Tag: life
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New Hampshire Apparently Did Something to Me
New Hampshire Apparently Did Something to Me I have discovered disturbing evidence that spending ten months in New Hampshire permanently altered my physiology. I have not consulted a physician about this, mainly because physicians tend to become irritated when you make appointments for things like, “I seem to have become slightly more resistant to cool…
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Writing ‘And the Horse You Rode in On…’: ‘Take a Jacket’
Writing “And the Horse You Rode in On…”: “Take a Jacket” One of the pleasures of writing And the Horse You Rode in On… has been discovering connections I didn’t consciously put there. That happened again today. I’ve moved the story into 1977. Jim Garraty is still in sixth grade, still eleven years old, and…
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On Writing and Storytelling: So Much for the Modest Little Novella
So Much for the Modest Little Novella I have an announcement. The novella has escaped containment. When I began And the Horse You Rode in On…, I envisioned a relatively modest story about Jim Garraty and Mark Prieto during an important period of their childhood. I knew where it began. I knew roughly where it…
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On Writing and Storytelling: When a Modest Little Story Develops Ambitions
When a Modest Little Story Develops Ambitions Writers make plans. Stories, apparently, find this adorable. When I started And the Horse You Rode in On…, I had what I thought was a perfectly reasonable idea of what it would become. It would be a modest story, roughly comparable in length to Comings and Goings: The…
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On Writing and Storytelling: When Memory Supplies the Dialogue
When Memory Supplies the Dialogue One of the strange things about writing a story set fifty years ago is discovering what memory decided to keep. Not necessarily the important things. Sometimes what survives is a voice. I’ve been working on Chapter Five, “Home Turf,” of And the Horse You Rode in On…, my current Jim…
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Halfway There, and the Horses Are Getting Restless
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, And the Horse You Rode In On, Autumn 2026, Autumn in Florida, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Jim Garraty Chronicles: A Life Told in Four Movements, The Summer of Two MoviesTuesday, November 3, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone, and welcome to another exciting episode of A Writer’s Life. Today has been a better day than yesterday, at least weatherwise. It rained a little while I was sleeping last night, but even though it was cloudy and mostly gray when I got up around eight…
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Rainy Monday, New Readers, and Back to The Book
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, And the Horse You Rode In On, Autumn 2026, Autumn in Florida, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Jim Garraty Chronicles: A Life Told in Four Movements, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftMonday, November 2, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, all. It’s the first Monday in November 2026. Outside, it is a cool, damp, cloud-shrouded day that’s meant for staying indoors (except, perhaps, to check the mailbox), eating a hot lunch, and, in my case, getting ready to work on The Book. Right now, the temperature is…
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Changing Cards, Changing Chapters
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in Autumn 2026, Autumn in Florida, Blogging, Family History, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), 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, Miami-Dade Community College, Personal History, Personal Thoughts, Personal Thoughts, Semester in Spain Program, Semester in Spain Program – CCISChanging Cards, Changing Chapters Yesterday, I did something that should have been utterly mundane. I took my New Hampshire state ID out of my wallet and replaced it with my new Florida one. That’s it. One little plastic card came out; another little plastic card went in. And yet, for a moment, it felt weird.…
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On Writing and Storytelling: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Revising Process
Tuesday, October 27, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. Well, yesterday was one of those working days that starts off on the wrong foot, as in, “Oh, crap, I’m ‘blocked.’ I can’t think of a good way to start this new scene!” Yet somehow, it ended on a note of accomplishment because I surprised myself…
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A Friendly Reminder
Sunday, October 25, 2026 – Orlando, Hi, everyone. I just want to remind you that I’m not merely a Florida man with a blog. Actually, I have two blogs, since my original A Certain Point of View site on Blogger is still out there. I’m also a working independent author with actual books to sell.…
