I got to read an ARC of Jennifer Comeaux's latest new adult skating romance and originally intended to post my review here but decided that instead of asking everyone to take my word on it, I'd share what some other readers are saying about Crossing the Ice...

From Amazon:
"Josh was the ultimate book boyfriend." --madeline
" I must say that Jennifer Comeaux has really turned me into an avid skating fan just by reading her books."  --JessieBear
"From a Non-Romance reader this rocked. I really couldn't put it down and ended up reading it in one day." --Niiki J "NJ"

From Goodreads:
"Crossing the Ice was a charming novel, with a lot of satisfying romance, likable characters, and even an edge-of-your-seat suspenseful scene that broke my heart and made me tear up." --Marni
"So freaking cute, I love Courtney & Josh." --Aydrea

And since I can't resist throwing in my own two cents, I'll add that Comeaux is a master of tension and does a fab job of writing skating scenes realistically. The print book isn't officially out for a couple of days, but the Kindle is live now (and on a special promo sale for 99 cents!) so go ahead and get your skating/romance/just-plain-awesome fix!

I love figure skating. I love novels. Figure skating novels? Swoon! Jennifer Comeaux's newest figure skating novel, Crossing the Ice, is coming out in six weeks, and I got a sneak peek of the first two chapters this weekend. Sign up for her newsletter to get your own sneak peek, or visit her web site to find out how you can receive a free ARC of the book.

Here's a short description of the book:

Falling hard never felt so good.

Pair skaters Courtney and Mark have one shot left at their Olympic dream. They vow not to let anything get in their way, especially not Josh and Stephanie, the wealthy and talented brother and sister team.

The heart doesn’t always listen to reason, though…
The more time Courtney spends with sweet, shy Josh, the harder she falls for him. But they are on opposite sides of the competition, and their futures are headed in opposite directions. Will their friendship blossom into more or are their paths too different to cross?

I had the pleasure of meeting Heather Demetrios during my residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she helped me with revisions on my work-in-progress, DANCE WITH ME. When she returned my manuscript, she confessed that she “used to be a figure skater so this was super fun to read!”

Heather's web site has a list of ten interesting things she might tell you if she met you at a party, including that her mom was struck by lightning when she was pregnant with her, but here we're getting an exclusive peek at her figure skating past:

“I skated with the LA FSA when I was in elementary school and part of junior high. When I stopped skating, I had landed my double flip. (But only once! The rest of the time I landed everywhere BUT my feet.) I started skating late - when I was ten years old or thereabouts. Maybe 11. Ultimately, I didn't really skate for years and years, but the time I did was very intensive (those 5:30 a.m. practices, etc.). I was struggling to master my jumps and was about to transition into ice dancing when I had to stop skating due to my family's financial situation. Still, I love it to this day and miss being on the ice. My favorite move was my best attempt at a Nancy Kerrigan Spiral and I loved doing sit spins. I HATED the axel, but loved loop jumps. My favorite memory is of my mom sewing sequins onto a costume while watching me practice. She was a single mom and it meant so much to me that she was making so many sacrifices for my skating. She sat in the cold and sewed so she could support me while I was practicing. It's one of my favorite memories of my mom, period.”

SOMETHING REAL, Heather's debut novel, isn't about figure skating but skaters will emphasize with the problems faced by main character Bonnie Baker. A skater's falls may be broadcast live and replayed, but Bonnie's whole life has been on TV. When her family's reality TV show, Baker's Dozen, is canceled, Bonnie gets a chance for real friends and maybe even a boyfriend. Then she finds out that her family is going back on the air. SOMETHING REAL hits the shelves on February 4 and is available for pre-order on Amazon right now. For more about the novel as well as Heather's upcoming works, visit Heather online at http://www.heatherdemetrios.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter: @HDemetrios

Today's post features an interview with Jennifer Comeaux, author of the Edge figure skating series. The Edge series includes Life on the Edge, The Edge of the Past, and Fighting for the Edge, as well as additional bonus material. Jennifer also maintains a blog about skating and writing. A huge skating fan, she just returned from a trip to the 2014 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

KJV: I enjoyed getting to experience a bit of this year's Nationals in Boston through your blog posts. There were a lot of high moments, but which of your memories from this competition make the podium?

Jennifer: It was such an incredible event – one of the best I’ve ever attended! Some of the moments that stood out the most were Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir’s short program (they had the home crowd rocking!), Felicia Zhang & Nathan Bartholomay’s free skate and their kiss and cry reaction to their scores (my friends and I were screaming like crazy people when they went into second place), Meryl Davis & Charlie White’s free dance (stunning perfection!), and Jason Brown’s free skate.

KJV: You started writing stories when you were seven years old, but Louisiana isn't known for wintry weather. How and when did you fall in love with figure skating?

Jennifer: I fell in love with the sport watching it on TV as a kid. The first Olympics where I remember being totally engrossed was the 1988 Winter Games. I was all over the Battle of the Brians and the Battle of the Carmens! From then on I watched every single skating event that was on TV. I liked watching other sports, and I loved the way skating was the perfect combination of sport and art.

KJV: In addition to being a figure skating fanatic, you're a CPA. What suggestions can you offer fellow writers regarding fitting in time to write?

Jennifer: I think the most important thing is scheduling time to write and sticking to it, which I need to do a better job of doing! With limited time to write at night and on the weekends, it’s very important to make the most of the blocks of time you have, so outlining your scenes and chapters ahead of time is a big help. When I sit down with blank paper and have no idea what comes next, I get totally freaked out and feel so overwhelmed. But an outline, no matter how simple it is, helps me feel like I have some guidance on where to begin.

KJV: Reflecting on your experiences in becoming published, do you have any advice to help smooth the ice for aspiring authors?

Jennifer: With so many options for authors these days, I think you just need to look at all the different opportunities and decide which one fits your needs and helps fulfill your dreams. One of my dreams was to have my manuscript accepted by a publisher, so I found a publisher that was a good fit for me and learned everything I could about them and their authors. If you just want to get your work in front of readers without going through a publishing company, then you can definitely go that route. There have been so many success stories in self-publishing.

KJV: Now that the Edge series is complete, you're working on a companion novel featuring Courtney. Can we get a rink side preview of her story?

Jennifer: I’m very excited about this new story! It’s a lot of fun to write because I can still keep some familiar characters around, but I also get to introduce some new ones. Here’s a little peek at the story: Courtney and her partner Mark haven’t enjoyed the same success Emily and Chris had. They have only one shot left to make the Olympic team, and they vow not to let anything get in their way. Enter Stephanie and Josh, talented siblings with the same dream. Courtney knows she should keep her distance from the rival team, but as she gets to know handsome, quiet Josh, she becomes more and more intrigued. Will their blossoming friendship become more or will the competition tear them apart?

For more on Jennifer's books, the 2014 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and other reading, writing, and skating fun, visit Jennifer at http://jennifercomeaux.blogspot.com/.

During my recent residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts, a classmate kindly lent me her ice skates so I could use the outdoor rink on campus. I hadn't skated on pond ice in years and it had been about that long since the borrowed skates had seen a sharpening, but I was desperate. Life doesn't always come with Zamboni smooth ice or sharp blades, and the experience was a potent reminder of how much I've learned about writing from skating.

Skating outdoors in Vermont brought back favorite childhood memories of building a backyard ice rink with my father. Our city yard was tiny, and our rink was about six swizzle pumps wide and only a little bit longer. Bumpy at best and treacherous at worst, it was ice. That my father cared enough to help me with this time-consuming and, in fickle west Michigan weather, often futile effort, gave me the seed of the idea that skating was something I could do. It's the same for writing. Even one frozen drop of water can be enough if you really want it. For me, this was when I dared to show my mother, a writer and librarian, the beginning ramblings of my first book. She had lots of advice and areas to improve but, “Sure, this could be a novel,” were the words I took with me as my droplet of hope.

However small your start, you must put in the time. It's about repetition. With good daily practice routines, the elements on ice come. With good daily writing routines, the words flow. Listen to your coaches, aka your trusted critique group, because whether you like it or not, they're right most of the time. Accept criticisms with a “thank you” and give yourself time to reflect on them. Use whatever advice you can to make your writing stronger, but know that sometimes you have to follow your heart. I once completely changed programs three weeks before a competition, much to the chagrin of my coach. That new program won me a national gold medal. So go ahead, re-write that novel in first person. Cut those scenes. Start over with a blank page. And take comfort in the fact that least in writing you can save all your old versions on the computer and pull out an old routine with the click of your mouse.

On the ice or on the page, you will fall down. A lot. All you can do is pick yourself up, the sooner the better. You must try again. It took me almost five years to learn a lutz. I'm still working on that Axel and I won't even tell you how many hours I've worked at writing but I try to remember that everyone is afraid sometimes, that everyone struggles with some things.

Take advantage of camps, clinics, and retreats. Fresh opinions can help you get over a rut. I had been struggling with a loop jump for months when I attended a skating camp in Aspen. New phrasing and the trick of jumping out of a backspin helped me master the element that week. Likewise, I am forever indebted to the help and encouragement I've received from my fellow SCBWI members.

Just like skating, writing is also about acting. To make your characters real to your audience, you need to feel them, get inside their heads. Wear your heart on your sleeve and keep a box of tissues nearby for the tears and runny noses. Because in skating, you only need to do one character per program but in writing you're going to need to do them all.

And finally, sweat the small stuff. Yes, pay attention to details in your routines and in your novels but don't forget about life outside the rink and off the page. I used to have one of those t-shirts proclaiming that “figure skating is life, the rest is just details!” I gave it to Goodwill. Skating, writing, whatever your passions – life is in the details, and not the sequin-covered, rhinestone-studded variety.