A Book Worth Checking Out & Interview: DADspirations by Pete Densmore

Dadspirations:

The 1^st 100 Days of Fatherhood

by Pete Densmore

Welcome to BK Walker Books Etc. I'm so happy you could join me today at (Your choice of location)

BK: Please tell us a little about yourself...

I’m a husband, a father of 2 (3 yr old boy and 14 month old daughter) and live in the suburbs of Chicago. I love the extreme seasons that Chicago offers and am currently loving the six inches of snow outside. I earned a B.A. in English at the University of Iowa, but my career is in pharmaceutical advertising—go figure. My first book was published in August of 2012, called DADspirations: The 1^st 100 Days of Fatherhood. I don’t consider myself an expert in parenthood by any means. I make the same number of mistakes as every other parent and don’t have any fancy combination of letters after his name. I do believe that anyone can be an inspired dad as long as he wants to put the time, effort and heart into becoming one.

BK: Please tell us a little about your book....

In DADspirations: The 1^st 100 Days of Fatherhood, humorist and new author, Pete Densmore, has compiled the ultimate set of inspirations for the expecting and new father. This fast-reading, humorous book includes an actionable checklist of essential ideas to help dads to become the best father they can be.

Densmore’s ideas, illustrated with photographs, showcase 35 tips to help make new dad’s first 100 days as impactful as possible. These ideas, identified as DADspirations, include:

• Send your loving wife to the spa, which secures for you an afternoon of introducing Bob Ross or Kung Fu to your baby.
• Develop a baby birth time capsule, which captures all of the precious moments from a day you're likely to forget.  
• 
  

  Build a toy box, which gives you the perfect excuse to spend an entire day alone in the

  
  

  garage with power tools and beer.  
• Organize a girls' night out for your wife, which allows her to bond with her “besties”, while you get to enjoy a Star Wars movie marathon.

DADspirations are the cornerstone of inspired parenting and meant to motivate and encourage soon-to-be and new fathers in a practical, creative and fun way.

Pete will offer your readers tips to understanding how they can “Proactively Prepare, Inspire Aspiration, Ensure Effectiveness!”

BK: What inspired you to pen this particular novel?

While raising my son, I discovered inspiration and creativity which I never knew I had.  Upon learning my wife was expecting baby number two, a flood of exciting ideas filled my head, including writing a book. The writing started as a way of keeping track of these cool ideas I wanted to do for my daughter, building on a lot of the fun things I did for her older brother. As I put my thoughts to paper, the words began to come to life and form more of a narrative than just a checklist of awesome things I was planning for my baby girl.  Besides, being a dad is one of the greatest things you can do in your life and soon enough, I realized I had this kickass strategy on how to inspire dads in their first 100 days of fatherhood. This is the only parenting book of its kind which focuses on the importance of the first few months of fatherhood providing practical and creative ideas that are illustrated with pictures. This book urges Dads to bond with their newborn from the get go and can also help them achieve "Rockstar Dad" status. I sent my wife to a day spa two months after our daughter was born and she still romantically reminds of how much she loved it, wink wink.

BK: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

During my sophomore year at the University of Iowa, I read aloud my short story in a creative writing class. One of my classmates said it would make for a great movie. That one, simple comment has always stuck with me and usually gets replayed in my head whenever I write for a few hours in one sitting. It’s a vivid memory that keeps me motivated to achieve my ultimate goal of winning an Academy Award for best original screenplay. While I have the beginnings of numerous screenplays started, it was a book about my unborn daughter (at the time) which I ended up finishing first. Being married and the father of two kids under the age of 3 has left little time for writing, especially since we spend most of our spring, summer and fall weekends on a lake in Wisconsin and during the week, I commute into Chicago from a suburb that is over an hour away. Needless to say, as much as I love to write, it’s challenging to find the time to do so.

BK: How do you keep your story flowing?

I prepared and thought ahead of time—a lot. I broke this 100-day stretch into two phases: the first thirteen weeks and then the “Nine Days of Doting.” For the first thirteen weeks of my daughter’s life (days 1-91), I did two DADspirations each week: one for me (or my wife) and one for my daughter. I also identified how a dad can apply the DADspiration I created for my little girl for his little boy. Each of the 13 weeks has a theme and the DADspirations help reinforce it.

BK: Do you ever run into writer's block, and if so, what do you do to get past it?

I drink. Hah! Just kidding. I will actually start typing out lyrics to songs I like. One of my favorite artists is Jason Mraz. His music inspired a DADspiration called Dedicate a Song to Your Daughter, when I chose Anything You Want for my little girl. In fact, I was actually struggling a little bit during the writing of my book when I started typing out lyrics to Jason’s album (Beautiful Mess) that created the idea, so not only did it help me get back into the flow of writing, but it sparked an idea. Ironically, my wife and I saw Jason in concert when she was four months pregnant with my son.

BK: What is your writing process like? Do you have any quirks, or must-haves to write?

I always listen to movie scores when I write. No words or lyrics, just random background sounds and I have a playlist that put on repeat while I wear headphones. I’m pretty good at zoning out, so I can write with friends at a loud coffee shop or on the couch at home next to my wife. My current writing playlist includes:

• Aggressive Expansion by Hans Zimmer from The Dark Knight
• My Name is Lincoln by Steve Jablonsky from The Island
• Bumblee by Steve Jablonsky from Transformers
• Time by Hans Zimmer from Inception
• The Gael by Dougie Maclean from Last of Mohicans
• The Mighty Rio Grande by This Will Destroy You from Moneyball
• The Reunion by John Williams from War Horse

BK: Where do you hope your books/writing will be in the future?

I eventually want to write screenplays which is probably why I choose movie scores as my music inspiration for writing!

BK: What do you hope readers will take away from your books?

I hope my book inspires creativity. It would be a lot of fun to hear of numerous dads who created their own DADspirations, whether it was during their first 100 days or first 1000 days of fatherhood. The joy of being involved and engaged with both spouse and child is such an amazing feeling that knowing other dads experienced something similar would mean a lot to me.

BK: What is one piece of advice you received that you carry with you in your writing?

If you really love it, find the time to write and schedule it. The longer you put it off, the harder it is to keep momentum. Whether you take 10 minutes every other night at 8am or every Tuesday at 7am for six months, establish that time, that place and stay committed to it. Good things will happen as a result.

BK: What is one piece of advice you would give to new and aspiring writers?

Don’t worry about trying to write THE book. Just write. I spent my early 20s trying to figure out how to write a movie that would earn me an Oscar nod. It was a waste of energy to spend so much time trying to think of it and a lot of wasted time writing. Had I just started writing, I’m sure the movie would have come to me.

BK: Are you currently working on any new projects? What can we expect from you in the future?

I'm currently working on another super fun and cool book for dads to read to their children. The book uniquely combines two things that I love and cherish: watching movies and reading to my children.  My goal is for dads to stop reading Mother Goose to their toddlers and, instead, begin a new literary generation of reading stories from my upcoming book, DADspirations: Hijacking Hollywood for Fatherhood.

BK: Where can readers find you?

For more information on Pete Densmore or DADspirations: the 1st 100 Days of Fatherhood, 

please visit these websites:

• Website: www.DADspirations.com
• Book Video Trailer: http://youtu.be/CtIUWO27C0M
• Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/DADspirations
• Pinterest Page: www.pinterest.com/DADspirations
• Twitter Page: www.twitter.com/DADspirations
• Ordering Pages:
  • Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/061566363X
  • Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008U0MSHU

Thank you so much for taking time to chat with me today. It's been a pleasure having you and I wish you much success in the future.

About The Author:

Father of two, Pete Densmore doesn’t consider himself an expert in parenthood by any means. He makes the same number of mistakes as every other parent and doesn’t have any fancy combination of letters after his name. Densmore believes that anyone can be an inspired dad as long as he wants to put the time, effort and heart into becoming one.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

About The Book:

Genre: Parenting | Inspirational | Fatherhood

Publisher: DADspirations

Released: August 1, 2012

Paperback: 176 pages Language: English ISBN-10: 061566363X ISBN-13: 978-0615663630 Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.4 x 8 inches Amazon Price (Paperback): $13.95 Amazon Price (Kindle ): $7.99

Book Description:

DADspirations: The 1st 100 Days of Fatherhood is a fast-reading, humorous book which includes an actionable checklist of essential ideas to help inspire dads to become the best father they can be. In short, this book offers a strategy for the expecting/new father focusing on 35 weekly ideas that Dad can do for himself, his wife and his newborn. A few of these ideas, which Densmore refers to as DADspirations, include:

• Develop a baby birth time capsule, which captures all of the precious moments from a day you're likely to forget.
• Send your loving wife to the spa, which secures for you an afternoon of introducing Bob Ross and Kung Fu to your baby.
• Build a toy box, which gives you the perfect excuse to spend an entire day alone in the garage with power tools and beer.
• Make up a holiday, which affords time for infant and grandma to bond, and gives you and your wife time for nookie.

Testimonials

 

GoodReads Reviews (3 out of 3 reviews)

1. Josee Phillip, December 10, 2012: Thank you for Goodreads and to the author for providing me a free copy of this wonderful book. I read this book along with one of my good male friends who is expecting a baby girl. This book is fun and realistic and makes a future dad "as ready as can be" to take upon this terrific challenge. I ended up giving him the copy of he book; he can always learn something new.
2. Jennifer Dilks, December 13, 2012: Hilarious! This book should be required reading for all new dads. And those who aren't "new"...there's always room for improvement, right? A comical outlook on the first 100 days of fatherhood, with enough sentimental touch that moms will enjoy reading also. A light-hearted, quick read that would be a perfect gift for the father-to-be. I'm so thankful to have received this book as a Goodreads first-reads giveaway...but I'm passing it along to a friend (a new dad!).
3. Lacey Gordon, December 16, 2012: I won this book through the GOODREADS GIVEAWAYS and it was a win that I am glad I won. I did read this book but I mostly won it for my husband. I want to give it to him when we start our family. I know he'll enjoy it as much as me. Great book!
4. Sandra Slack, January 28, 2013: This book surpassed all my expectations.I wanted it to give to my grandson who is currently "expecting".This is an ideal "Daddy" gift, to be given during the pregnancy so he can learn his role in the launching of Missy or Junior.Best, would be the expectant parents reading this aloud to each other in the weeks before the actual arrival of the adored bundle of noise, needs and nocturnal disregard, so soon to dominate the household.It is obvious the "Daddy" who wrote this book loves his children and managed to keep his sense of humor through it all.

  Amazon Reviews (3 out of 10 reviews)  

1. Best Book for Dads!!! November 5, 2012: An excellent an awesome book!!! Written by a DAD. Great advice, easy to read, funny and smart, I totally recommend this book to first time Dads. It would help you and entertain you a lot while the first months of your baby. 5 STARS!!
2. Makes the perfect gift for your buddy who's about to be a dad! October 15, 2012: This book couldn't be more perfect for that buddy of yours who's about to be a dad. Filled with awesome ideas and great tips to make those first couple of months easier on you and mom.
3. First hand Creativity and Confidence October 14, 2012: Lets be honest, as exciting and miraculous the birth of a child can be for a father, it is an experience that can challenge ones confidence. That is where the book Dadspirations steps in. This first hand account of fatherhood will help calm your nerves, keep you laughing, spark your creativity and give you the confidence you are looking for. It gives you ideas on how to keep daddy, mommy, and baby supported and happy. What a great gift for all the soon-to-be dads in your life or a new perspective for those who already have children.

Excerpts:   

Daddy Letter For My Daughter

On the day Marie was born, I was a mess. We had a false labor the previous day, I had to give a client presenta-tion at work that morning, and our babysitter for Henry bailed on us, causing a last minute scramble. When Marie is old enough, I will share with her the excite-ment, the anxiety and the fear that was bottled up inside me the day she was born. Every dad is a complete wreck that day, whether he admits or not. After all, you are in a dimly lit, cold hospital room, surrounded by strang-ers, while your wife is in pain for hours on end, you feel helpless to make her feel better, and all while the best experience in the world is going to happen at any moment.

Looking back on that day, I want my daughter to know that her dad was swearing like a sailor as he fought un-precedented traffic at 9:00 p.m. on the way to the hospital; that her dad nearly missed her birth because he was in the parking lot transferring her brother’s car seat to grandpa’s car; and that her dad stole a piece of pizza from the hospital floor’s community refrigerator. (Give me a break; I hadn’t eaten in twelve hours.) And, above 14 PETE DENSMORE all, there are three things I want her to know that I was thinking when I first held her in my arms: boy that pizza was good; how do I make sure she ends up with a good guy like Daddy; and how do I make sure she knows that being smart is cool. These are the types of thoughts, feelings and ideas I will share with my little girl so that she can understand her OCD father a little bit better.