Greetings everyone!

I wanted to provide a few quick updates on The Odd Dog's Guide to Making Friends. 

First-- as I hinted at with my last update, we've decided on a different name for the book. 

The new name is...

Believe it or not, we spent quite a few days arriving at this name. We went back and forth on whether to keep odd in the name somewhere, but decided that maintaining 'the' and 'dog' would give us more of a series feel. We also felt this gave us a chance to expand the universe beyond Odd, opening up the possibility for more dogs to share their stories.

This did bring up an interesting point however; who should tell the story? 

Interestingly, after we renamed the book, we took a hard look at the writing and realized something.

Although we were in the storyboard phase (i.e. when the writing is done and you start to illustrate), it still wasn't quite right. That was when we realized it needed to be from the new dog's perspective.

This may seem like a small thing, but the characters in a book only have as much life as you give them. This meant that I needed to go back to the drawing board and get to know the new dog.

And I realized something...

I'm actually really grateful we went back to the drawing board, because I realized that Tiny was more like a prop than his own character. So, in short, we've scrapped the story and we're nearly finished with the new iteration. Because, honestly, this topic means a lot to me and I want to get it right. 

We're hoping to have a new cover very shortly.
We're planning to re-start storyboarding in the next month or so, during which you'll get exclusive first looks at the book.
I'm hoping to have an eBook ready as soon as possible, with books getting printed in the interim.

That means that, ideally, the book should be ready late spring if not sooner.

As I reflect on 2025, a year with a lot of highs and lows, this book has definitely been weighing on my mind. I'm so eager to get it in your hands and in the hands of rescues and shelters, but I want to make sure it has the time and space it needs to go from good to great.

I appreciate your patience on this journey. Right not, The New Dog has my full attention until it's completed, and once it's at the printer, I'll be able to announce the follow-up book which, if I'm honest, has given me significantly less trouble.

But in the end, isn't is the difficult dogs we love the most?

Thank you, as always, for listening to my ramblings. 

Have a safe and happy New Year's, and here's to a 2026 filled with Odd Dogs!

Sincerely,

Leia