Tim Bete -- Interview

Tim Bete is as clever answering interview questions as he is in his new book, In the Beginning. . .There Were No Diapers, Laughing and Learning in the First Years of Fatherhood. Read the review and then get to know the author.

It's so much fun to get a little insight into the man who looks amazingly like someone famous (check Tim's web site for the pics to prove it). Enjoy the interview.

1. Where did you find the cover art? Was this your idea?

My publisher came up with the cover art. I'm just glad I didn't have to hold the two naked babies! (Besides, I had a no-naked-baby clause in my contract.) When my seven-year-old son first saw the book cover, he turned around, mooned me and said, "Look dad, I'm a book cover!"



2. Is Botta Bing Botta Boom a new phrase you adopted for this book? Was it a 50's slang term? Do you know the origin of it?

I don't know the origin of the phrase. I always picture it being used in mafia movies. It's something Vito says. For example, "He wouldn't pay us what he owed, so -- botta bing, botta boom -- we convinced him to pay us."



3. Have you always written humor pieces?

Yes. I’ve always written about my kids and they're very funny. I could never make up the things they say. Just look at what my son did when he saw the cover of my book. I couldn't have made that up in a million years.



4. How does one develop the ability to write humor?

Some people are just born funny. And some people are blessed with the gift of being able to write. If you have both, you're a humor writer.



5. Did you ever meet Erma Bombeck?

Erma died in 1996 and I never met her, although I've met all the other members of her family -- Bill (Erma's widower) and the Bombeck kids (Betsy, Andy and Matt). I call them kids but they're older than me. They're a wonderful family.



6. How has this Workshop helped your/others' career(s)?

One of the most difficult things about being a writer is dealing with discouragement. Every time you write something and submit it to an editor, you face rejection. The Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop helps motivate writers while giving them the skills to succeed. That’s the best way to honor Erma's legacy -- by helping other writers.

Note: Tim is the director of the University of Dayton's Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop."


7. What's your next project?

I’m working on another humor book about parenting. It’s more of a how-to book – actually, a how-not-to book.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, Tim. I'm not sure I'm one of those lucky people born with a funny bone. You are. . .

We'll look forward to your next book.

Until we meet in the Teachers' Lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com