Tag: Reading
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Florida Heat, DST Fog, and the Best‑Laid Plans
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Blogging, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Spring in Florida, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesMonday, March 9, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. My internal clock is still wobbling after yesterday’s switch to Daylight Saving Time, so I’m running behind my usual blog‑writing rhythm. I’m groggy, sluggish, and more than a little irritated—not just because I forgot about the time change, but because today is one of those hot, sticky…
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On Ethical Reviewing: Honesty is the Best (and Only) Policy
My Reviewing Philosophy: Loving Something Enough to Tell the Truth About It I’ve been a Star Trek fan for most of my life. I grew up with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. I admire William Shatner—yes, genuinely—and I wanted nothing more than to love Star Trek V: The Final Frontier when it premiered in 1989. I…
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Spring’s First Breath and a Slow Sunday
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Blogging, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Computer and Video Games, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, MicroProse Software, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age, Spring in Florida, Triassic Games, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftSunday, March 1, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hello, friends! Today marks the first day of meteorological spring—though astronomical spring won’t officially arrive until the vernal equinox at 10:46 AM on March 20. Still, I’m more than ready to bid farewell to the winter of 2025–2026. And in true Central Florida fashion, spring is easing in with…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Choosing Craft Over Coddling
Friday, February 27, 2026, Orlando, Florida Above all else, I consider myself a storyteller. To be specific, I’m a writer with deep roots in journalism and media criticism, and I’ve dabbled in poetry, screenwriting, and literary fiction. My journey down this winding path began way back in the early 1970s—picture a kid at Tropical Elementary…
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The Sunshine State of Mind (and Sales Reports)
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audible Reviews, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Royalties, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Winter in FloridaThursday, February 26, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, there! It’s a cool but gradually warming day in Central Florida. As I write this, it’s 71°F (22°C) under mostly sunny skies. Still a touch cooler than my comfort zone—my climatic sweet spot is 75°F (24°C) or a bit higher—but far better than yesterday’s mid‑30s wake‑up call. I’ve…
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Sunshine, Sweaters, and a Step Closer to Audible
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in the United States, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, Winter in FloridaTuesday, February 24, 2026, Orlando, Florida It’s a brisk late‑winter Tuesday in Central Florida—though “brisk” here would barely register as a shiver to anyone north of the Mason-Dixon line. As I sit down to write, it’s just past midday, the sun is working overtime, and the thermometer reads a perfectly respectable 52°F (11°C). Not exactly…
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In Which Florida Chills and Kindle Create Misbehaves (Again)
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Family History, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Bogota, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Winter in Florida, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftMonday, February 23, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It’s a crisp late‑winter morning here in my corner of Orange County. The skies are clear, the sun is bright, and the thermometer is holding steady at 50°F (10°C). For us Floridians, that’s jacket weather; for anyone in New Hampshire, it’s practically spring. In Madison—where I spent…
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On Writing and Storytelling: All Too Quiet on the ACX Front
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftFriday, February 20, 2026, Orlando, Florida Another Friday in Central Florida, another workweek wrapped up. This one has been frustrating on several fronts. My producer for the Reunion: Coda audiobook, Stefan Lee, finished recording on Tuesday, February 10. I submitted the project to ACX the following morning, which kicked off their four‑step quality assurance process—a…
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Metadata, Subheadings, and Other Monday Mischief
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Blogging, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Winter in FloridaMonday, February 16, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi there. It’s late morning here in my corner of Orange County, and from my bedroom window it looks like one of those chilly—by Florida standards, anyway— late‑winter days. My Weather app says it’s 66°F (19°C) under cloudy skies, with a feels‑like temperature of 68°F (20°C). Not exactly beach…
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Almost There, Almost Audible
Saturday, February 14, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi there! Not much news today. Amazon’s ACX doesn’t conduct quality‑assurance reviews on weekends, so the Audible edition of Reunion: Coda is in a bit of a holding pattern. So far, the only milestone logged is that the cover — the one I designed on Canva Pro last fall…
A Certain Point of View, Too 