In this post, I’ve decided to answer all the questions I got from Carol Grainger, who edited the book, about the book and the process of writing it, from the first time I told her about it until the last edit.
Stick around and enjoy the ride with me.
What kind a book is The Will?
The Will is a fictional novel. I love the story medium to help readers take their own journey in answering the question of whether money is curse or a blessing.
I think it is a question we must all answer, so that we have a good relationship with money.
It’s a story about the Brahms family. Each member of this family has a different attitude to money. Some of them have distorted attitudes, which bring them much heartache and pain.
Sam Brahms was a husband and a father who tried to convince his wife and children about the important things in life. I say “tried”, because he didn’t succeed. Not while he was alive, anyway.
He has a complicated family, full of bitterness and resentment, and then, he dies and leaves a will… And if you think his will is a solution, think again! His will turns everybody’s world upside down and complicates things even more.
It is a story about values and what is the most important thing in life. I hope readers will find what is important to them as well.
So, does he succeed at the end?
You’ll have to read it to find out.
How long did it take you to write this book?
I finished the first draft in May 2017. Since then, the book was in editing and publishing. Writing my books takes less time than it takes to publish them. This one took even longer, because I was busy with other projects.
Choosing my battles seems to be my challenge. It is not really a battle. It is more choosing what to focus on. Maybe it is an inner battle about what to focus on.
All good. I am learning to accept that the “pregnancy” and “delivery” of each book are different. I believe that once my books are “alive”, they have their own life, which I no longer have a control over.
It’s as if the book takes its time until it is ready. Patience is a virtue, but I don’t have it yet! I’m working on it.
What gave you the inspiration for this story?
It was a mixture of my personal relationship with money and working with so many of my clients about how they view and manage theirs.
Like most people, I used to believe that working hard, studying, finding a job and earning lots of money would bring me happiness.
When I became rich, I realized it was something else that we don’t learn in school. I learned most of it from my dad. In fact, got much of my attitude towards money from him.
It upsets me that schools don’t teach two of important things we need in life – relationship with family and friends and relationship with money. These are considered sensitive topics to discuss, so we don’t get a chance to address them.
So, I decided to address both relationships in one book.
There is a saying that when money is involved, people don’t recognize their children, parents, siblings, partners or friends. I’m sure everyone has a family story about it. I sure do.
Just this week, someone told us a story about it, and it sounded so familiar. It’s sad. I think there is a lot we need to learn from family breakdowns because of money.
What is your personal experience with money? Do you think money is a curse or a blessing?
I grew up in a very poor family all my childhood. We were 5 kids, my dad worked two jobs, and my mom didn’t even have a wallet. Most things I can easily give my own kids were luxuries for us.
I became rich when I was a student. I worked at a special project in education and earned more money than my dad. I earned way more than we needed, and it helped me feel what “rich” means and define it.
Throughout our life and adventures in the world, I could always use that definition and feel wealthy. I believe this contributed greatly to our family’s wealth today.
I think your attitude to money is what attracts more money to you or drives it away.
I’m a happiness coach and I believe that happiness is a choice. So, it’s the same with money. Whether it’s a curse or blessing, you choose!
How many books you have published so far?
My first book is Be Special, Be Yourself for teenagers, which is a fiction book with short stories.
My second one is In the Outback with Jasmine Banks, which is a short novel.
My third book is Motivating Kids, which is a non-fiction book for parents who want to know the art of motivating children, including teens.
My fourth book is Reflections, which is a spiritual and philosophical novel. Reflections is close to my heart, because it follows my own spiritual journey.
I say that The Will is my fifth book, but it’s actually my sixth. When I was 16 years old, some poems of mine were published in a collection of poetry book. I have been writing poetry since I was 14 years old and have about 400 poems. All of them are not in English. They are in Hebrew.
Recently, I started writing poems in English. I have about 20 of them now, but they not ready to be published yet. Poems are harder to write than stories, because they need to pass on a massage with fewer words.
I love poetry and admire poets for being able to master words and ideas and condense them into a short poem. One day, I’ll have enough poems to turn them into a book.
What are you working on now?
In 2019, I finished two books. One of them is a fiction book called “Let’s Talk About Sex”. It’s about a close-knit group of teenagers who discuss their parents’ sexuality. This triggers the story, which tells about teens and their families, their relationships, beliefs, fears and desires, and how their life is intertwined with their families’ circumstances.
“Let’s Talk About Sex” took forever to write. I started it when my daughter Eden was 16 years old (she is 32 soon) after listening to a conversation between her and her friends about their parent’s sexuality and thought that I had to record it.
It is in the process of editing, creating the cover, publishing and so on. Have you heard the phrase “It’s not over ’til it’s over?” Well, I hope it will be over in 2020.
The other book is “Parenting Teens with Confidence”, which is a guide to surviving those scary years of tweens and teens. Yes, the years are scary for the parents and the kids and the book offers confidence to both.
I’m writing four more books now, two fiction and two nonfiction. I hope to finish writing them in 2020, and publish them in 2021. Fingers crossed!
Who do you think the book The Will is for?
I think it is for anyone who wants to have a good relationship with money. If you want money to come to your life, you need to have good thoughts and beliefs about money and what it gives you. This is when you become a magnet for money.
It is important to remember that only we can change our relationship with money. It’s not something anyone else can change for you or you can change for others.
So, if you want to help others, this book is a great gift to give someone you care about that you know has a dysfunctional relationship with money. Reading it is a good start. It’s like getting to know someone before getting into a relationship.
In what formats can the book be purchased?
You can purchase it digitally, in PDF, EPUB and Kindle formats, and I’m happy and excited that you can buy it now in soft cover print. I’m still old-fashioned and love to hold a book in my hand and read.
I thank Gal for working hard to make it happen. I still buy printed versions of books and I would love my readers to be able to buy all my books in print as well.
Where can people buy the book?
The book is available on this blog here, and on the Be Happy in LIFE site here.
This is possible with the help of many people that I want to thank.
Thanks to my sister Aura for being my first fan and my first business partner, She helped me learn a good lesson about the right relationship between money and family.
Thanks to my dad, who taught me a lot about money and family values. Thanks for his wisdom, kindness and humbleness.
Thanks to Gal, who shares my quest to make this world a better place. Thanks for being the publisher of my books and my posts and bringing them to millions of readers around the world. Thanks for sharing this wealth journey from the second we moved in together 35 years ago.
Thanks to my children – Eden, Tsoof and Noff – for being walking proof of what is important in life and for being kind and wealthy in their own right. They make my job of helping other parents genuine and much easier.
Thanks to my son-in-law Sandy for being so creative with the cover of the book.
Thanks to Dr Tina Riveros for supporting me and helping so much with the legal jargon I needed for the book.
Thanks to Carol Grainger for the editing, for the hours of talking and discussing concepts from the book and for helping me refine the characters.
I want to thank my clients who trusted me with their life stories, with their pains and challenges, and allowed me to play a part in their successes.
Lastly, I thank my readers for reading and sharing their comments. You are the reason I do this, and I thank you for it.
Have a happy, healthy and wealthy 2020.
Hugs,
Ronit
