Book Synopsis:
Growing up with my father had helped me to learn valuable ways of what to do and not to do regarding dating. I am so grateful he took the time with me to make sure I would have the best type of person in my life. This book is designed to help parents talk to their kids about dating. In addition, singles that have struggled and for those back into the dating world after being out of it for a long time. In this book you will find fast ways of how to meet that guy or girl; beginning of dating; who makes the first move; great conversation starters; and when to move on. As a bonus I have some tips I have learned along the way and have found helpful for me as well as my friends I have shared them with.
Welcome Amity, it’s wonderful to be able to interview you – especially since I couldn’t locate very much information about you. (And, I’m certain your readers would enjoy learning some additional facts about their favorite author too).
Let’s start with some easy stuff though such as where you were born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Tucson, AZ and raised in Mesa, AZ. My dad grew up in Montana and when he was a pilot for the Air Force, he was stationed there and loved the weather and the area.
As a child, what sort of things did you enjoy doing when you weren’t in school or (possibly) dealing with household chores?
When I was in school, I loved playing with my neighborhood friends and jumping on the trampoline, riding my bike, reading Nancy Drew books, and 
building forts. In 8th grade through high school, I started playing volleyball, Jr. Olympic volleyball, & basketball.
With household chores, my brother and I had daily ones and then Saturday morning chores. As soon as that was done we got to go play. We had a great system that if one finished before the other one then we would help each other so we could go play sooner. As we got older, then we still had the chores but as I started to travel on the weekends then I would get them done before or after I would get home. My dad was consistent with flexibility which I find I do the same thing raising my young children.
Now I have to ask, I did read your Amazon bio and you mention that you grew up with your father after age eight. Based on your book’s synopsis, I’m wondering if this was due to divorce – which might have been the very first step taken on the journey that led to the fruition of your current release Dating Tips from Dad.
My parents divorced when I was 8 and my mom moved to a different state and didn’t see her much after that. Being raised by my dad was unheard of.
What was your childhood like, after age eight? Were you still able to enjoy your favorite activities or had things shifted and changed?
I had a really enjoyable childhood! My father always made everything fun and exciting; even with chores. I didn’t really know any better since I was still pretty young. My mom was pretty much out of the picture from age 8 and the shift of going from having a mom all the time to none was a little bit of an adjustment. Growing up without a mother, I found I would incorporate things from the women around me that I liked or admired. Having such a dynamic father made it easy since he typically had girlfriends with fun personalities.
At what point did you discover your love of books? As a young girl, did you ever expect to be a published author?
I have always loved to read, it didn’t matter what it was. It started very early. I loved to write and the flow of my pen going on the paper was more creative and loving than anything. I enjoy sending little notes by mail and letting people know I think of them. As far as being a published author, I never thought about it at a young age. Recently, when I put I put my mind to it and just did it. God seemed to open the doors for me and all of a sudden my book was coming to life. When I saw the 3 sample book covers that is when it really was exciting to see my book was forming a reality.
So, you were lucky enough to meet wonderful men in your life, I’m guessing that’s due in no small part to your father’s valuable advice while growing up? When did you (or what was it) that made you notice that your friends were not as blessed?
I was so fortunate to have the wisdom my father gave me about dating very early on. I naturally attract great men and more than anything I have high expectations. If they didn’t meet up to them they were down the road. Life is too short to deal with jerks and I am definitely not a fixer nor do I want to be fixed. It takes a special person to be with me, I am 6’ tall and a competitive athlete.
It isn’t easy for me to take the sidelines and let the man do the work but according to my dad’s dating advice I needed to listen. I didn’t realize that my friends and family weren’t as blessed as much as they were asking me for relationship advice. Many of them would ask how I met such amazing guys. They couldn’t believe what I did and how effective it was. I knew I wanted to help as many as I could and the easiest way was to write a book about it.
You also mentioned that you conducted a personal survey of your friends the last ten years; discovering that they were never really instructed in the ‘how-to’ of dating. What initially prompted this survey? And at what point during this time (or maybe even preceding) did the light-bulb of epiphany hit you with regard to writing a helpful dating handbook?
The light-bulb turned on for me when my friends and family were asking me how to date and what tips I had to help them be successful. Since my father had been so proactive with successful dating I thought everyone was taught this as well. But when I would ask about their dating education then it started to make sense to me why people didn’t have the same information I did growing up.
About 10 years ago, I knew I wanted to write a dating book and started asking for their experience and what they were told growing up. My husband wasn’t taught how to date and his mother was a high school health teacher.
Who is the target audience for your Dating Tips from Dad? Is it tailored more toward the adult who doesn’t understand why he, or she, keeps kissing the royal prince/princess only to have him/her turn into a frog? Is it tailored more toward the parent, so as to help the younger generation find that special person with less difficulty and heartache/break? Or would you say it’s a more generalized mix of the two?
I am finding that my book isn’t really tailored to anyone specific. It’s perfect for parents to be able to use my book as a 3rd party tool to talk about dating from a published author (and not make them be the bad guy or those parents that don’t know what they are talking about); my married readers seem to have single friends they are recommending the book to and love the conversation starters; singles; in a relationship; coming out of a short or long term relationship; and young girls. I wanted it to be an easy and fast read to meet more the masses.
Any additional guidance books in the works? Such as, uh, The Helpful Dos and Don’ts of Divorce? Just curious, because you know that would actually be a really helpful read for many! (Hello, Dad … ?) *smile*
I would like to write a marriage and raising young kids successfully book. I have learned a lot through being married, dating, and raising young children. I would like to be able to pass on more of my ‘insider’ knowledge to others. Thank you for asking, I am in the process of doing my marriage book next. I am excited to see what comes through and how I can help others as well.
Lastly, any final thought or inspiration to share with your readers? Funny story? Pearl of wisdom? A complete non sequitur that you’ve just been itching to tell someone, anyone?
I have been so inspired by the positive feedback from my readers toward my book and they are of all ages and relationship stages. I didn’t realize the impact I would have when I wrote a dating book and how it would help so many people.
As I was writing this, it has been fun to reminisce through the stages of dating with my husband. I am so thankful and loving to him as much as possible, writing a dating book definitely brings out more of the amazing love I have for him and our family.
Author Bio:
Amity Jones grew up with her father from age 8 and on. Learning the simple steps of dating, among other things, were very helpful in finding the most amazing men in her life. After she did a personal survey of her friends the last 10 years and found that they didn’t really learn ‘how-to-date’ other than from trial and error, from their dysfunctional parents, and/or their peers that didn’t know what they were doing. It led her to write this book to help others learn her dating tips from dad.
