Tag: Writing as a Craft
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Sunday Drizzle, Story Edits
Sunday, March 29, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It’s a warm, gray‑shrouded early spring Sunday here in my corner of Orange County on this last weekend of March 2026. The kind of day that feels like it’s holding its breath — not quite bright, not quite gloomy, just wrapped in a soft, humid hush.…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Elementary School That REALLY Wasn’t
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in Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Books, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in South Florida, Reunion Duology, Reunion: Coda, South Miami High School in fiction, South Miami Senior High School, Writing a First Novel, Writing and EditingThe Elementary School That REALLY Wasn’t (A Funnier Follow‑Up) So, remember how I said I fixed the Kinloch Park reference in Reunion: Coda, and everything was good and tidy and ready for KDP? Yeah. About that. It turns out Jim and Mark’s elementary school wasn’t just mentioned once in the Prologue. Or twice. Or even…
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On Slow Weeks and Stubborn Callings
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audible Reviews, Audiobooks, Blogging, Book Reviews, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, 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, Praise Circles, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Royalties, Spring in Florida, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesA brief dispatch from the post‑DST haze Thursday, March 12, 2026 — Orlando, Florida It’s midafternoon on a muggy, rain‑soaked March day in Central Florida. The temperature is hovering around 85°F (29°C) under a curtain of heavy rain, and thanks to our subtropical climate—now supercharged by global warming—it feels more like early summer than spring.…
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Bridging Two Stories: An Excerpt from ‘Reunion: Coda’
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Stefan (Steve) Lee, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a Craft✨ Introductory Note for the Excerpt When I first wrote Reunion: A Story back in 1998, I believed it was complete—a self‑contained tale about a man haunted by a moment he never fully understood. I didn’t know then that I would return to Jim Garraty’s world decades later, or that the emotional fault lines of…
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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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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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Cloudy Sunday, Light Workload, Hope for Tomorrow
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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, Computer and Video Games, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), MicroProse Software, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Winter in Florida, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftSunday, February 22, 2026 — Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It is a grey, brooding late‑winter day in Central Florida. It’s almost noon, and as I write this, the temperature is 74°F (24°C) under cloudy skies. We’ve already had scattered light showers, and more are expected to pop up throughout the afternoon on this last Sunday…
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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…
A Certain Point of View, Too 