I write fiction based on truth, which allows me to venture right or left regardless of whether it happened or not. I started with short stories, early 90’s, and published three in grad school. I saw them as very “close camera” looks into the intricacies of relationships. The art was in the capturing of the everyday, just two people on the porch on any given Tuesday. Not the birthday or Christmas or the day he won the lottery but an actual Tuesday. Novels have to move quicker and more vastly than just a snapshot of a porch. But that porch can be a scene within the novel and if it’s written well it can actually help guide more of the story. That patchwork of scenes is how novels start for me. With The Daddy Diaries I was writing actual journal type entries in the first draft. I am a stay at home dad, which means I’m a part of a growing number of couples that see it best that mom bring home the bacon while dad gets down and dirty with the greatly unappreciated tasks of healthy child rearing. Since my instinct for writing began with these close camera looks at people, my well was full as far as wanting to write about my life as a househusband. The Daddy Diaries is the result of two plus years after those journal entries and building and shaping a relatable “ride” for parents and the children of those parents.