Introducing: Gail Nall

Hi everyone! I’m Gail. I wrote DON’T FALL DOWN, which is a middle grade novel about a figure skater who says all the wrong things and finds herself starting over with a new coach and a new rink. (You can read the official blurb here.)  It’ll be published by Aladdin/Simon & Schuster next spring.

I’m one of those writers who steals nooks and crannies of time to do what I love best — write. I have a day job (I’m a lawyer), a toddler (I’m a single mom), a house to keep in halfway-decent shape, and nine million other things to do. Probably just like you! After I had my daughter, I realized that if I wanted to pursue this crazy writing dream, I was going to have to make it happen. For me, that meant getting up at five o’clock in the morning to write (and yes, I’m writing this blog post at 5 a.m.!), because my brain was too fried at night to create any coherent words and time during the day simply did not exist. So, this previously non-morning-person now drags herself out of bed at insane hours to make the words happen.

But let’s rewind just a bit… I started writing DON’T FALL DOWN when I was pregnant. I’d always wanted to write a figure skating book. I’d tried once already, but that was my first manuscript, and frankly — it wasn’t very good. I pretty much grew up in a rink, and just really, really wanted to share my love of the sport through fiction. The idea for DON’T FALL DOWN came from watching skater after skater put on that brave face after a devastating competition, when you just know they’re falling apart inside. I wondered what would happen if a skater — particularly a younger, less-established athlete — said what she really felt. So I wrote it (obviously), found an agent, and now am so, so lucky that DON’T FALL DOWN will be actual book!

The publishing journey for this book has been an absolute thrill ride. And literally, too — I drove a Zamboni for research! So scary, and so exciting at the same time — and that pretty much sums up this entire process. I’m over-the-moon to be in this place and on this journey with all of these incredible Fifteeners, and I can’t wait to share DON’T FALL DOWN with everyone!

Gail Nall lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her family and more cats than necessary. She spends her early mornings writing, her days practicing law, and her evenings trying to stay up past eight o’clock. She chats about writing and figure skating on her blog Writing and Stuff, and spends too much time on Twitter. Her debut contemporary MG novel, DON’T FALL DOWN, will be out from Aladdin/Simon & Schuster in Spring 2015.

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