Interview With Children's Book Author Kathleen Jeffrey

 

1.      What is your children’s book, Katie’s Really Bad Day, about? Katie is a cheerful 2^nd grade girl who sometimes gets anxious, especially before taking tests. Her teacher, Miss Julie, does not know this until one day, Katie panics as she is about to take a spelling test, scribbles on her desk and just can’t do the test at all. Miss Julie gently handles the situation and learns more about why Katie worries before taking tests. They work together on calming techniques and eventually the whole class gets involved belly breathing with Katie before a test. It’s a cheerful story overall about a very relatable issue. Katie’s classmates are kind and sympathetic. Everyone benefits from realizing they are not the only ones who worry!  

 

2. You were an anxious kid in school. How did you deal with it back then? I had very supportive parents. My Mom was an elementary teacher and understood anxiety personally. We would talk through the worries as they arose. Overall, I liked learning, was capable and socially adept, but there was an underlying school anxiety. While researching this book and writing a bio, I traced it back to separation anxiety that started in the early days of kindergarten.  Like Katie, I had a very bad second grade day, so my mom brought me into school the next day. She had a chat with my teacher who then realized how upset and sensitive I was, mostly I think because my cheerful personality hid my anxiety. The problem was resolved for that year, however eventually I developed test anxiety. Also, back then we did not have calming centers like today and anxiety was not an open topic.

 

3. What can children do today to combat test anxiety? Practicing basic test taking strategies and studying skills they are taught in the classroom. Parents can reinforce this at home. Kids can also do practice tests at home. Mindful breathing techniques before or during a test. Tell the teacher and caregiver if they are anxious about a test coming up and ask for help. Teachers have many resources for anxious kids including calming activities available in the classroom for all students as the need arises. 

 

4. Do children try hard to cover up their test anxiety? Yes, not only are they feeling fearful, but it’s also embarrassing, and the child feels inadequate even though they’ve learned the material. Many kids study hard but worry they won’t remember the answers. The familiar panic sets in, they may freeze or go blank, then underachieve on the test because of it. I remember the feeling well. Studies have shown that test anxiety affects reading comprehension affecting test scores. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5487000/

5. What impact might Covid, and learning deficits and social awkwardness, have on Generation Alpha and Gen Z? The time spent zooming from home vs. face-to-face classroom time, plus masking in the classroom, during formative years of socialization would affect social cues contributing further to social awkwardness.  Also, special services provided in the classroom for learning deficits would be affected as well.  On top of this, kids are exposed to smartphones at an early age which also hinders face to face socialization and social skills. Teachers tell me anxiety in school since covid is at an all-time high.

6. Throughout your book, there’s a message that appears multiple times. It says: “Be kind. Work hard. Know that you are loved.” What does that mean to you? Being kind is a basic human behavior critical to our health and wellbeing.  We all need to give and receive kindness, and children must learn to practice this especially when another child is upset or had an embarrassing moment like Katie. Working hard is energizing and encourages an enthusiasm for learning and challenges. It’s also a necessity for living life well, supporting fruitful, sustainable work and contributing to society.  Children need to know they are loved, which sends the message that this means in school too! Some children may not feel loved outside of school so it’s a message that the classroom is a safe loving place.

 

7. You offer free “breathing boards” for download on your site, www.kathleenjeffreyauthor.com.  What do these do? Breathing boards are an easy exercise that feels like a fun game and has a calming effect.  The child traces a figure eight, triangle or other shapes with their finger following the arrows, breathing in and out. It’s another way to encourage mindful breathing that is also visual, sensory and tactile.

8.  Is your book teaching a great lesson now? Yes. Kids must be encouraged to speak up to let their teachers and caregivers know they are struggling. Also, they need to understand they are not alone, that many kids worry before tests and there are calming tools to help.  It also brings more awareness to test anxiety that can start between 2^nd and 4^th grade. It may carry through into college and beyond if not addressed.  Early intervention is the key in any school related anxiety as that can lead to test anxiety eventually.

 

9. What do you say to critics of our young generation, where they say that kids are too soft and coddled, how they only know video games, social media, their phones, and Netflix? Between the helicopter parenting of my generation that started with our millennial children, smart phones and all the alluring addictive technology and algorithms, adults, children and society overall need a better balance. Jonathan Haidt, the author of the new bestseller, ‘The Anxious Generation,’ ‘How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,’ shows an alarming increase in mental health issues among teens, from the time smart phones were introduced in 2010.  Full access to the internet through smart phones has created a virtual “phone-based childhood” vs. the unstructured “play-based childhood” of my generation and before. This book is informative, and the author’s research compelling. I think every parent should read it.

 

 For more information, please see: www.KathleenJeffreyAuthor.com

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” 

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog

Do You Practice Loss-Leader Book Marketing Techniques?

 

Big box stores like Costco do it. Discount retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Amazon do it all of the time. So do supermarkets. They take one or more products and sell them

at their cost or even at a loss. They just need to get customers to walk into the door — and then they will spend more money on other items. 

All stores and websites do door-busting sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  

There is no reason you can’t take the same approach to the marketing of your book.  

You certainly can:

* Make introductory offers for a specific book of yours with a special discount that gets people to your site, where they can then pay for other books that you are selling

* Pay for book reviews, hoping they generate sales

* Use ads to lure people to your site by promising a giveaway of something others perceive to have value

* Provide free content to capture names of those who sign up for it

* Price one book in a series low to hook readers into the whole series

* Donate a certain percentage of the book’s proceeds to a feel-good non-profit or an organization with a good cause, endearing goodwill from potential consumers

* Give free speeches in the hopes it generates book sales or visitors to your site.

* Give books away to drum up word-of-mouth buzz

* Donate books to places that will visually display your book

* Bundle other books, services, events, or products with your book  

* Do favors now for cashing-in later 

Be opportunistic and sacrifice something, even profits, to help brand yourself as a writer and to position yourself to get more book sales.  

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2024.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog

Interview With Authors Uncle Jerry and Liz Fahey

 

 

 

 

1. What inspired you to write this book?

My inspiration came from my father. He loved spinning interactive stories that kept us laughing, engaged, and on the edge of our seats. His favorite tales were about the NOLO—an 80-foot-tall, three-legged, furry giant who rescued lost kids. He brought these stories to life by encouraging us to shout, “NOLO!” or mimic the “THUMP… Thump, Thump!” of its steps. It was truly magical.

 

My father penned the first draft of this book before he passed.  Because the NOLO is from his imagination, it was critical to me that this story start the series.  The next book, Flood in the Desert (August ‘25), is penned wholly by me. 

 

Transforming his draft into a published book was a labor of love. I dug into the NOLO history, finished the draft, took publishing steps, and worked side-by-side with an illustrator for ~5 months to create the creatures, 35+ illustrations, and cover.  

 

2. What exactly is it about — and who is it written for?

Danger in the Hills is an adventure story about a group of young campers who are lost deep in the woods. As they struggle to find safety, the kids show bravery, lean on friendships, and use resourcefulness.  At their lowest, they remember a story from their Uncle Jerry about an 80-foot, 40-ton creature called the NOLO. In desperation, they call for help. Jake, the local NOLO, answers—but they’re unsure if he’s a friend or foe! 

 

The NOLO series is perfect as a bedtime story and as a transitional read for kids ages 5-10, bridging the gap from picture books to chapter books.

 

 3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book?

Oh man, I really hope childrens’ imaginations fire after reading this.  I used to tell NOLO stories to my kids before bedtime, and it always resulted in them telling one back to me.  I think there is something magical about a creature that’s so clearly not possible, 80 feet? 3 legs? 40 tons? Crazy.  To help this along, I added in pictures of the NOLO species and it seems to be working as I already have kids begging for new books about their favorites!  

 

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design?

The book title stays true to my dad’s original title.   For the cover and the 35+ illustrations inside the book, I worked closely with an artist for ~5 months. First concepting the NOLO, exploring how they move, act, and live.  Then focusing to really enhance what kids were reading with the images.  I want kids to just go crazy with ideas and I hoped the pictures would help. For the cover specifically, it was important to convey how huge the NOLO truly are.   I wanted to make the colors pop off the page for “shelf appeal.”  Last, we devised NOLO specific iconography in the title, to show off the playfulness.

 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?

Just write.  I have so many friends who want to write, but get stuck on the details before they even start, and then don’t actually create anything.  If you can get the first draft down, even if it’s really not good, then you have something to bounce off.  It’s always easier to react to something then start at zero.  

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?

It would be remiss not to mention AI. AI books are flooding the market, whether through adorable but similar cover art or numerous books that feel a bit too familiar.

 

Soon, AI in the market will find its balance. This early “spam” will transition into an enhancement for the creativity of writers, ensuring better-quality self-published books (editors and formatters are expensive!).

 

Imagine a massive fantasy epic like Game of Thrones. George R.R. Martin created millions of story strands. I suspect a ChatGPT equivalent, filled with his stories and lore, could help tie those threads together for a satisfying ending. 

 

 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?

Two things.  

 

The first is obviously my father.  Whether it be playing D&D with us as kids, telling NOLO stories, or ones about other creatures… He always kept our creativity firing.  

 

The second is my non-book career, Product Management.  I knew I wanted to do justice to my dad’s legacy.  This means I needed to make mistakes and test my hypothesis.  Thus meet, Pepper the Elephant.  I call it my beta book as I learned all about the process of publishing, working with illustrators, Amazon KDP, copywriting, marketing, and so on.  And oh boy, did I make a huge amount of mistakes, so I am glad I did.  

 

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to?

Cheeky.  I love weaving layers into my writing that catch kids in a sort of, “Wait what..??” and maybe inspire a giggle or ten.  My dad tended to slightly break the fourth wall with his humor, i.e. phrases like, “That’s a lot of pressure, if you think about it.” from Danger in the Hills referring to Jake trying to navigate a city without smushing someone.

 

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book?

Figuring out what a NOLO actually looks like! My dad described the NOLO very differently to us than he did in his draft. I think he was making them more mainstream. I ended up interviewing everyone who remembered the NOLO, then used their varying descriptions to create multiple NOLO concepts.  Then I took those concepts and conducted a survey with kids.  Their favorite was Jake, our Mountain NOLO! In his origin story, my dad talked about the Fuzz infecting all living things. In the end, I decided it actually enhanced the world to have each NOLO species look different. So, the NOLO species you see at the end are each an ode to someone’s memory from my dad’s stories.

 

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?

Why read the NOLO?  It’s the perfect transition book from pictures to reading.  The book is highly visual with just easy enough to read paragraphs.   The NOLO also really sparks kids' imaginations. As a parent of two, I know just how difficult it is to get kids off screen.  There is something about these massive, furry, oddly good smelling creatures that goes straight to your wonder and your heart.  Heck, even you might have difficulty not running around your house afterwards chanting, “THUMP…Thump, Thump!”  

 

About The Author: Liz Fahey is a celebrated creative known for her wit, imagination, and storytelling talent. Inspired by her father—fondly called Uncle Jerry—a master storyteller who captivated audiences, especially children, with his vivid, interactive tales. Liz brings the enchanting world of the NOLO he created to life through her illustrative translation of his stories and her own writing. For more info, please see: www.Liz-Fahey.com.

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum

The Bookstore As Activist Destroys Readers’ Safe Space For Inquiry

 

Are bookstores in existence only to champion select positions on a handful of causes — or are they here to liberate minds and allow potential customers to survey the land of possibilities and see the spectrum of ideas, histories, and viewpoints that exist?

I had to confront this question recently.

I visited Pittsburgh recently for the very first time. It is a long but pleasant drive from New York.  I liked the feel of the city, and the Andy Warhol Museum was a highlight of the weekend trip. But it was a visit to an indie bookstore that sticks out the most.

As always, in any town or city that I traverse to, I took in the local bookstores, but one of them just completely turned me off.

This store is typical of most bookstores — its content noticeably skews to one ideology — the left. Though I am a centrist Democrat, stores need to rebalance their inventory. That in itself needs to be addressed, but this store took it a step further by endorsing a certain viewpoint with its politically-laced signage.
Atop one bookcase in the store it said “Free Palestine.” Another said: “Ceasefire Now.” A third one said: “Free Palestine, Free Sudan, Free Congo, Free Haiti.” It looked like someone’s lawn nearing an election, with signs supporting a candidate or ballot proposition.

This destroys any pretense of neutrality by the bookstore and moves from informing and challenging patron readers to being ignorant slaves to bias. This store turned itself from being a provider of all books where an honest search for the truth can take place to championing different causes and shutting down free thinking.

I should see signs that say Middle East or Current Events, or ones highlighting bestsellers or celebrity authors, and not ones that express a viewpoint. Bookstores have a responsibility to be more like a polling place on election day. You can’t wear any political slogans or hold candidate signs in or around the polling places — and bookstores should not take up political positions in their signage.

Ideally, bookstores should exhibit at least a pretense of neutrality, meaning they don’t push the ideology of the store owner or its workers onto its patrons. Having a variety of books, each offering a side to controversial issues and multiple viewpoints to life, would not only serve society best, but would probably enhance the store’s bottom line.

Well-written, well-edited, and where possible, positively reviewed books written by qualified writers should be prominently displayed.

But, right after that should be an offering of other viewpoints. You want to sell a book that is pro an issue; then show one that is anti that viewpoint. The goal is not to confuse people with false equivalency arguments, but rather, to allow for the strength of each argument to inform readers to make educated decisions about the things they will choose to support, condemn, or remain ambivalent about. The store should not sell books that collectively only show one viewpoint.  And they certainly should not command us to act or think in a specific manner. This is not Russia or China.

Bookstores should be places of enlightenment, opening us to new ideas and many vantagepoints. Once signs shout at us what to think, the books will never get a chance to serve their role.

There should never be signs or displays only trumpeting one viewpoint. For instance, we don’t need a sign that says pro-abortion or pro-life books. Offer both kinds of books and put them in a section like Issues, Current Events, Religion, Sociology, Women’s Studies, or Ethics.

Bookstores need to provide books with facts, not share a store’s opinions. I am a Mets fan. Someone else could be a Yankees fan. I don’t want to see atop the Sports section a sign that says “Let’s Go Yankees.” 

In the Cookbooks section would you want to see a sign that says: “Indian Food Rules?”

In the Travel section would you want to see: “Mexico or Bust.”

In the religion section do you want to see “Any Faith But Muslim?”

The bookstore is not here to replace the judgement, desire, and needs of its patrons by dictating viewpoints to them. It is a bad business practice and is bad for America. Let the books make their arguments, and let the readers come to their conclusions independently. No lobbying in the bookstore.

Free speech at a bookstore should mean a lot. It means restraint is needed on the part of the store to not preach or only promote one viewpoint. Otherwise, the only sign we should see hanging on that bookstore is “Out of Business.”

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2024.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog