Welcome to Tuesday Debut, Everyone!

Let’s start today with a giveaway and then bounce right into meeting today’s debut-ess!

Our debut-ess, Mary, is kindly offering a giveaway of a hardcover copy of her book to one lucky winner! (US addresses only, please.) To be entered in the random giveaway, just leave a comment on today’s post by Monday May 18th at 3 PM Eastern!

Thank you, Mary! So kind!

And now, allow me to properly introduce you to today’s debut-ess, Mary West, author of MAGGIE AND THE MYSTERIOUS NOISY BUBBLES, a beautiful book she self-published with the help of an editor, an illustrator, and a formatter who will be introduced below!

Title: Maggie and the Mysterious Noisy Bubbles
Author: Mary West
Illustrator: Kim Sponaugle
Publishing House and Date of Publication: West by Mary West April 25^th 2026
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
ISBN #: 979-8234004802
Readership age range of your book 3-6

Sarah loves blowing bubbles—and her pup, Mop-a-doodle Maggie, loves popping them! But today, every pop makes a strange sound: moo, neigh, oink, quack. Together, Sarah and Maggie follow the noisy clues, counting as they go, to solve the silly mystery behind their barnyard bubbles in this playful read-aloud adventure.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Mary! Thank you so much for joining us today! We’re all looking forward to hearing about your journey to publication with MAGGIE AND THE MYSTERIOUS NOISY BUBBLES! Where did the idea for this book come from?

MARY: I was outside watching Maggie, my dog, zooming around the yard trying to pop every bubble as my daughter blew them. And as I watched, I imagined how the students in the kindergarten classroom I assist in would get a huge kick out of watching her too. Then the idea ‘popped’ into my head – I could write a book about my zany dog! The hardest part was coming up with the twist for the story.  I don’t want to give away too much… It will spoil the book!

I thought about writing a counting book.  But then I thought that the market was saturated with those.  And, trying to rhyme anything with the number 7 gets me every time!  I wish I could give you more details about coming up with the twist; but honestly, the idea really did just pop into my head after I brainstormed several other ideas as I watched Maggie pop bubbles.

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

MARY: I wrote my book during August/September of 2025. 

SUSANNA: Were there any mentor texts that helped you zero in on the direction you wanted to take your book?

MARY: I am a kindergarten instructional teaching assistant and over the years I’ve listened to teachers read and watched as children listened to countless read-alouds.  These experiences helped me shape what I wanted my picture book to be.

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

MARY: I rarely sat down at my desk and thought about revising my story.  Most of my thoughts about revisions came to me at random moments and I found it oddly convenient to send myself a text with the revision in it!  I guess you might consider that a unique revision process.  When I was at the point when I was working with my editor, I’d say we went through 4 or 5 small revisions that took a week or two.

The REAL Maggie – Mary’s writing buddy (and, it would seem, inspiration 😊)

SUSANNA: When did you know your manuscript was ready for publication?

MARY: My editor was my biggest cheerleader!  Writing a book has always been a dream of mine, so going through the process was the important part. I wasn’t really too invested in how successful my book was going to be.  I was looking at that as an added bonus.

SUSANNA: At what point did you decide to self-publish rather than submit to traditional publishers?

MARY: While I was searching for my illustrator, I did try querying agents to find a traditional publisher.  I sent out about two dozen or so queries and I did get a lot of form “Sorry the market is very competitive and your book doesn’t fit what we are looking for at the moment” responses.  I was actually very surprised I got responses at all.  I also did not like the fact that if you are not illustrating your book yourself, your hands are kind of tied when it comes to illustrators/illustrations.  It wasn’t part of my dream to write my book and not have much input in the illustration process.  I don’t think you have zero control with traditional publishing.  But, you have far more control if you self-publish.

I’m also a very impatient person!  So, IF you get a deal with a traditional publisher, it can take 2 years or so until your book is finally published.

SUSANNA: How did you find an illustrator?

MARY: It took me some time to find my amazingly talented illustrator, Kim Sponaugle.  It was definitely worth the time and effort.  I had a very particular style of illustrations in mind – hand drawn and painted and my budget was very tight.  Where there is a will there’s a way!!  I kind of stumbled upon Kim by researching someone else.  I think I was looking on their Linkedin page and Kim showed up in the Other People section.  I researched her and found her portfolio online and it was, what I would refer to as, ‘Devine intervention’!  Her illustrations were EXACTLY what I was looking for.  We connected and chatted and went back and forth and came up with an option that would work.  I could not be happier with the final results!
Kim Sponaugle:
website: https://bit.ly/4uLkezq
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/picturekitchenstudio?igsh=NzBvcXdxZjl4OHBk

text copyright Mary West 2026, illustration copyright Kim Sponaugle 2026, West by Mary West Publishing

SUSANNA: Did you and the illustrator have a contract of any kind?

MARY: Yes, it is always smart to sign a contract.  I signed them with all parties I worked with during the process.  Items included in my contract with my illustrator were: cost, payment schedule, deadlines, rights given to me vs.rights retained by my illustrator.

SUSANNA: What was the illustration process like since you were directing it? Any particular challenges?

MARY: I loved bouncing ideas back and forth.  I would send her pictures of my pup and other pictures with items that I wanted included in the illustrations.  There is one page in particular in my book where I had no idea what I wanted the illustration to look like and when I saw what she sketched… I cried.  It was absolutely perfect!  I was particular about a few items and more open to her vision on others.  It was a great partnership!

SUSANNA: Anything you particularly enjoyed?

MARY: I enjoyed it when Kim would send me sneak peeks of pages she was working on.  Guaranteed tears of joy every time!

SUSANNA: How did you format your book for publication?

MARY: My illustrator already had a formatter she used often and recommended to me.  Her name is Rosemarie Gillen.  She did a fantastic job laying out the book beautifully.

Rosemarie Gillen
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kidillustartor_greetingcards?igsh=MXI0c212Nm5mOTMzdw==

SUSANNA: How did you select a printing service?

MARY: Rosemarie is also an expert with IngramSpark.  So, I had her do that for me as well.

SUSANNA: Did you do a print run so you’d have inventory, or is your book print-on-demand?

MARY: My book is print-on-demand.  You can purchase it through Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Walmart.com and through many other online booksellers.  But I do keep both softcover and hardback books on hand to supply to local stores including Sparta Books, Black Dog Books and Weyward Market.  Please check out my website marywestauthor.com to find my schedule for in-person events.  As a side note, I was very sick towards the end of the winter and spent a month in the hospital and am now going through outpatient treatments.  Unfortunately, due to this, I had to cancel or postpone any events I had scheduled for this summer.  But don’t worry, I’ll be back and better than ever this fall!

SUSANNA: So sorry to hear of your illness, Mary! I hope you’re recovery is going well and you will soon be good as new! How long was the process from writing through publication of your book?

MARY: I wrote the book during the summer of 2025.  After I finished my final draft, I looked into Reedsy and found my wonderful editor, Crystal.  Crystal Bowman works exclusively through Reedsy with her editing. Here is her direct link: Crystal Bowman, Editor in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA | Reedsy https://reedsy.com/b-crystal I would highly recommend not skipping having your book reviewed by a professional editor.  They are an important piece of this process.  As I said previously, it took me some time to find my amazingly talented illustrator, Kim.  So, the entire process – including writing, editing, collaborating with my illustrator, approving sketches and final illustrations, working with my layout professional, and then completing final reviews – took 8 months. But I couldn’t have done it without Crystal, Kim, and Rosemarie!

SUSANNA: Were you able to get your book reviewed by Kirkus, SLJ, Hornbook, Booklist etc?

MARY: Not yet.  That is next on my list.

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

MARY: I did allot money in my budget to hire a promotional person, Tara.  Once again, I found her through Reedsy.  She created my Book Blurb, my About the Author page, and designed a bookmark for me.  She also supplied me with a wealth of promotional advice and information.  I did reach out to local book stores and I connected with teachers, speech pathologists and other professionals through Instagram that I thought might be interested in my book for their classrooms.  I also would like to mention the indie author community on Instagram.  The people I have connected with have been amazing!  It’s a great place to both give support to others and receive incredible support from others as you go through your writing journey! 

SUSANNA: Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

MARY: I would also like to mention a project that I started working on pretty much from the moment I knew I would be self-publishing.  I collaborated with Kylee, a vendor on Etsy, and we designed a child size felt set that is the perfect accessory to encourage learning through play.  This set, which includes your choice of either a hardback of softcover book, is available for purchase at my in-person events.

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience with us today, Mary! We so appreciate the opportunity to learn from you! Wishing you all the best with this and future titles!

Readers, if you have questions for Mary, please post them in the comments below and if she has time I’m sure she’ll respond! And remember, your comment below by Monday May 18th at 3 PM Eastern puts you in the running to be the randomly selected winner of a hardcover copy of Mary’s book, MAGGIE AND THE NOISY BUBBLES!

Author Mary West – Favorite writing pal:  my pup Maggie of course! Favorite snack: chocolate peanut butter ice cream

Website: https://marywestauthor.com/
Instagram handle is: @marywestpictureauthor

I recently started a blog on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3026605.Mary_West  I also post it on my website as well https://marywestauthor.com/blog  In my 1st, and only entry so far, I talk about inspiration and I go into more detail about what inspired me to write Maggie and the Mysterious Noisy Bubbles.

You may purchase Mary’s book at:
(all links below are book-specific)

Indiebound/Bookshop.org
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

We can help our debut authors successfully launch their careers by:

– purchasing their books

– recommending their books to friends and family

– recommending their books to our children’s teachers and librarians

– recommending their books to our local libraries and bookstores

– suggesting them as visiting authors at our children’s schools and our local libraries

– sharing their books on social media

– reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a lovely, inspiration-filled Tuesday!  Maybe today is the day you’ll write your debut picture book 😊

Missed any previous Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out HERE!