Tag: Writing a First Novel
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Reunion: Coda Progress Update: Great News on the Cover Front!
Dear readers, I’m excited to share some positive progress on the journey to bring Reunion: Coda to life in print form! After tackling a few technical challenges with DPI (dots per inch) and resolution, I’ve finally found a cover image that not only works perfectly for the paperback edition but might also be a great…
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Behind the Scenes of Publishing My Debut Novel
Late Afternoon, Thursday, April 10, 2025, Miami, Florida It’s a gray, gloomy, and somewhat sticky South Florida afternoon. Outside, the skies are shrouded in a blanket of gray-white clouds. For a while, it seemed like there would be light rain showers, but they never came—at least not to Coral Terrace. My room feels as dark…
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Reunion: Coda—Reflections on a Writer’s Milestone
Late Morning/Midday, Thursday, April 10, 2025, Miami, Florida Writer’s Log, Stardate 2504.10 Twenty-five months ago, I began drafting Reunion: Coda, fulfilling a solemn promise I made to my mom as a teenager: that someday, I’d write a novel. With its roots in Reunion: A Story, my existing novella, this new work set out to expand…
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Reunion: Coda (Print Edition) Update—A Tale of DPI Drama, ISBN Shenanigans, and Sleepless Nights
Ah, self-publishing—the glorious path where passion meets the occasional pothole. While Reunion: Coda’s Kindle edition has been available since April 5, print aficionados (and me!) must exercise the fine art of patience for just a few more days. Why? Because the journey to put ink on paper isn’t exactly a jaunt through a field of…
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Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…with My First Novel’s Afterword
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in the Tampa Bay area, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: Coda, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftOn Wednesday, April 2, 2025, I finished writing the main body of Reunion: Coda, the second book of my Reunion Duology and, more importantly, my first novel. Yesterday, I added the first two sections of the book’s “back matter”: the Afterword and the Acknowledgments page. I still need to complete three additional sections for the…
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Writer’s Shop Talk: The Morning After…on Finishing ‘Reunion: Coda’
Late Morning, Thursday, April 3, 2025, Miami, Florida “Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy,…
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Writer’s Shop Talk: Ending My ‘First-Time Novelist’ Journey with One Last Scene for ‘Reunion: Coda’
Midday, Tuesday, April 2, 2025, Miami, Florida “Finish the book. The world is full of first chapters.” – Julia Quinn Upon returning from my usual midday break, I will sit down in front of my computer, stare at the blank page on my Word app, and type the opening line to Scene Four in Reunion:…
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Completing My First Novel: A Journey of Passion
Midday/Early Afternoon, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, Miami, Florida “Write what you love, and love what you write. You are your first audience, and if you don’t love it, why should anyone else?” – Caroline Linden I’m almost finished. It’s been 754 days since I embarked on writing Reunion: Coda. Not on a mere whim, but…
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Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…About Finally Becoming a Three-Percenter
Late Morning, Monday, March 31, 2025, Miami, Florida “According to The Synergy Whisperer, ninety-seven percent of people who start to write a book NEVER finish it. In simpler terms, out of every 1,000 people who start a book, only thirty actually complete it.” – Zoe Wynns, Six Reasons Why Authors Don’t Finish Their Book and…
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A Writer’s Sunday Musings
Late Morning/Midday, Sunday, March 30, 2025, Miami, Florida “Write the book you want to read but can’t find.” – Ilona Andrews With the first scene of Reunion: Coda’s Chapter 30 written and included in the main manuscript, and the final scene safely tucked away in a separate document, I estimate that if all goes well,…
A Certain Point of View, Too 