1. What inspired you
to write this book? I have been writing slice-of-life stories for my website
for years. I post two per month and have 180 so far. When it occurred to me
that many of the stories were “evergreen,” I thought to compile them into a
book. I wrote some new stories too. Chai on Life contains 36 stories, 12 new
and 24 reprinted.
2.
What exactly is it about — and who is it written for? Of course, my book is for
everyone! See what I mean: The 36 stories in Chai on Life range in topic from
belly fat to Billy Joel. The belly fat story allows me to talk about
self-acceptance. With the help of Billy Joel’s hit song, Big Shot. I take the
opportunity to talk about forgiveness. The one-line take away from the belly
fat story is “Flawsome: A person who embraces their ‘flaws’ and knows they are
awesome regardless.” And the one-liner from the Billy Joel story is: “Forgive
unto others as you would have them forgive unto you.”
Other meaty topics in the book are:
The how-to’s of personal reinvention
The fact that a little bit + a little bit =
a whole lot – and the implications of this fact
Gratitude and the fact there is always
something to be grateful for
Where – and how – to look for new friends
And lots more!
3. What do you hope
readers will get out of reading your book? I hope they will be soothed
by reading it. A podcaster asked, “If your book was a food, what would it be?”
My response was that it would be a comfort food. Also, there is a companion
piece to the book, The Chai on Life Journal. I hope my stories encourage others
to record their stories as well.
4. How did you decide on
your book’s title and cover design? I suggested the title to my publisher. Chai
is a mystical word in Hebrew. The book is High on Life with a Jewish slant.
Many people read that word “chai” with a “ch” sound instead of an “h” and think
of chai tea. And that’s fine too! As I say, this book is meant to be a comfort
just as a cup of chai tea would be. My publisher chose to add a subtitle and
his graphic designer created about a dozen covers and this was the best one.
It’s beautiful, cheerful, and happy. I love it!
5. What advice or words of
wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?
Writing turns out to be the easy part.
Promoting a book is much tougher. I have been self-
published and traditionally published, and in
both cases the book would go nowhere if I wasn’t promoting it aggressively. So
be prepared for that.
6. What trends in the book
world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is
heading? Self-publishing
and hybrid publishing continue to grow, grow, grow. This means that YOUR book will
have a lot of competition. And I mean A LOT! A Google search tells me that over
1.4 million titles are released annually via Amazon’s KDP alone. Now imagine
YOUR book in a pile of 1.4 million books and figure out how anyone is going to
find it.
7. Were there experiences
in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?
I
write slice-of-life stories so every experience in my personal life and in my
career can make it into my blogs and thus into my book. Some examples: “Doing
Splits at Thanksgiving” is about flexibility as the key to happiness at the
holiday season. “30 Reasons to Be Grateful at my Granddaughter’s Soccer Game”
is about exactly that. “Good Enough Is Good Enough” is about lessons learned
while making chicken soup! ALL life experiences are fair game in my writing.
8. How would you describe
your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? My writing is very chatty.
People tell me all the time they feel they are sitting in their den having a
conversation with me when they read my stories. I would compare my work to Anne
Lamott, but of course she is great and famous while I am pretty good and
unknown. However, both of us talk about very personal experiences and our religion
plays a part in our stories.
9. What challenges did you
overcome in the writing of this book? Writing the book was a breeze – 24 of the 36
stories had already been written as I explained above. Finding a publisher was
relatively easy this time around. And he did a great job of creating a
beautiful hardback book in full color. The challenge I am overcoming is finding
my niche-iest niche to sell the book to. While the book is for “everyone” sales
are easiest to that niche.
10. If people can buy or
read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? Life is difficult. That is
my basic premise. Chai on Life gives the reader a cheerleader to help them
along the way. Who doesn’t need a cheerleader?!
About The Author: In over 30 years in the
motivation field, I have had 5 books published, I have spoken to 250 audiences
in 11 states, I have written a nationally syndicated and award-winning column,
and I am a quilt artist making quilts with words and symbols pieced into the design.
In every case, as a speaker, author, columnist, and artist, I tell the stories
of my life and hope others can glean life lessons from them. Additionally, I
think of myself as a cheerleader with the message that life is difficult but
that you can handle it. My newest book is Chai on Life. It has 36 slice-of-life
stories ranging in topic from belly fat to Billy Joel. Each story has a
full-color illustration that includes a one-line takeaway from the chapter. For
more information, please see: https://www.loriekleinereckert.com/.
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
6,650,000 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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