Saturday, March 18, 2017

Interview With Author Timothy Andrew Natale


Reflections from the Man in the Mirror



1.       What really inspired you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea or experience and conveying it into a book?
Response: Well, tha’ts actually a pretty funny story.  During my time in the military I was just two or three years older than some of my close friends, so I found that I was able to give them some advice about some struggles they may be having based on experiences I had had myself not too far in the past.  I had went through some very tough times growing up and it wasn't until I joined the military that I truly found my calling and my sense of responsibility.  As I found myself giving advice, I noticed that the advice I gave stemmed off of advice someone had given me sometime in my life.  Whether it was my father, brother, mom, friend, aunt, uncle, etc…I realized that unfortunately not everyone may be as blessed as I was to be raised with the a close family like I had, or the type of support I had.  As I deployed to multiple countries, I began writing letters essentially, to those people who helped me, and had given me that advice years prior.  I had the intention of sending them as I returned home to base, but I never imagined I would make a book out of it.  When I injured my spine, I wasn't able to move very well in the morning and I began to wake up and just lay in bed in frustration.  As the days went on I realized this wasn't what God has planned for me to just sit there in frustration so I began to just write.  Sometimes letters, sometimes they were stories from when I was home simply to put a smile on my face.  Some mornings I would wake up at four in the morning and write for hours.  One day a good friend of mine told me as I shared some of my writing with him that I should write a book, and I laughed.  He was absolutely serious, despite my hesitancy and from that moment on I had made up my mind that I would compile everything I had written overseas into a book, regardless of how long it may take me.  When I was recovering from both of my surgeries I had plenty of time to write, and write I did which I loved every minute of.

2.      What is it about and whom do you believe is your target reader?
Response:  The book is built around this concept my father taught me when I was young.  That I was to look myself in the mirror at night and hold myself accountable for that day.  I was to ask myself questions like if I challenged myself to be the best I could be, if I challenged those around me to rise to a higher level, if I lived to make a difference, if I showed others they could rely on me.  For years, each night when I looked in the mirror and asked these questions I hated myself for the answers I gave day after day…year after year.  The book talks about how eventually I started to notice that I was looking in the mirror the wrong way.  Eventually I noticed that there were so many people in my life who hadn't given up on me, even when I had given up on myself.  Each chapter is written in a way that tells a story about a specific person who has helped me develop a man in the mirror I can be proud of.  Just like a young child may play sports just like their favorite player, I believe in life we mold the way we live after those we look up to.  As I started to look in the mirror I began to see all these people who I was molding my life after because of what they had taught me and the experiences we shared. It’s hard for me to say exactly who the target reader may be because I have had some incredible feedback from a wide age range, but I believe if I had to chose, I would say growing children and young adults whom might be in a pivotal point in their growth journey.  As most of us have realized at some point in our life, life is much easier when you surround yourself with good people.  My book talks about some of the incredible people I have been blessed to meet in my life both before and throughout the military and how they have helped me become the man I am today.

3.      What do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book?  What should remain with them long after putting it down?
Response:  I sincerely hope that my readers will be able to relate to the book, and hopefully realize those around them in their lives that are there for them as well.  Life is the ultimate team sport, you simply can’t go through it alone.  I hope that as the readers finish the book, they spend those few minutes every night looking in that mirror and holding themselves accountable for that day and how they lived their lives.

4.      What advice or words or wisdom do you have for fellow writers?
Response: I think is critical that you stay true to what is genuine.  We live in a world where people want nothing more than to please other people.  I don't claim to be an experienced writer by any stretch, but I do believe what makes a great writer is purity and what comes natural.  Write about what it is that sets your soul on fire.  When you sit down to write, do exactly that.  When I wrote this book.  I wrote the entire book before I went back and edited any of it myself.  I wanted to make sure I was focused on actually writing on not making it formatted for what I thought would be accepted by our outside world.  I wanted it to be pure, and I wanted it to be from my heart and that is the advice I would give to my fellow writers.



5.      What trends in the book world do you see and where do you think the publishing industry is heading?
Response:  I’ve noticed that there seems to be a lot more resources out there for new authors.  Up until I wrote this book, I barely read books either.  I was very intimidated by a market that I wasn't sure where to jump in.  Since finishing my book, I've noticed there are a lot of self -publishing companies willing to give you the first step towards jump starting your writing career, as well as resources available to helping you achieve your specific writing goals, whatever they may be.  When it comes to the publishing industry, I'm not quite sure.  Like I have mentioned, there seems to be a significant increase in the market for self-publishing companies and I attribute that to the difficulty writers have getting big name publishing houses to take a look at their books.  Self-publishing is a good tool for new authors to help them take a step in the right direction and get their book in the hands of readers!


6.      If people can only buy one book this month, why should it be yours?
Response:  Well, I think what makes my book different is that its not meant to tell you what to do with your life.  I’m 24 years old, I don't have all the answers…far from it actually.  My book exists for the sole purpose to help people understand what did and didn't work for me.  The lessons I talk about in the book, are simply lessons that I apply to my life.  I have been blessed to meet some incredible people in my life and through my book it gives the reader a chance to get to know them as well.  My book is meant to inspire.  My hope is, that if you can only buy one book this month and you chose mine, when your done with it you will want to go out and make the world a better place.

Note From The Author: My name is Tim Natale and I am from Cleveland Ohio.  I can honestly say that I never would have guessed in a million years I would be an author, but here I am.  There is one theme that I found myself face to face with time and time again in my life which is that life simply doesn't go according to plan.  Growing up I came from a very wealthy family.  My parents were together still at that point, and I have two brothers.  My book talks about some of the struggles my family faced as I grew up with my older brother Nick who suffers from severe mental handicaps.  I was very lazy and I made every excuse in the world why my life wasn't going the way I wanted.  Every excuse why I was failing out of school, why I was an average athlete, an average brother, friend, and son.  I was average at just about everything but two things; coaching football with my father, and being a soldier.  When I was 20 years old I joined the Army, as my book describes, with the intention of changing the course of my life and pouring my heart and soul into it every day I woke up and put that uniform on.  I loved every second of it and I met some incredible people along the way.  I spent three and a half years in the army, across twelve countries before I injured my spine on a NATO support mission in Slovakia and was medically discharged.  As I mentioned life doesn't always go according to plan, but after two surgeries I am up and walking and I wrote my first book.  I love where I am and who I am with, and I would have it any other way. For more info, please see: www.timothynataleauthor.com

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs 

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