Great review from Booklist!

Booklist had some really nice things to say about BREAKING THE ICE:

Breaking the Ice.
Nall, Gail (Author)
Mar 2015. 320 p. Aladdin, hardcover, $16.99. (9781481419116).
Twelve-year-old Kaitlin has dedicated her short life to figure skating and dreams of making the Olympic team. She is homeschooled by her equally obsessed mother and largely isolated from anything not directly related to her skating career. When the normally steady Kaitlin has a meltdown in reaction to her scores at a meet, yelling at the judges and knocking over an awards table, she is summarily dismissed from her club, dropped by her coach, and forced to join the skate club of last resort, Falton, sneeringly referred to as “fall down” by the other, more prestigious clubs in the area. Tasked by her new coach with finding the emotional depth missing from her technically proficient skating by performing to an intimidating tango piece instead of her usual Swan Lake, Kaitlin learns, with help from the new friends she makes at Falton, to trust herself and let go. Kaitlin is an appealing heroine, written sensitively by Nall. The backstage look at elite-level skating will hook young fans of the sport.

New review!

So excited to announce that BREAKING THE ICE got a great review in School Library Journal!

Nall, Gail. Breaking the Ice. 320p. S. & S./Aladdin. Mar. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781481419116; ebk. ISBN 9781481419130.

Gr 3-6–There is nothing in the world that Kaitlin wants more than to be a championship figure skater. She trains hard and even begins homeschooling in order to realize this dream. But when Kaitlin throws a tantrum after her performance at a competition, she’s dropped by her coach and her prestigious club. When no one else will accept her, Kaitlin joins the Fallton Club as a last resort. Unfortunately, Fallton is known as the Fall Down Club, and Kaitlin doesn’t think that life can get any worse. She soon realizes that the skaters at Fallton are nice and she decides that things might not be that bad. Now her problem is learning a new routine in a very short time frame. Nall’s novel will appeal to a wide audience, whether readers are interested in figure skating or simply looking for a fun read. Kaitlin is a spunky protagonist and the secondary characters are mostly well developed, though one is a stereotypical mean girl whose cruel streak is neatly explained. Figure skating can be a catty environment, so depicting the members of the Fallton Club as encouraging and caring is a sound choice, showing readers that they can be competitive without being nasty. VERDICT A good addition to any middle grade collection, but especially those lacking in female-centric sports stories.–Paige Garrison, Aurora Central Public Library, CO

Big News + An Interview on the Sweet Sixteens

My writer friend Brooks Benjamin (whose debut MY SEVENTH GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS comes out in 2016) interviewed me for the Sweet Sixteens blog. I talk Better Than Ezra, my rusty old Camaro, and give advice to my sixteen-year-old self.

And the big news is that my young adult novel, EXIT STAGE LEFT, will be published later this year through HarperTeen Impulse!

6 days until BREAKING THE ICE!

Today I'm over on the Fearless Fifteeners' blog, answering questions about ogres and unicorns and my most embarrassing childhood memory. Check it out here.

Also, I'm on the Debut Dish here. And you can win my very last ARC, which I've annotated with all kinds of fun notes.

6 days and counting...

Launch Party for BREAKING THE ICE!

If you're in Louisville, this is your official invitation to come on down for my launch party on Saturday, January 17th! It'll be at Carmichael's bookstore, starting at 4 p.m. I'll be reading a little from the book, and there might even be a few yummy things to eat.

Hope to see you there!

Details can be found here: http://www.carmichaelsbookstore.com/event/gail-nall

Giveaway for BREAKING THE ICE swag!

Happy Thursday, everyone! My writer friend E.M. Caines (who wrote a fun YA called WILL THE REAL PRINCE CHARMING PLEASE STAND UP?, which you should totally read if you haven't already) made me these adorable little mini-book ornaments:

Isn't that the cutest thing ever? So, guess what... I have 20 of these ornaments that I would love to send out! To you, and your critique partner, and your middle grade reader, and your favorite teacher, and your local librarian, and well, pretty much everyone you know. I'll even write you a (teeny tiny) note inside and sign them!

Plus, I'm going to include a BREAKING THE ICE postcard and two bookmarks (one to keep, one to give away!).

So how do you enter this most awesome giveaway? Easy! You pre-order a copy of BREAKING THE ICE (either the print copy or the ebook), and then enter the Rafflecopter below.

If you win, you'll email me a screenshot (or forward the email pre-order confirmation) dated the day or you entered or earlier (so, yup, if you pre-ordered waaay back in August, you can enter!), and then I'll send you:

1) one super-cute, personalized and signed BTI ornament,
2) two BTI bookmarks, and
3) one BTI postcard

You can pre-order from any online or bricks-and-mortar store, but I'll throw in a plug here for my amazing local indie, Carmichael's. If you pre-order from them, you can indicate in the comments that you want a signed and personalized copy.

That's it! I have 20 of these babies to give away, and I can't wait to send one to you! The giveaway will end on Monday, December 15th at 11:59 p.m. US only, please!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Publishers Weekly Reviews BREAKING THE ICE!

Publishers Weekly reviewed BREAKING THE ICE! I'm not gonna lie, this review made my entire week. :)

You can find it here.

ARC giveaway for BREAKING THE ICE!!

If you're on Goodreads, be sure to enter the giveaway for a signed ARC of BREAKING THE ICE! But hurry, because the giveaway is only open for six days!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Breaking the Ice

by Gail Nall

Giveaway ends November 11, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

What's new....

My favorite local indie bookstore, Carmichael's, will host my book launch party in January! But if you can't make it, you can pre-order a copy of BREAKING THE ICE from them. You can even ask that it be personalized and signed (note this in the comments section when you order)! It'll be like you never missed the party. ;)

In other great news, RSVP is now available for pre-order on Amazon!

ARCs are here!

A box arrived from UPS yesterday evening, and it was full of pretty, shiny, gorgeous ARCs!

I kinda want to carry the box around with me and gaze lovingly upon them all day...

Sporty Girl Books & a new release date!

Today I'm on Sporty Girl Books, talking skating and sporty girls!

And in other news, the release date for BREAKING THE ICE has been moved up -- to January 13th, 2015!

It's getting closer...

So these arrived at my house yesterday....

First pass pages for BREAKING THE ICE, plus a sales proof of the dust jacket!!!  If I put them together, they're like an actual book. Minus the binding. And an actual cover. :)

The book is also up on Barnes & Noble for pre-order now:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-the-ice-gail-nall/1119701424

Wherein BREAKING THE ICE gets a cover and a pre-order link!

BREAKING THE ICE made its cover reveal debut on Kidliterati last week. Click here to see it, and to read my thoughts on the cover.

And then on Friday, I discovered that BTI is now available for pre-order on Amazon! It's not yet up on Barnes & Noble, so stay tuned...