Written by Sasha Zatz
Jennifer Iacopelli’s latest novel, Break the Fall, is out on February 20th and I was lucky enough to get the chance to interview her about her novel, gymnastics, writing, and more!
Be sure to find Jennifer on Twitter and Instagram, along with at her website!
Hi Jennifer! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi! I’m so happy to be here on The Nerd Daily! I’m a young adult author from New York who loves writing about female athletes doing amazing things. My most recent novel, Break the Fall, set in pressure cooker that is elite gymnastics, releases on February 18th in the US and February 20th in the UK and before that, I wrote Game. Set. Match. and Losing at Love, which take place in the world of professional tennis. When I’m not writing, I spend my days as a high school librarian and a sports fanatic (in case the sports fiction didn’t give it away) and I’m a huge New York Yankees, New York Giants, St. John’s University basketball, tennis (especially Roger Federer) and gymnastics fan!
Your new novel, Break the Fall, releases on February 20th! If you were to describe it in five words, what would they be?
Intense. Epic. Sisterhood. Betrayal. Belief.
Now tell us a little more! What can readers expect?
Break the Fall is the story of Audrey Lee, a gymnast on the comeback trail after a major injury kept her out for most of the year before, who makes the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team with her best friend and training partner, Emma. The girls are thrilled to have the opportunity to fulfil their lifelong dream together, but then, just after the team is announced, their coach is arrested for sexually assaulting one of their teammates. Things become even more complicated when they’re forced to train under a new coach whose methods are totally foreign to them, not to mention, not everyone on the team believes the girl who accused their coach of abuse.
What pushed you to write Break the Fall? Tell us a little about your experience writing and publishing it.
I wrote Break the Fall after what I consider my darkest period creatively. The publisher who signed my first two books had closed its doors and I’d seriously considered the idea that perhaps I’d written my last book. Things were busy at work and I was going back to graduate school, but then the news broke about the real-life abuse scandal in gymnastics and then for weeks and months it seemed like every other sport was dealing with the same issue: people in a position of power abusing athletes or failing to protect athletes from abuse. From gymnastics to swimming to wrestling and figure skating, we just saw the dominoes falling over and over again and I thought to myself, what if just one person in charge had done the right thing? What if just one person had stepped forward and protected the athletes? And from there the words just started to flow.
What made you want to write about gymnastics and what is your own experience with the sport?
I’ve always loved, and I want to be very clear about this, watching, gymnastics. I was an athlete growing up, but I was definitely born too tall to compete with any sort of success at the sport. I watched the Magnificent 7 in 1996 win gold for the U.S. and the sport has fascinated me ever since. I have very little practical experience, but I have a keen idea for detail whenever I’m watching any sport and picked up the nuances of it pretty quickly. I’ve made some fantastic friendships and connections through following the sport and have had some incredible experiences from attending Olympic Trials twice to sitting with an Olympian’s mother during a National Championships, to appearing on the famous gymnastics podcast, Gymcastic. I consider myself a bit of a self-taught analyst of the sport and I was even able to cover the 2016 Rio Olympics for Fangirlish.com!
Is there anything in particular you would like to see if Break the Fall was adapted for the screen?
That would be ridiculously exciting! First and foremost, I’d want the diversity of the characters I created to be reflected in the casting. Women of color are the present and future of the sport and I fought hard to make sure that was kept true to life in Break the Fall. I’d also definitely want the actual results that I toiled over for months to be in there too (SO MANY SPREADSHEETS). Each of the gymnasts wins and loses exactly which medals they’re supposed to!
Did you face any difficulties or challenges writing Break the Fall?
I’m not sure if I’d label it a difficulty or a challenge, but what I worked on the most was making sure the gymnasts were portrayed as realistically as possible, in and out of the gym. I want the world to know and understand that my fictional girls represent the greatest athletes in the world who dedicate their entire lives to a sport that they only have a short window to compete in, but they are also some of kindest, humble and giving young women I’ve ever met.
Break the Fall is all about speaking up and shattering the silence and stigma surrounding sexual assault. Can you tell us a little about this theme within the book?
This theme is extremely important to me. I always tell people that Break the Fall isn’t about sexual assault, it’s about the fallout from it and how to be there for someone who has been abused. I don’t want to give away too many spoilers, but I do want to say that there are no graphic descriptions of abuse on the page and that the young women who come forward are immediately believed and appropriate actions are taken to ensure their safety.
Audrey’s story is about some of her biggest accomplishments and how she learns from her biggest failures. What would you consider your biggest achievement and how have your failures impacted you in reaching it?
Like I mentioned before, after the publisher of my first two books closed, I thought I was done writing. Despite that definitely not being my fault, it was devastating and it felt like a failure and then not writing for years after that felt even more like a failure. But I’d say picking myself up and continuing to write and attempt to get this book published and then succeeding (even though again, a lot of that is out of my control! Ah, publishing!) has taught me that failure is only failure if you don’t keep trying. That’s definitely a major thematic thread through Break the Fall.
What are some books that inspire you in your writing journey?
It’s funny because I very rarely read things that are similar to what I write. I’m continually inspired by Leigh Bardugo’s prose and Six of Crows might be my favorite book ever. People shouldn’t be allowed to write with that level of skill. I love anything by Melina Marchetta, but specifically The Lumatere Chronicles, which never get enough love. My favorite book of this year so far though is actually another girls in sports book! I adored Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning which centers on a young woman playing football for her high school and the romance that develops between her and the team’s injured starting quarterback!
Finally, Break the Fall is out so soon! What do you hope readers take away from it?
I’m so excited! I can’t wait for readers to be able to dive into this world of intense competition and friendship and there’s even a touch of romance. I hope readers come away inspired to support and believe women and stand up for what’s right.
