Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
I’m an advocate, a dreamer, an agitator, a co-conspirator, and a father. For four years, I coached my daughter’s competition cheerleading squad, working with 19 tween girls as we competed and won at both Nationals and Globals. I began coaching knowing nothing at all about coaching. I did it because my daughter asked if I would. The experience not only gave me 18 more daughters, but it changed my life and changed how I lead at work.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book ‘A Dad in a Cheer Bow’?
My experience as a coach was so personal and so challenging. I honestly never thought that others would care about my journey and the lessons I learned. But when people heard about my experiences, they loved asking questions. They didn’t believe me at first. As I thought more about it, I wanted to tell the story. But I was never sure I could do it justice.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
My father is a presidential historian, so I spent my whole life watching him research and write and edit. So he is my greatest writing influence. I see myself as a storyteller in life, so I’m constantly looking for inspiration from those who can bring stories to life. McCullough, Amanda Ripley, and even recent authors like Jay Glazer and even Khloe Kardashian all inspire me. I love a great story!
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
There is nothing like NYC to watch people, listen to conversations, and observe lives. I can sit in a train station or an airport or a pizza joint and just soak it all in. As I work on a novel, it is a great way to understand dialogue. And the food just can’t be beat!
Q5. Is there lots to do before you dive in and start writing a book?
Dad in a Cheer Bow is my third book (Why Kids Can”t Read, an education book was my first. Dadprovement, a memoir, was second). I start by just writing. I skip over the intro of the book or of the chapter and just dive in. I write a few chapters and then show it to my wife. I’m a horrible editor and a worse judge of my work. So everything goes through my wife, Jennifer. She tells me if it is worth continuing, needs work, or needs a lot of work. She’s my guide through it all.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘A Dad in a Cheer Bow’ book?
I started writing the book during Covid. All told, it was written and edited in about eight months.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your book ?
It’s currently available in print or ebook on Amazon. It is also available as a print book on Barnes & Noble. We are conducting an audio version now.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘A Dad in a Cheer Bow’?
The cover choice was an easy one. That is me and my daughter at Eastern Regionals, The competition that won us a bid to Nationals. At cheer competitions, I was a unicorn as a male cheer coach. I had some competitor coaches who told me I had no business coaching cheer as I was a boy. So I leaned into. I first got a tutu from the mom of one of athletes. Two other moms gave me the feather boa. I had one cheerleader ask me if I would wear the same cheer bow all my athletes wore at competition. With my shaved head, my only choice was attaching it to a fedora.
Thus the title. I am a dad in a cheer bow. I only coached because of my daughter and my wanting to be a more involved father. I wear the title with honor.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
The big thing in competitive cheer is working to compete at Nationals, which was hosted at Disney World (before covid). So I spent quite some time finding the right Disney quotes to start each of the chapters, quotes that would foreshadow what the reader would discover. I wrote chronologically, which can be boring as an author. So I had to really think about the life lessons I wanted to communicate at the end. Ultimately, the final section of the book (the first four sections are the four seasons) is what I would hope each of my athletes would one day read.
Q10. Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
Most tweens are embarrassed by their parents, particularly their dads in a tutu. While my daughter would get embarrassed when I would be stopped for photos at competitions, the experience made us incredibly close. Even at 15, she still considers me one of her closest friends.
At a national conference for cheer coaches in Las Vegas, I was one of only a handful of men, in a group of more than a thousand. I actually had another coach slip me her hotel room key that week.
I never thought it, but I miss coaching terribly. During the middle of COVID, my daughter and I both retired from cheer. She tried to come out of retirement last year, but we were in a gym where racism was a problem, and with a Latino daughter, we felt we needed to quit the gym and make a statement (I ended up writing about it on Medium). This year, my daughter came out of retirement for a second time, cheering for her high school and its competition cheer team. For the first time in eight years, I can now go to competitions and just watch and enjoy my daughter and her effort.
A Dad in a Cheer Bow on Amazon
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