Sunny in the Village of the Crickets
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A Public Service Announcement: I Am, Regardless of Naysayers, a Writer, or: Opinions Don't Equal Facts
I don't know why, but apparently, there are some folks who need to be reminded that "opinions" stated as "facts" are not really facts. I don't care if a person firmly believes something as ridiculous as "you're not a real writer because you don't have a publisher behind you" or any such nonsense. This is my official position on the topic: My New Resolution: I will no longer listen to anyone who says, “You’re not a real writer.” I write every day. That makes me a writer. I studied journalism at both South Miami High and Miami-Dade College. Even won an award for my work on the college student newspaper during my freshman year. That, too, makes me a writer. I’ve written for clients, and I have also been paid by websites for my writing. That makes me a professional writer. I have two self-published books available for sale on Amazon and Barnes & Noble (online store only, though!). A third book is in the works. That makes me a writer,...
On Writing & Storytelling: A Quick Update on the Revised Edition of 'Reunion: A Story'
© 2018, 2023 Alex Diaz-Granados via Kindle Create/ADG Books I just wanted to let my readers know that the latest edition of Reunion: A Story is now available on Amazon and the online version of Barnes & Noble. I have been uploading corrections to Kindle Direct Publishing off and on since March, cos whenever I see a typo or misspelled word, I must correct it, even if no one else notices. I last sent a batch of minor edits earlier this week, but even though I was told by KDP that the updated version had gone "live" on Monday morning (at least, for the Kindle edition), it takes up to three days (sometimes longer) for the changes to make their way through the KDP pipeline and be incorporated into existing books. The view from the Kindle Create app. I don't (fingers crossed) expect to make any further corrections, so this edition of Reunion: A Story is the definitive version of the first part of the Reunion Duology. A caveat: Of course, Kindle readers get free upd...
Songs & Singers: 'All the Things You Are' - So Many Artists! So Many Covers!
One of my favorite songs of all time is "All the Things You Are" by composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Written in 1939 for the musical "Very Warm for May," it quickly became a popular standard of the Big Band era. Many singers, instrumentalists, and orchestras of the period did covers; Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Artie Shaw, Helen Forrest, Charlie Parker, Judy Garland, and Glenn Miller surely did back in the days of World War II and shortly after. Like other classics from the 1930s and 1940s - think "Moonlight Serenade" or "The Nearness of You" - "All the Things You Are" continues to captivate both singers and listeners, as new generations discover the charms of Kern's romantic melody and Hammerstein's poetic lyrics. The array of singers who have covered "All the Things You Are" is dizzying; it includes Ella Fitzgerald, Rebecca Luker, Renee Fleming, Johnny Mathis, Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanian...