Relationship by A. William Benitez - Q&A and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

If someone were writing a story about you, what would your blurb say?

They would say that he worked all his life at many different things and loved sharing his experiences with others and teaching them how they could do anything that he did. He loved to write and always wrote about first hand experiences.

Would you tell us a little about your newest release that isn't in the blurb?

I first got the idea for this book about fifteen years ago when my wife Barbara and I were invited to speak about our relationship at the meditation group of which we were members. We had been in the group for some time and some of the members were interested in how we managed to get on so well. The presentation was well received and the response was the seed for this book.

When I told Barbara my idea and she was surprised and cautioned me by saying that she wouldn’t dare write such a book because it was such a varied topic with so many nuances. Since she is obviously a better writer, that caused me to hesitate for a while but then I jumped in.

Over the past fifteen years I made a few attempts to get this book written but was never satisfied with the results and put it aside each time. Early this year, for some unknown reason, I felt ready to tackle this huge topic and jumped in again. When I finished the first draft Barbara edited it and liked it except for the organization and I spent another month working on that.

During that time it became clear that I had to focus only on the areas of relationship I considered critical to a happy and healthy relationship. That’s when the title came to me because it was notes on those aspects of relationship. At that point I felt good about the book and I sent the final draft to several people whose opinion I value. The response was positive and their comments appear at the front of the book. I don’t see myself as an expert on relationship but I definitely have a lot to share that may be helpful to others.

Relationship: Notes on Love, Mutual Respect, Boundaries, Marriage, and Divorce contains ten chapters including What is Love, What is A Good Relationship, Fostering and Nurturing Relationships, Harming Relationships, Mutual Respect, Boundaries, Marriage, Breakups and Divorce, Helpful Tips, Final Thoughts, plus a Preface and an Introduction.

The first chapter, What is Love, was the most difficult because I felt from the beginning that establishing a definition for love was important to the book and that seemed like an impossible task for a while. I could easily state what love isn’t but not what it is. I finally came up with a definition that I was comfortable to use as part of the book.

This book definitely doesn’t have all the answers for how to have a happy and healthy relationship and I certainly don’t see myself as an expert on the topic but I do have a lot to share that may be helpful to others. I hope readers find it of real value.

When I decided to write this book on relationship, my wife Barbara was surprised and cautioned me by saying that she would not dare write such a book because it was such a varied topic with so many nuances. That scared me because she is certainly more qualified to write about relationship than I am. I hesitated for a while but then I jumped in.

I have written about relationship before but was not satisfied with the results but now, for some unknown reason, I felt ready to tackle this huge topic and feel good about this book. I don’t see myself as an expert on relationship but I definitely have a lot to share that may be helpful to others.

The book contains ten chapters including What is Love, What is A Good Relationship, Fostering and Nurturing Relationships, Harming Relationships, Mutual Respect, Boundaries, Marriage, Breakups and Divorce, Helpful Tips, Final Thoughts, plus a Preface and an Introduction.

About the AuthorI spent most of my adult life self-employed after being born into the construction business. I worked with my father and then spent more than ten years as a general contractor, building homes and commercial buildings in Tampa, Florida.

For more than twelve years, I worked as a government official running housing related programs for the City of Tampa and then operated a publishing and consulting business on housing rehabilitation. During this time, I testified on this subject before the Housing Sub Committee of the U.S. Congress.

For several years, I operated an active woodworking business in Tampa, Florida and then in Austin, Texas. My cabinets, furniture, and carvings can be found in private homes, businesses, churches, and public buildings in both cities.

In 1996, I began working for the Hyatt Regency in Austin, Texas and am now the IT Manager.

In 2007 I established a new writing and publishing business called Positive Imaging, LLC and now write and publish how to books.

My first marriage ended after 17 years and I remained single for 14 years before marrying Barbara. We have been married over twenty-three years and share a happy and healthy relationship. We now live in Austin, Texas.

I learned a great deal from my first marriage and other relationships. However, my years with Barbara have been my most valuable learning and growing experience and definitely the happiest years of my life.

All the information in this book is based on my first-hand experiences, a small amount of research, and discussions with other couples. I sincerely hope that you will find it of real value in your own relationships. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at: bill@positive-imaging.com

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