by hatfield13

“That Skating Novel” finally has title! (and other bookish news)

After much wrangling, brainstorming, arranging of tiny slips of paper, and discussion (and many thanks to all of you who chimed in with ideas!), my December 2010 middle grade figure skating novel with Walker/Bloomsbury has a new title.  The book is about a figure skater from a small-town maple farm who earns a scholarship to train with the elite in Lake Placid and quickly realizes that her sweet dream come true has more sharp edges than she could have imagined.  The title?

SUGAR AND ICE

I’m delighted that the talented Joe Cepeda is doing the cover art again, and the preliminary sketches I’ve seen are gorgeous. I’ll share the final cover just as soon as it arrives and I get the go-ahead.

More book updates…

THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. will be released in paperback in September 2010.  This makes me very happy, since several teachers have asked about the paperback release for class sets of the novel, and I really love the idea of more kids being able to afford the book.  What kind of cool contest or other fun thing do you think we should do to celebrate in the fall?

My chapter book series with Scholastic will launch one year from this month.  MARTY MCGUIRE, FROG PRINCESS will be released in February 2011, with the second Marty book to follow in August or September of the same year.  I hope to have Marty illustrator news to share  soon!

As for works-in-progress, I’m waiting for some feedback so I can do one last revision pass on the middle grade mystery I’ve been working on. I’m also noodling over a couple picture books I’m trying to polish and just starting a fun, new chapter book idea.

What’s new with you?  What are you excited about and working on these days?

26 Replies on ““That Skating Novel” finally has title! (and other bookish news)”

  2. Wow! So much great book news. I am excited about Sugar & Ice and also the paperback release of Gianna Z (definitely makes it easier to buy class sets that way).

  3. That’s a beautiful title! I find it amazing how many works you have going simultaneously–it’s inspirational. I’m looking forward to reading Sugar and Ice.

  4. I love it Kate!! Can’t wait to see the cover art! I was hit with my revision letter last week for my middle grade mystery and I’m still overwhelmed. Much more work than I imagined, but I know it will be a better book for it!

  5. GREAT title, Kate!! And like Angie, I can’t wait to see the cover art. I freaking loved the cover of GIANNA.

    Congrats on all the other good news! Very exciting times!

  7. Yay – you must be so happy your book baby finally has a name. 🙂 Can’t wait to see the cover art.

    I’m working on a new YA, hoping to have 50 pages done by the end of the month that will wow my new editor. We’ll see…

  10. Wow! You are really a productive inspiration. I was thinking I should just pick one idea and stick to it to the bitter end. This is inspiring.
    I am looking forward to reading everything you write!

  11. Yes! That is so the best title!

    Me, I’m revising (yet again) SPIDER FINGERS, before I send to another round of agents. (See my post earlier in the week for details.) I also changed the title of a picture book. And I’m “laying marble” for my “souper sekret project” that I’m not going to talk about until I’ve got a completed rough draft (not the same as the marble).

  18. This was the YA you blogged about, right? The one that’s captured your heart? I’m so excited to hear more about it! Good luck with your goal for the month!

  20. Thanks, Debbie! Marty has been such a fun character to write. As someone else who writes both novels and a lighter chapter book series, I’m sure you can relate to the joy of being able to slip into that sillier tone sometimes.

  21. I actually do a lot better when I have more than one project going on at a time, as long as they’re not too similar. I find that when I’ve run out of steam on one, I can turn my attention to another idea and get a second wind.

  22. Good luck with your revisions! I totally understand the urge to keep quiet about a project until a draft is done. Some projects, I blab all over the place, and I find others just want to stay on the computer and be quiet for a while until they’re fully formed.

  23. book trailers

    Could you consider putting your book trailers on teacher tube and some of the other book trailer sites? Most schools block youtube and so we can’t use the trailers with the kids or linked to our book blogs.