Ta-Da! Presenting THE DOODLES OF SAM DIBBLE!

By Judy Press     I haven’t blogged in quite a while and I’ll tell you why. Last spring I received a call from Bonnie Bader, the executive editor at Grosset & Dunlap (Penguin Books For Young Readers.) It seems that a pre-pubescent associate editor (okay, she was a little older but this was her first job after graduating from college) pulled my manuscript from the slush pile. Convinced she had found a gem, she pitched it to Bonnie, who after getting the green light from acquisitions made her call and offered me a contract.   Here’s how I reacted while on the phone with Bonnie: I peed in my pants, laughed hysterically at anything she said, babbled about how I loved to doodle (a lie) and offered her my first born grandchild.   Now fast forward to January 2013 and here’s what has happened since: I have gained seven pounds, the name of my character was changed from “Ben” to “Sam,” I decided that writing is harder than giving birth and learned that a deadline is no joke.   How did I manage to get not one but four books published? The answer is simple: it was perseverance, timing and hard work. I pitched that sucker of a manuscript for five years and accumulated reams of rejections. I complained the whole time to my writers group (bless their hearts for putting up with me) and threatened to go back to my day job (which doesn’t exist.) But in the end it was sending out the very best version of my story (and believe me there were many) to the one publisher who was looking for a strong plot line, engaging main character and farts, burps and other kid-centric references thrown in for good measure.   So here they are: The Doodles of Sam Dibble. Books One and Two (Double Trouble) will be released Thursday, Jan. 24th. The third and fourth books in the series come out this summer. Am I proud of my accomplishment? You bet I am!!