1. What inspired you to write this book? I discovered a short story I had written fifteen years ago during a period in my life when I was traveling quite a lot for my job, which I had titled “The Last Gate” in reference to a specific departure gate in the Atlanta Airport. My wife and I were having marital issues at the time, and for someone who had once been so affectionate, suddenly the words “I love you” would catch in her throat. The short story, loosely based on my experiences, reflected the emotions of that particular period in my life. Having fresh eyes, I appreciated the themes that I had built and wanted to expand on those concepts.
2. What exactly is it about — and who is it written for? Imagine not being able to say “I love you” to the people you cherish most. The book is about a young woman named Alice who has spent her entire life trying to understand why—why life made her the way she is, why silence became her prison. As a child, she was diagnosed with selective mutism, a condition that left her unable to speak, especially to the one person she loved most: her father. When Alice loses her dad to a tragic plane crash, a survivor comes forward with unexpected answers. Told through multiple voices and shifting perspectives, The Words We’ve Lost, and Found is a layered psychological story about love, loss, and the desperate human desire to repair what has been broken. It's for adults, men or women, looking for a compelling family drama.
3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? The story is really a tale of two halves, juxtaposing who we want to be and who we really are. While many parts of the story are humorous and light-hearted, the central theme is about abuse, and its many shades and layers. It takes the stereotype that we think we know and somewhat flips it on its head. No one wants to feel or be made to feel less than. And I think people will identify with that.
4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? Explaining it, I think, would give too much away.
5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? I grew up with an old-school commercial artist who put a pencil in my hand as soon as I could hold one. Drawing is a process that starts with a thumbnail and builds from there. If you start out trying to create this detailed masterpiece right from the jump, you’re going to fail. I personally approach writing the same way I do art: I take an idea and just start typing. I don’t worry about format, grammar; I just start to lay things on the page. It may not even make sense. But after I have written a few chapters, I reread and begin polishing. Layering in the details until something I like begins to form.
6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? I do love that amateurs like myself have this incredible access to easily self-publish, to put their art and ideas out into the world. I think ease of access has inspired many more people to write, to tap into their creativity. The challenge is that it seems like all of these stories have flooded the zone, making it harder for anything to stand out. Now, with the proliferation of AI, it’s gotten even worse. I would guess that the top 10-20% of a publisher's titles account for the majority of its revenue. And that I imagine makes sorting through all the noise to find the thing that matters a daunting task with high risk and very low reward.
7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? Absolutely. There is a lot of me in this latest story, mostly my mishaps as an altar boy, and home repairs gone wrong. Constant traveling, marital challenges. I think the best stories are the ones that you can really put yourself inside of. While, thankfully, I have never experienced some of the things I put my characters through, I have, in many respects, felt their pain.
8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? That is a difficult question. I think, at times, there is a little Kurt Vonnegut in me, conversational, simple, sometimes a little dark with my humor.
9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? Though my name, Jody Doll, is deceptive (yes, it's my real name—my parents loved the show “Family Affair”). I am not a woman, but I have been blessed to know and be around some tremendous women my entire life. There are many, many scenes in this book where I have to really step into the mind of someone of the opposite gender and write with a woman’s voice. One of the greatest compliments I have received from this book is that people who didn’t know me were stunned to find out I was a man.
10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? This book starts in one direction, telling an endearing, often humorous, but very emotional family story—then it wrecks you. It’s not super long; I think it’s paced well, it hits all the emotional highs and lows, and Kirkus Reviews loved it. Earning their blue star.
Abut The Author: Like Lebron James, I was born in Akron,
Ohio—but I have lived in northeast Ohio my entire life. I have been married to
the same woman for over 35 years, and I am the proud father of an English
teacher who lovingly refuses to read any of my stories.
Do You Need Book Marketing Help?
Brian
Feinblum 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
6,200,000 page views. With 5,600+ posts over the past 15 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 2026.
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) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs
He
hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and
has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers
Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod
Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five
times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, 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
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