Fans of Rachael Lippincott, Elise Bryant, and Dahlia Adler will love this joyful debut novel, a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance between a hotheaded hockey player and the ice princess at the figure skating rink next door.
Charlie Porter is a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the hockey rink. When she accidentally starts a brawl after a game, she's suspended from school, meaning no hockey this season--and no chance to play in front of college scouts.
Alexa Goldstein's pairs skating partner was hurt in the fight, and with only four months until their next competition, pickings for a replacement are slim. So she strikes a deal with Charlie--skate with her at the competition well enough to place, and her Olympian mother will use her formidable connections to get Charlie in front of scouts at D-1 schools, even without her team.
It seems impossible, and not just because Charlie has never figure skated before. Where Charlie is powerful, Alexa is elegant; where Charlie is quick to blow up, Alexa is cold as ice. But as the frostiness between them starts to thaw, they begin to wonder if they've found a partner for more than just skating.
Preorder & Goodreads links here! (This art print will be part of the Love/Skate Preorder campaign. More info coming soon!)
Fans of Rachael Lippincott, Elise Bryant, and Dahlia Adler will love this joyful debut novel, a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance between a hotheaded hockey player and the ice princess at the figure skating rink next door.
Charlie Porter is a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the hockey rink. When she accidentally starts a brawl after a game, she's suspended from school, meaning no hockey this season--and no chance to play in front of college scouts.
Alexa Goldstein's pairs skating partner was hurt in the fight, and with only four months until their next competition, pickings for a replacement are slim. So she strikes a deal with Charlie--skate with her at the competition well enough to place, and her Olympian mother will use her formidable connections to get Charlie in front of scouts at D-1 schools, even without her team.
It seems impossible, and not just because Charlie has never figure skated before. Where Charlie is powerful, Alexa is elegant; where Charlie is quick to blow up, Alexa is cold as ice. But as the frostiness between them starts to thaw, they begin to wonder if they've found a partner for more than just skating.
All I will add is: WRITE THOSE BREAKFAST SCENES if you want to, they can be absolutely critical in getting a handle on your characters. Or even on the setting. Write them all to fuck. Go hogwild.
Then cut them. They're for you, and for the characters. Not the readers.
Lo these many years ago, in an elevator at some convention or other, Larry Niven gave me some of the best writing advice ever:
"You can always burn it."
Go ahead and write that stuff. The breakfasts, the staring-into-empty-space scenes, whatever. Then pull them out of your work if they serve too little useful purpose. If you feel the need, shove such material into a separate folder to examine for possible usefulness later.
Even if you don't put it where other people can see it, no writing is ever wasted. Every sentence will teach you something. But if a passage or sequence doesn't help illuminate character, build the world, or advance the plot, get it the hell out of your narrative.
Your readers' time is precious. Do them the courtesy of not wasting it.
This is a map of the range of all giraffe species. By my count that puts them in just 16 countries out of the 54 in Africa (of which 5 are island countries with no territory on the continental mainland). That's 30%, quite a long way shy of all, and as you can see many of those countries that do have giraffes only have a tiny portion of their territory within giraffes' habitats
Super stoked to share this beautiful commission of my characters created by the incredible @polar-biscuit!!
IT'S A LOVE/SKATE RELATIONSHIP (HarperTeen, Winter 2025)
Add Love/Skate on Goodreads!
Hockey star Charlie Porter has one shot to make her dreams come true -- literally. One goal is all that stands between her and the coveted Winthrop Cup, along with a life-changing hockey scholarship that could catapult her into the big leagues. But when Charlie misses her shot -- and inadvertently starts a good ol’ fashioned brawl between rival schools -- she waves goodbye to more than just the championship title. She gets kicked off her team, suspended from school, and banished to the Worst Place on Earth: Winthrop High. Things for Charlie cannot get any worse.
Until she meets Alexa Goldstein. A prickly, perfectionist ice princess with her sights set on the Olympics, Alexa is the last person Charlie would ever want to share a rink with -- no matter how good she looks in her figure skating leotard. But when Alexa’s skating partner breaks his ankle and torpedoes her chances for a gold medal career, the two unlikely allies -- along with Alexa’s terrifying, ex-Olympian mother -- strike a deal: Charlie will practice with Alexa until her partner heals, and Alexa’s mother will use her connections to get Charlie back in her hockey uniform.
But as the ice between Charlie and Alexa begins to melt, their partnership only gets more complicated. Charlie’s falling hard -- and not just when she’s trying to land a double Axel. What happens when making Alexa’s skating dreams come true means giving up her own?
IT'S A LOVE/SKATE RELATIONSHIP (HarperTeen, Winter 2025)
Add Love/Skate on Goodreads!
Hockey star Charlie Porter has one shot to make her dreams come true -- literally. One goal is all that stands between her and the coveted Winthrop Cup, along with a life-changing hockey scholarship that could catapult her into the big leagues. But when Charlie misses her shot -- and inadvertently starts a good ol’ fashioned brawl between rival schools -- she waves goodbye to more than just the championship title. She gets kicked off her team, suspended from school, and banished to the Worst Place on Earth: Winthrop High. Things for Charlie cannot get any worse.
Until she meets Alexa Goldstein. A prickly, perfectionist ice princess with her sights set on the Olympics, Alexa is the last person Charlie would ever want to share a rink with -- no matter how good she looks in her figure skating leotard. But when Alexa’s skating partner breaks his ankle and torpedoes her chances for a gold medal career, the two unlikely allies -- along with Alexa’s terrifying, ex-Olympian mother -- strike a deal: Charlie will practice with Alexa until her partner heals, and Alexa’s mother will use her connections to get Charlie back in her hockey uniform.
But as the ice between Charlie and Alexa begins to melt, their partnership only gets more complicated. Charlie’s falling hard -- and not just when she’s trying to land a double axel. What happens when making Alexa’s skating dreams come true means giving up her own?
My very last comic for The Nib! End of an era! Transcription below the cut. instagram / patreon / portfolio / etsy / my book / redbubble
The first event I went to with GENDER QUEER was in NYC in 2019 at the Javits Center.
So many of the people who came to my signing were librarians, and so many of them said the same thing: "I know exactly who I want to give this to!"
Maia: "Thank you for helping readers find my book!"
While working on the book, I was genuinely unsure if anyone outside of my family and close friends would read it. But the early support of librarians and two American Library Association awards helped sell two print runs in first year.
Since then, GENDER QUEER been published in 8 languages, with more on the way: Spanish, Czech, Polish, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portugese and Dutch.
It has also been the most banned book in the United States for the past two years.
The American Library Association has tracked an astronomical increase in book challenges over the past few years. Most of these challenges are to books with diverse characters and LGBTQ themes. These challenges are coming unevenly across the US, in a pattern that mirrors the legislative attacks on LGBTQ people.
The Brooklyn Public Library offered free eCards to anyone in the US aged 13-21, in an effort to make banned books more available to young readers. A teacher in Norman, Oklahoma gave her students the QR code for the free eCard and lost her job. Summer Boismeir is now working for the Brooklyn Public Library.
Hoopla and Libby/Overdrive, apps used to access digital library books, are now banned in Mississippi to anyone under 18. Some libraries won’t allow anyone under 18 to get any kind of library card without parental permission.
When librarians in Jamestown, Michigan refused to remove GENDER QUEER and several other books, the citizens of the town voted down the library’s funding in the fall 2022 election. Without funding, the library is due to close in mid-2024.
My first event since covid hit was the American Library Association conference in June 2022 in Washington, DC. Once again, the librarians in my signing line all had similar stories for me: “Your book was challenged in our district"
"It was returned to the shelf!"
"It was removed from the shelf..."
"It was moved to the adult section."
Over and over I said: "Thank you. Thank you for working so hard to keep my book in your library. I’m sorry you had to defend it, but thank you for trying, even if it didn't work."
We are at a crossroads of freedom of speech and censorship. The future of libraries, both publicly funded and in schools, are at stake. This is massively impacting the daily lives of librarians, teachers, students, booksellers, and authors around the country. In May 2023, I read an article from the Washington Post analyzing nearly 1000 of the book challenges from the 2021-2022 school year. I was literally on route to a festival to talk about book bans when I read a startling statistic.
60% of the 1000 book challenges were submitted by just 11 people. One man alone was responsible for 92 challenges. These 11 people seem to have made submitting copy-cat book challenges their full-time hobby and their opinions are having an outsized ripple effect across the nation.
WE NEED TO MAKE THE VOICES SUPPORTING DIVERSE BOOKS AND OPPOSING BOOK BANS EVEN LOUDER.
If you are able too, show up for your library and school board meetings when book challenges are debated. Send supportive comments and emails about the Pride book display and Drag Queen story hours. If you see a display you like– for Banned Book Week, AAPI Month, Black History Month, Disability Awareness Month, Jewish holidays, Trans Day of Remembrance– compliment a librarian! Make sure they feel the love stronger than the hate <3
