Issue 954

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issue no. 954 Thursday 27th april 2017

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FRoM DaD To aUTHoR iN a YeaR SAT in a café writing a joke Facebook post last January, Stocksbridge man Matt Coyne couldn’t possibly have envisaged what the next year would hold for him. Matt, 42, and partner Lyndsay Cooper had just welcomed their son Charlie into the world and at three months old he was having his first trip out at Meadowhall. Matt decided to write a few notes about his experience as a fledging father and was surprised when his humorous post received more than the usual one or two ‘likes’. But by the end of the week, his post had been shared 75,000 times and media outlets the world over were clamouring to speak to him about his viral fame. “I remember being on Australian television via satellite,” Matt recalls, “Before I was on there was a bloke trying to set a world record for cracking a whip and then after I was on, there was a man who’d lost a toe on some patio furniture. I’d had a few drinks and it was all a bit surreal.”

BABY RAVE: The launch party and above, Matt with his inspiration, son Charlie

“Excellent”

Fast forward a year and Matt has a Facebook page and website, ‘Man Versus Baby’, where he regularly updates his followers on what’s been happening at home. This led to a bidding war from a number of publishers and on

April 20, his first book, ‘Dummy, The comedy and the chaos of real-life parenting’ was released to critical acclaim.

“I was terrified of the reviews!” Matt tells Look Local. “I was worried they’d be terrible but the response has been amazing. “On Amazon, my book has five stars. That’s a star more than The Bible and half a star more than the complete works of Shakespeare so I can’t grumble at that. It’s so strange going to WH Smiths and seeing my book on the shelves. “The book has been translated into German, French and Chinese. It’s actually appeared on North Korea’s Internet!” To launch his book, Matt teamed up with a company called Boomchikkaboom! To host a ‘baby rave’ in Wakefield and true to form, the response bowled Matt over. “Tickets for the event were on sale on the internet and it sold out really quickly. I had people messaging me and asking if they could come down and I was telling them it’d be fine. I was sat there and more and more people just kept arriving. It was crazy.” As well as hordes of fans, Matt also gets the odd ‘troll’ and he enjoys witty exchanges with visitors to his Facebook page but

he’s also had some more serious and positive feedback. “I’ve had messages from parents who have been struggling with depression, thinking they’re bad parents. They tell me that my posts helped them to realise that everyone struggles. “One of the quotes from the sleeve of my book is from Ashton Kutcher – it just goes to show, parenting cuts through things like class. Everyone struggles with parenting. Those messages alone have made this all worthwhile.” Matt is making appearances all over the country in support of his new book before starting work on the already hotly-anticipated sequel. On Thursday April 27, he is appearing at the Orchard Square Waterstones. It runs from 7pm to 8.30pm and is ticket only. Tickets are £3 and include a glass of wine. You can buy them at www.waterstones.com/events/ an-evening-with-matt-coyne/ sheffield-orchard-square You can find the Man Versus Baby Facebook page at www. facebook.com/manversusbaby and the book is available from Amazon for £8 quid and also at all good bookshops.


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