoon, July 9, 2025 – Miami, Florida Hi, everyone. Historically, July has never been my favorite month. Aside from the nearly six years I spent living in Colombia (1966–1972) and a more recent 10-month stint in New Hampshire, July in Florida usually means oppressive heat and humidity—weather that makes retreating indoors feel more like…
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Poet’s Corner: Boston, 1984 (#2)
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Poetry, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Romantic Poetry, Writing as a CraftThe Story 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 Kelly Moore enters the room with her drink, her Rachmaninoff…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Copy Editor’s Update to ‘Comings and Goings’
📘 Comings and Goings Update: A Little Cleanup, a Lot of Heart This morning, bright and early, I gave in to my inner copy editor. That missing hard return on one page of Comings and Goings had been irritating me to no end, so I opened up the Kindle Create app with one goal: fix…
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Thunder, Memory, and the Gentle Ache of Longing
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Blogging, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Going Full Circle: Back to South Florida I Go, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer in FloridaThursday Afternoon, July 3, 2025, Miami, Florida “When thunderstorms roll in, you make a choice to either succumb with tears to the gloomy downpour, or smile and look for rainbows.” — Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts, & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year It’s a dark and stormy… day. I’m…
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The Weight of a Book, the Light of a July Afternoon
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Donating “Reunion: A Story” to the Conway Public Library, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in South Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2025, Summer in FloridaAfternoon, Wednesday, July 2, 2025 – Miami, FloridaIt’s a hot, muggy, and overcast summer afternoon here in southeastern Florida. Thankfully, while the atmosphere is heavy, the skies aren’t stormy—at least not at the moment. I did wake to the distant rumble of thunder, though. Tourists hoping for postcard-perfect sunshine might be disappointed; the Greater Miami…
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12 Months of Change: A Writer’s Reflection on Life and Publication
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), Life in Miami….Again, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Life in the United States, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, UncategorizedMidday / Early Afternoon, Tuesday, July 1, 2025 – Miami, Florida“Time is passing: not leaden steppingBut sprinting on winged feet,Quick silver slipping by.” — Richard L. Ratliff It’s difficult to grasp, here on this sweltering South Florida afternoon, that another July has arrived. A year ago, my life looked completely different—geographically, emotionally, and in terms…
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The Kiss That Lingered: A Memoir’s Echo Through Fiction
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Blogging, College Life, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Miami-Dade Community College, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Student JournalistSome stories begin long after the moment itself. This one started in a college classroom in 1985, but it didn’t find its full voice until years later—first in memoir, then through the echoed silences of fiction. What follows isn’t just about Maria, or Marty, or Kelly. It’s about the quiet resonance of memory, and how…
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The Echo of a Smile: Memory, Maria, and the Garratyverse
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Blogging, Books, College Life, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Films by Steven Spielberg, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Miami-Dade Community College, Movies, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, West Side Story (1961 Film), West Side Story (1961), West Side Story (2021)Long before Jim Garraty stood on the curb in Somerville, watching a Corolla disappear into the quiet, there was a boy sitting in a sunlit classroom, speechless at the sound of someone saying “Hi.” I wrote about Maria in Catalyst back in 1987. She was radiant, kind, and achingly real. We shared benches between buildings…
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Comings, Goings, and Waiting
Afternoon, Friday, June 27, 2025, Miami, Florida It’s a hot, humid, and gray-shrouded summer day in South Florida. Thankfully, it’s not one of those thundery “mean season” days, full of lightning bolts and peals of thunder that—according to my mom—were the sound of St. Peter scoring strikes in the Celestial Bowling Alley (and Grill). Folks…
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Running on Fumes, Fueled by Story: A Dispatch from the Garratyverse
Afternoon, Thursday, June 26, 2025 – Miami, Florida Gosh, I’m tired. Yesterday was long, busy, and—at times—frustrating, thanks to my dual role as both author and self-appointed marketing director in the aftermath of publishing Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen. My Wednesday started far earlier than I would’ve liked. I was up at…
