Surprising way Sunrise star nabbed book deal

Weatherman Sam Mac has launched his new book about fatherhood, revealing his life as a father-of-two was “hectic” and he was “aching” after his young family recently expanded.

The Sunrise personality and his partner Rebecca James earlier this year welcomed their second daughter Mabel.

But it was their eldest daughter, Margot, 2, who was the inspiration for his new book Suddenly One, which was released on Tuesday by Penguin Books.

“So when Margot turned one, it is a milestone for the parents as well, you want to celebrate that and all those little moments that happen in that first year,” Mac told Seven’s The Morning Show on Tuesday.

“I just jotted down some thoughts, on a long flight to Perth, on the back of an Uber Eats bag … and by the time I got there, I thought, ‘oh, maybe this could be a poem’.

“So a few days later I refined it and posted it with some video to match the words and it had over a million views overnight. It really took me by surprise.

“And Penguin got in touch and said, ‘we think that this is a universal experience, everyone gets excited about their little ones and those first milestones, let’s turn it into a picture book’.

“So over the past year we’ve had the process of picking the illustrator, the wonderful Deb Hudson, and refining the text and here it is today.”

He said he hoped it helped families “connect” and preserve memories of when their children are young.

“It’s also great, not necessarily just for parents who have that newborn, but for parents and grandparents to sit down and read it with their little ones,” Mac said.

“Even when they’re six or seven. To talk about it, ‘hey this is what you were doing at this age, this is how we felt when you entered the world’.

“I hope what comes from the book is a great connection point for families, That’s what I’m excited to see.”

Asked about his household after Rebecca gave birth to their second daughter last month, Mac said: “It is hectic.

“I mean, cluster feeding. Anyone familiar? I’m really aching at the moment.

“It’s when the baby is feeding a lot more than normal breastfeeding, like feeding every hour or so as opposed to every 3 or 4 hours.”