Book Trailer for YOU'RE INVITED

Today, Jen Malone and I unveiled the book trailer for YOU'RE INVITED!  You can find it on Kidliterati, here: http://www.kidliterati.com/2015/03/trailer-reveal-for-youre-invited-by.html

I can't wait for this book to be in the world! At its heart, YOU'RE INVITED is about friendship. These four friends just happen to live in a quirky little beach town and start a business planning parties!

The book will be out on May 19th, from Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.

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