EXCLUSIVE Interview with the TravelKatz Family

I am over the moon excited to be able to have an interview with the Travel

Katz family! I was able to catch up with the mom Rachael and ask her some questions I wanted to know. You know me....I always want to know more than probably I should ha!

First let me tell you about the TravelKatz family if you haven't already heard of them (if you haven't...you should!). Rachael has decided to travel the world with her daughter Alex and two sons Richie and Ethan. You know....do that thing that we always wish and dream and talk about doing but never do. SHE IS DOING IT!!! As a widowed mom I am so impressed with her and her willingness to teach her kids about other countries by actually EXPERIENCING it! AMAZING!


They have a You tube channel that you can follow their daily vlogs and see all their adventures. Its like experiencing the travels right along with them. I think they are fun to watch and have such great personalities.


So, Lets get to the nitty gritty of the things I wanted to know more about. This way you can know more than others do with this EXCLUSIVE interview.


What made you decide to pick up and take off and travel the world?
I have wanted to travel for many years but it was only talk and no action. Finally, I decided that it was time to put my dream into action and make travel a reality. I have wanted to travel for the past five years or so. I just finally made it happen.


Why was Thailand your first choice for a country?
Thailand was my first choice because it is a inexpensive country to travel in and because I knew someone here who I have known since Jr. High School. I had never been out of country and felt safer to know someone on my first out of country experience.


Do you work while traveling?
I make a small fixed income as I have been a widow for almost 7 years. I have been able to stay home with my kids. Survivors benefits is my main souse of monthly income at this time.


How do the kids attend school as I know you have two that are still in school?
The kids do not go to school in every country, although I have considered putting them in school here in Thailand. Since we will be traveling the world, they will mainly do homeschool/worldschooling. If we stay long term in a country, I may consider them attending school to have that experience.


What are you hoping are the best memories for your kids?
I want my kids to have wonderful memories of us as a family experiencing different cultures and foods. It would be great for them to be able to meet friends all over the world on our travels too! I just think this is such a great experience and will give them wonderful memories for years to come!


Did the kids Agree or Disagree at first?
My kids have had different thoughts on my choice in travel. There have been times where they were unsure of travel (mainly my 2 oldest), but I feel it was fear of the unknown. Once we really made the decision to travel, they were all on board and happy to prepare for our journey. I think new experiences can be a little scary for anyone...but the learning lesson for us all is, don't let fear stop you from new experiences. New experiences can only help us grow in life.


You are doing something that most only dream about...What do you have to say to those people?
If you have a dream, don't let fear stop you. Fear of the unknown is a dream killer. Talk about it and make plans...and when the time is right...put that plan into action. I think so many of us miss out on so much because we allow fear to stop us from doing what we really want to do. Sometimes you just have to do it!


What is a day in the TravelKatz family like?
A day in the TravelKatz family is amazing! We get to see things we have never seen and experience things we only saw on tv. Other than that...our days are pretty normal...we just get to wake up on the other side of the world.


Last question...What is something that is funny to you?
People here in Thailand love kids and they will see a foreigner kid and just put their head and talk to them and smile and shower the child with attention. I think its funny and cute. The whole culture is filled with so many interesting things.


This is an amazing family with an amazing adventure! Check them out and subscribe to see all of their videos. Its free to do! Just click this link.... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCSxhYDQQlagCWLr_21MCTw?view_as=public


Thank you so much Rachael for this interview and a peak more into the TravelKatz life!


Subscribe to my blog by email, Google+ or Blogloving and have a very Blessed Day!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW!!!! So excited!

I am beyond excited today because I actually got Rachel W. Teal to do an interview! Its exclusive because she hasn't given an interview before on her book. Thank you Rachel for giving me the opportunity to share this with my Blog Subscribers. She even gives us a 40 percent Discount on her book which I put the coupon at the end! So Amazing!

 

1)  So you have released your first novel, The Gathering Place, recently.  Why did you choose to self-publish over traditionally publishing? 

Self publishing was always an option but I wanted to try to secure agent representation and have my novel sold to a publisher. I assembled my "dream team" of agents, and several responded. The overall feedback I received was regarding my platform: who I have in my network that will buy my book and who I have that will refer my book - fans, if you will. So I decided to self publish to build my platform and an audience so that I can then go back to agents with future projects and have the numbers there to support my dream.  

 

2)  What was the inspiration behind The Gathering Place?  How did you come up with the idea?

 

They say to write what you know, and I know the legal system in Tennessee through my "day job" as a paralegal, and I know the south and Nashville having grown up there. I've always loved murder mysteries and legal thrillers, so I put all those elements together and started writing.  Lucas came to me first, quickly followed by Samantha and the rest was history.  

 

3)  What parts of yourself are hidden inside the pages of your novel?

 

There is so much!  The setting is in Nashville, which I know like the back of my hand, so it was very easy to pull inspiration from my hometown.  Maliha is Cherokee and I have strong Cherokee roots. I love England, so having Lucas come from there was natural for me. Samantha's hometown is where my Dad's family is from, and the house where her father lives is an old farmhouse out in the countryside that I love. There are so many other things but I don't want to bore you!

 

 

4) Tell me a little bit about your writing routine.  Do you have a special place where you write?  How often do you write?  What inspires you? 

 

I tend to write at home. I don't have cable television so it's very easy for me to get lost in my writing at home. I usually write at my kitchen table or my chaise lounge. I also love independent coffee shops - caffeine is a must when holding a day job, having a life and trying to make your dream to be an author come true. It takes discipline. I'm inspired by people - that I see, that I meet, that I overhear. The world is your oyster if you will only listen! 

 

5)  Is the editing process as gruesome as it seems?

 

It can be at times and I was terrified of letting anyone see my work. I had actually shelved The Gathering Place for many years  until my friend convinced me to rework it and polish it up. The nuts and bolts were there, it just needed to be polished.  But it is terrifying at first, like someone telling you that your baby is ugly. And trust me, some people have, or have nit picked about things but over all, it doesn't change my opinion about my novel and rejection didn't hurt as bad as I had imagined.

 

6)  Has writing novels always been one of your dreams? 

 

I think writing in and of itself has always been the way I communicate with the world around me. I've written letters to boyfriends telling them things I couldn't confess in person, letters to the President and Congress...that evolved into writing short stories and poems in high school and college as an outlet, so writing novels, I think, was a natural next step. 

 

7)  Many may not know this, but you are a survivor of a rarely-diagnosed endocrine disorder called Cushing's Disease, one that I am familiar with myself. What is it like trying to accomplish your goals while struggling with a chronic illness?

 

It has its challenges. There's a spoon theory out there that says that an action costs you so many spoons and you only get so many spoons a day. My day job takes most of them but I'm lucky that writing is relaxing and cathartic, and I can take most of my stress and frustration out on the computer and turn it into something that makes me proud. In the end, it replenishes my supply of spoons. There are barriers and bumps on everyone's journey and Cushing's is no different. You just have to push through and climb and surmount a little more, but man do you feel accomplished when you get there! 

 

 

 

8)  So you are working on a literary fiction novel that contains a very important subplot regarding Cushing's Disease.  Is it easy to separate yourself from Tori, the character who fights this disease in the novel? 

 

Yes and no. I didn't want to write a memoir, at least not yet, because in the grand scheme of things, who am I? Plus, I am most comfortable writing fiction and telling my truth through my characters. I think I gifted some aspects of my journey with Cushing's to Tori, which helped me a lot in the end, but I also wanted Tori's journey to be her own, because I've learned that no person's story is the exact same, either with or without Cushing's Disease. So I let her express herself in ways I never would, and let her tell her own story.  

 

9)  When will The Hiding Place be ready?

 

It is outlined and a few chapters are written, but the literary fiction one is taking precedent right now and then I will finish The Hiding Place, which will feature Lila and Jack, though Samantha and Lucas will make a few appearances, too.  I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I think everyone will enjoy, and they will really start to see why certain things happened the way they did in The Gathering Place. 

 

10)  And finally, where can we find The Gathering Place?  (I'll talk about the discount for your blog readers here, and the giveaway of a Nashville prize package). 

 

It is on Amazon, in paperback and Kindle, and also on my e-store that you can access via my website, www.rachelwteal.com, on the novel's page. Also, I am offering a discount for your readers on the paperback version if they buy it through my store. As an added bonus, anyone from your blog who reviews on Amazon will  be entered to win a Nashville-themed goodie bag with some of my favorite things from my hometown. Use discount code GTLU4KCP  to get 40% off!