More on TRIPP ZOOME

First the good news: Yes, I wrote the Disney Channel movie, DADNAPPED. Now for the bad news: No - there aren't really any Tripp Zoome books. Bummer, right? Because if you were a fan of the film you'd probably be a fan of the books that the main character writes.

If you don't know the film (and if you don't have kids or aren't already a kid - then why should you?) Dadnapped is the story of a famous writer whose main character is a popular teen, super spy named Tripp Zoome. Tripp is smart and clever and can get in and out of trouble using everyday stuff, kind of like a MacGyver character - except he uses a lot of dental floss, preferably minted!

I first came up with the idea for this film after spending the night in a horrible motel in Miami where there was a huge fight going on in the room next to mine. All I could think about was how I wished I could get another room and when I opened the phone book - a matchbook fell out with a phone number handwritten on it. Really - that was all I needed to start the ball rolling in my head.

I knew the dad in the story would be a famous author (and this was years before I even considered writing books) and wanted his creation to be larger than life - a teenaged James Bond. The name Tripp Zoome fit perfectly - it has a sophistid feel as well as a sense of cartoony fun. He needed to be larger than life with a bit of a wink to how fake everything about him is.

I hope this answers some more questions about Tripp Zoome and Dadnapped. If not, feel free to email me or post your questions in the comments section!