The Ride, The Rose,
and The Resurrection
A True Story of Crisis, Faith, and Survival
1. What inspired you to write your book?
Having invested years as a freelance
writer for newspapers and periodicals the ultimate dream has always been to
become the published author of a full length book suitable for a permanent spot
on the library shelf.
Following a seriously traumatic and
life-threatening motorcycle wreck involving my wife and me, a friend recommended
that I keep a journal of our personal experiences to help keep life in
perspective during the long, tedious process of reassembling our shattered bodies.
My logbook became an encouraging documentary and reviewing the progress we had
made helped my wife and I find the strength to forge ahead when all seemed
lost.
The more I reviewed those notes,
however, the more I began to recognize and piece together key events that
seemed to be much more than coincidence. Each critical event that had taken
place prior to, during, and following that wreck, played an instrumental part
in our survival.
It occurred to me that we had a
story to tell that might well serve as a comfort to others who find themselves
in similar circumstances. Ultimately, I decided to share our story with the
hope of encouraging those in need.
2. What is it about?
“The Ride, The Rose, and The
Resurrection” is a true story about the life, wreck, and recovery of an average
middle-class couple whose lives were turned upside down by a near-fatal hit-and-run
motorcycle accident.
On June 24, 2007, my wife and I were
left lying unconscious and barely alive in the middle of a busy highway by a careless
driver while on our way home from a ride on our Harley through the warm, sun
drenched countryside in rural southeast Michigan. This story covers in detail
the moments leading up to the crash and the painfully long, drawn-out recovery once
we had been stabilized.
The book also details the shockwave
that deeply affected our adult children who had been called to the scene as
rescue personnel, and shares the trauma brought about by legal battles with an
insensitive insurance bureaucracy. The story offers clues why fewer than one in
ten marriages survives a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and goes behind the scenes
to describe in detail the emotional struggles we faced that lasted for years following
that crash.
Our story offers evidence that helps
explain why forgiveness is usually a key component to both spiritual and
physical mending.
3. What do you hope will be the everlasting
thoughts for readers who
finish your book?
Those who read my book will develop
a deeper appreciation for the struggles that patients face when dealing with
insensitive insurance bureaucrats, and they will close the final chapter of my
book with a sense that hope remains when all seems desperately lost.
4. What advice do you have for writers?
Record your thoughts with passion,
and write them in your own words. Remember, mimicking someone else’s style is a
disingenuous way to gain identity. You cannot cheat on book reviews and you
won’t fool the critics.
Then find a Publisher who can help
you polish your work. A quality piece of literature requires expert editorial
help.
Finally, every author needs to
recognize the importance of marketing. Even the best literature is wasted
without readers. With roughly 300 new titles released every day, reaching your
audience can be an expensive scramble, potentially adding tens of thousands of
dollars to the cost of promoting your book with no guarantee of success.
Ironically, the effort required to
write a book pales in comparison to the energy and commitment it takes to carry
out a comprehensive marketing campaign. Every author should know up front that getting
his book into the hands of readers can easily become a full time job and the
costs associated with promoting that book will most likely exceed the cost of
publishing many times over.
5. Where do you think the book publishing
industry is heading?
While literacy dictates that there
will always be readers, it’s hard to know exactly where the brick and mortar
bookstores will find themselves with regard to the overall publishing industry.
Having said that, I believe there will always be a market for a handheld piece
of literature with a binding and real pages that can be turned one at a time.
The competition traditional publishers are facing from digital media is driving
the profitability below break-even levels and it is very likely the survival of
the publishing industry will be dictated by each publisher’s ability to adapt.
Digital media seems to be gaining in
popularity and appears to be a much more economical method of introducing a
writer’s finished product into the market. However, inexpensive does not
usually go hand-in-hand with quality.
The bottom line is that the
publishing industry does far more than print books. As long as there remains a
demand for quality literature there will always be a need for professional
publishers.
6. What challenges did you have in writing
your book?
The greatest challenge for me as a
writer has always been finding the necessary uninterrupted quiet time to record
and organize complete thoughts and concepts before they are lost. Creative
writing is a lot like counting change – the effort requires undivided attention
which becomes exponentially more difficult in a constantly moving environment
filled with commotion, conversations, and deadlines.
7. If people can only buy one book this month,
why should it be yours?
This is truly a story that will provide
inspiration to anyone, injured or otherwise. The message of hope that threads
its way through this memoir, in spite of the odds that threatened ultimate
disaster, is portrayed in behind-the-scenes, real life experiences. This is a
story about life-or-death challenges that prove survival is often little more
than a choice.
This is a true story about personal
disaster with a happy ending.
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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 2016 ©.
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