ST. CHARLES – Jay Payleitner has done a lot if things in his life. He’s worked in advertising on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, done television spots with former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka for Midway Airlines and was on the design team that helped name Sun Chips for Frito-Lay, he said.

He married his high school sweetheart, current St. Charles Alderman Rita Payleitner. But through his days of long commutes to downtown Chicago from St. Charles, where Payleitner was born and raised, he decided that it wasn’t for him and returned to where he grew up, to get involved in writing and publishing.

He has now written and received help publishing 16 books, his latest of which is titled, “What If God Wrote Your Bucket List? 52 Things You Don’t Want to Miss.”

The book was released in September, and Payleitner said that it is available in most book stores, as well as on Amazon’s website, amazon.com, and his website, fathers52.com.

Many people have bucket lists – maybe not exactly ones that are written out, but most people have things that they would like to accomplish during their lifetimes, including Payleitner. The St. Charles author caught up with Kane County Chronicle reporter Chris Casey to discuss his latest book, as well as the reason some of his other books have similar titles.

Chris Casey: Tell me a little about this book. What makes it different from any other list or book about bucket lists?

Jay Payleitner: In the eyes of culture, success is owning and winning. Those are the types of things on traditional bucket lists. Those certainly aren’t bad things, but if you cross every item off your list – like swimming with dolphins, getting your Ph.D., seeing the Eiffel Tower or going to every Major League Baseball ballpark – if you say you’ve done all of those things, you think, wow, that’s all there is? God’s bucket list, in my humble opinion, is understanding some truths. Every individual has value. We were not put here by accident. So, this book basically talks about personal anecdotes that lead to lessons learned and incredible truths and opportunities that God wants us to grab onto.

Casey: A lot of your books have the number 52 in the titles (i.e. “52 Things Husbands Need From Their Wives,” “52 Things Sons Need From Their Dads,” etc.). Why 52?

Payleitner: That’s a good question. Because of my experience in advertising and radio production, I learned to write short. I like to make a point and be done with it. I guess you can say I like to convey my thoughts economically ... keep them short and to the point. I can make my point in three pages of a book. So, three pages times 52 makes a book. When you’re writing this 70,000-word novel, no way, that’s not the way to convey my point. One-thousand words can do it, and that’s where the 52 comes from. It’s hard to explain sometimes, but that’s what I follow and have stuck to.

Casey: A lot of your books also deal with family and relationships. Is there a reason for that?

Payleitner: Well, I love speaking for groups, especially fathers. It became apparent to me that the most effective fathering is done by folks who know the heavenly father and have that foundation. It’s almost like getting back to the basics, you know, putting first things first. Most of my books deal with families, marriage and relationships, but – to me – the most important relationship is with God and the plan he has for us.