Filmmaker, Author, Dapper Dad: Walker Lamond

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GEORGETOWN RESIDENT Walker Lamond wasn't yet a parent when he launched his blog, 1,001 Rules for My Unborn Son (Rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com) a couple years ago. But his pearls of fatherly advice — "There is never an excuse for stealing someone's cab," "Don't date the bartender"— found an instant following. Now, the father of two has compiled a selection of his charming snippets into a book, "Rules for My Unborn Son" ($15, St. Martin's Griffin).

» EXPRESS: The book was born from your blog, but how did the blog start?
» LAMOND: The whole thing began as a personal project of sorts, long before I was even online. I was just trying to keep track of all the things my dad had taught me growing up. It was as simple as that. I compiled them on the back of bar napkins and in a notebook, and then one day, decided to put them online. It grew from there.

» EXPRESS: How did the blog morph into a book?
» LAMOND: At some point, I saw that my readership had gone from about 20 to something like 4,000, thanks to the viral nature of the Internet. It was a matter of weeks before I started getting e-mails from publishers and literary agents, and it just took off from there.

» EXPRESS: Was your father a disciplinarian?
» LAMOND: No, my dad was the life of every party, well-dressed, well-mannered and just someone I always looked up to. He wasn't actually a big rules guy, but he thought there were just things a real man would and wouldn't do.

» EXPRESS: The book itself looks very retro.
» LAMOND: From the beginning, there was always a throwback feel to the content of the blog. This isn't advice or a support group — these are rules, in the same way that your grandfather might've had rules for himself. When it came time to make the book, I really wanted to retain that same vintage-y feel.

» EXPRESS: The number of rules on the blog are now in the 400s. What will you do when you hit 1,001?
» LAMOND: We write one for my daughter! Or, unfortunately for my son, I think we just keep going. Every day, I think of another thing that bugs me or that I want my son to do.

» EXPRESS: Do you have a favorite rule?
» LAMOND: One thing my father taught me that was particularly pertinent to this project was, "Don't boast about projects in progress. Celebrate their completion." It was always tempting to want to talk about the book deal, but I made sure to keep everything under wraps until it was all signed, sealed and delivered.

» EXPRESS: You're also known around D.C. for being a fashionable guy.
» LAMOND: When I started writing the rules, I realized I should start obeying them myself. I started adding more suits to my rotation, shaving more often. But also, when I saw that I was going to have a son, I wanted to make sure I looked like a father. I didn't want to be dressing the same as my kid.

» EXPRESS: So, these rules aren't just for kids.
» LAMOND: When I started writing these things down, I realized that, more than even being rules for my unborn son, they became my own rule book for how to be a good man and a good father. They work for grown-ups just as well.

Photos courtesy Walker Lamond