Cover Reveal: PRINCESSES CAN FIX IT! + Giveaway



 Nov. 5, 2020


We are excited to have a cover reveal of the picture book, PRINCESSES CAN FIX IT! by Tracy Marchini, illustrated by Julia Christians (Page Street Kids), coming out May 4, 2021, along with a mini Q&A with Tracy! The cover was designed by Melia Parsloe, illustrated by Julia Christians. 

In addition, we have a special giveaway: Tracy is closed to submissions, but she will give away one Golden Query Pass, which allows the winner to query her and go to the head of the line.

About the Book:  The castle has an alligator problem, and the Princesses have a solution. But will the King see what they're capable of?

Princesses Margaret, Harriet and Lila want to do more than just draw, play music, and make jewelry - but the King doesn't think proper princesses should build, invent, or experiment. When the Princesses keep falling asleep during the day, the Prince is sent to investigate. But the King doesn't believe what he sees: in a secret workshop, the Princesses are hard at work using the six simple machines to build an ingenious contraption that will send the alligators back to the moat!


This STEAM-focused take on the classic fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses includes fun illustrations bursting with hilarious detail (and alligators), zany characters, and three inspiring princesses who don't just think they can save the castle. They know they can.

Let's take another look at this fun cover, illustration by Julia Christians, designed by Melia Parsloe:




Mini Q & A for Tracy


Tell us what inspired this book.


I have always loved the fairy tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The idea that these women would have a secret dance party every night to the point that they needed new shoes every morning sounded wonderful (if you ignore the goblin part, that is!) So when I was talking to another writer about ways to concept or brainstorm new picture book ideas, I mentioned fractured fairy tales. I said something akin to - "So like, if you turned the Twelve Dancing Princesses into the Twelve Building Princesses - no wait, I want to write that one!"

 

You wear a few hats, author and agent. How do each of these roles affect your other job?

 

I love working as both an agent and an author, and I think my work in one area naturally strengthens the work in the other. As an agent, I'm constantly hearing feedback about what's working (or not) in the children's marketplace from editors and art directors, and that definitely influences the way I think about my own projects as an author. 


And I think being a children's author myself helps make me a more empathetic agent. I know exactly how it feels when that submission goes to boards but doesn't make it - and while I think all agents feel the disappointment when something doesn't go well on behalf of their clients (I mean, we love those books too - otherwise we wouldn't rep them!), I think it does help that when I'm commiserating with a client, I can truly say "I know how disappointing this is" from the author standpoint. And it also helps me when I think about what to do next - how we're going to brush ourselves off, and keep going!

 

As an agent, what is the biggest mistake you see in submissions? What makes you excited about a submission?

 

The biggest mistake I see in submissions is query letters that haven't been reviewed by critique partners or writers groups. For picture books, I tend to go right to the manuscript and your pitch only needs to be two or three lines (along with an author bio). But for novels, I really need to feel like there's something in this book that I haven't seen before - and that the project is polished as it can be. So when I read a query letter and still don't actually know what the book is about or what the protagonist is going to do to get what they want, then I'm immediately concerned that the manuscript itself isn't quite ready.

 

While I'm currently closed to submissions, when I am open to queries, I'm always excited to see projects in my inbox that are polished, professional and feel like they'd complement (but not directly compete) with a project on my list! (You can see my currently published client books at https://tracymarchini.com/client-books/ and also check out the blog for updates about books that have recently sold and been announced.) 

 

I love illustration that has the feel of fine art but still fits seamlessly into the children's market. I love quirky, clever books. Books about the sciences. Middle grades about family and friendship with just a touch of some sort of magic (and maybe it's figurative magic - like a set of characters that I wish I'd been friends with myself in middle school). Books for children that delve into the harder side of life with empathy and hope. Author-illustrator projects that really make the most of the juxtaposition possible between art and text. Some things specifically for when I reopen to queries - I'm still looking for more LGBT+ picture books and middle grade for my list, I'd love to see more books with non-traditional family structures, I'm not afraid of picture books where characters are eaten, I am always looking for more BIPOC representation on my list, I love chapter books and graphic novels (particularly from author-illustrators) - but for the most part it's a gut feeling. What makes me excited is when I read something and I think "THIS is a book I can't let go of." 

 

Thank you, Tracy! 


About the author: Tracy Marchini is thrilled to spend most of her time immersed in children's books as both a Literary Agent and author. Her debut picture book, Chicken Wants a Nap, received a starred review from Kirkus and was a 2019 Bridge to Reading Picture Book nominee. She holds an M.F.A in Writing for Children from Simmons College and a B.A. in English from Binghamton University.

Website: www.tracymarchini.com

Twitter: @tracymarchini

Instagram: @tracymarchini


About the illustrator: Julia Christians studied communications design at the University of Art in Brunswick, focusing on illustration, and works as a full-time illustrator. She lives with her husband, kids, and a pack of dogs in the small town in the Harz Mountains, Germany where she grew up.


Preorder the book: Silver Unicorn Books is hosting Tracy's virtual launch, so please support them! Preorder link can be found here. If you pre-order the book, you can have a personalized autograph (add a note who you would like it to be customize to). 

Enter her Giveaway: Tracy Marchini is currently closed to queries, but will give away one Golden Query Pass, which allows the winner to submit a query to her, and she will give it priority when reading queries. Be sure to enter this rare opportunity!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments

  1. What a terrific story! I have granddaughters who will play 'empowered princess' after we read this book!

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  2. I'm so excited for this book! My daughters are going to love it!

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  3. My daughter is going to love this book!

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  4. Wonderful! This looks like a really fun book

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  5. Wonderful interview, congrats on the new book!

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  6. This book sounds great! I can’t wait to read, congratulations!

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  7. This is such a cute book and would be an amazing read for little girls (and big girls, too)!

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  8. Oh, I love the cover, Tracy! It's darling :)

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  9. This sounds like a great book!

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  10. I'm looking forward to reading this book! Thanks for the post.

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  11. How incredibly exciting! Can't wait to share this story with my 3rd graders!

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  12. This book looks amazing! Great concept!

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  13. Such a great idea and matches the fourth grade science curriculum.

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  14. I love the idea of this book. Girls need to be seen in a broader variety of roles.

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  15. I love seeing girls who can do anything! Yay! Congrats on this book!

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  16. What a unique idea. I'm looking forward to reading it. And it will be the perfect book for my niece.

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  17. Sounds like a great mix of STEM and story!

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  18. Thank you for this interview! I'm excited to read this book! I love girl books with STEM!

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  19. What a clever idea, princesses who are very unprincess-like, who like to work with tools and solve problems. I like that they're not the usual insipid princesses who only go to dances and do needle work. Great interview!

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  20. This is a book I would like to read with my First Graders!
    digicats {at} sbcglobal {dot} net

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  21. Twelve Dancing Princesses is one of my favorite fairy tales, too! Looking forward to this book!

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  22. Thank you, Tracy! Your book looks wonderful--STEM and Princesses!

    Susan

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  23. Love the concept... also love seeing brown princesses on the cover!

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  24. Step aside Bob the Builder! We've got a princess on the job!

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  25. Thank you for sharing your process. Your website is a wonderful resource. Looking forward to reading this new book!

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  26. I love this concept and I can’t wait to read this to my class. God bless

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  27. This will be great for all the little women coming up in the world!

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  28. Girls rise up when they build, code, and design! Congratulations on adding an inspirational book to the shelves. Soon, it will be in my collection.

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  29. I'm ordering this for my sister's maker space lab at her school. Great interview. :)

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  30. Can’t wait to get my hands on this one! I love fractured fairy tales!

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  31. Love princess engineers! Looks like a fun book headed our way.

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  32. I love twists on fairy tales and many of my stories are just that.

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  33. I love that you added a STEAM twist to a fairy tale about princesses! Can’t wait to find out how they saved the castle.

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  34. Congrats Tracey! This sounds like a really fun fractured fairy-tale, brimming with girl power!

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  35. Thank you for the giveaway! I look forward to reading about your crafty princesses.

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  36. This is a story that surely needs to be out in the world! I love the STEAM focus of this fairy tale with a twist!

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  37. Congratulations Tracy! What a fun way to update a fairy tale tor the 21st century!

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  38. What a wonderful story idea, and I love how determined and confident the girls' faces are <3

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  39. I can’t wait to share this book with my granddaughters! I come from a long line of woman who fix and build most things myself. My favorite mug: Actually, I Can!

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  40. Love the cover! Congratulations!

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  41. That is such a cute story idea! I love stories that play on old fairytales and fables

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  42. I absolutely love this story idea! Can't wait to read it.

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  43. This sounds like such a fun book. I love the take on the 12 Dancing Princesses.

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  44. The cover was awesome! My daughters will love it. ❤️

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  45. I adore this premise and I am excited to read this story to my daughter.

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  46. Congratulations on your new book, Tracy! I can't wait to read it!!

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  47. Great interview! Congrats on the book and thanks for offering up a Golden Ticket! I've got the song from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory running through my head now. :)

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  48. Congratulations, Tracy, on your book! Princess power! I love this!

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  49. Congratulations Tracy! What a great example of a retelling, and a way to spin a tale with a different approach.

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  50. These are the types of princesses I can get behind! Can’t wait to read and share this one!

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  51. What a fun premis. I think most young girls love princesses. This shoud be a winner.

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  52. Great idea! I know the perfect little girl for this book.

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  53. Princesses Can Fix It sounds amazing! I love an empowering book for girls and new spins on old ideas. Bravo! I hope it's a huge success (and that Tracy opens to submissions soon:). I can't wait to read this one!

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  54. Congrats on your second book Tracy. This looks like one my daughter will want read again and again.

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  55. Princesses + STEM = PB perfection! Super excited to read this!

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  56. I know a little princess who needs to read this book! I will be seeing to that!

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  57. This book sounds perfect. Thanks for an interesting post.

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  58. So glad that princess books have not been dumped for being sexist! Tracy's empowered princesses are inspirational!

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  59. Fun interview! I love hearing where an inspiration for a story comes from. These princesses definitely radiate some girl power!

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  60. Congratulations, Tracy! Great idead!

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  61. Adding a STEAM twist to a fiction picture books is excellent.

    All the best, Tracy.

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  62. Your retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses sounds like loads of fun!

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  63. How fun! I'm excited to see a STEAM-focused book that incorporates STEAM into the story itself. This fills a number of gaps :-)

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  64. Looking forward to reading this book with royalty and steam!

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  65. This looks like my ideal combination! Twisted fairy tale + modern STEM! Can't wait to see it.

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  66. I too like this fairy tale and am really excited to see your fracture. What an awesome idea merging princesses, math, and duty. Congrats!

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  67. Congratulations, Tracy! Love these strong, smart, fun girls! Can't wait to meet them!

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  68. Congrats!!! This looks like such a great book. Can’t wait to read it!!

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  69. Congratulations, Tracy! This looks like a must read!

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  70. If I remember correctly, the original dancing princesses were rather...mean. Yours sound much nicer! Thanks for the chance at a golden query pass.

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  71. Congratulations! My daughter cant wait to read it

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  72. Wow! Love the way you reshaped a classic. Can't wait to read your wonderful new book. And thank you for the chance to win a direct submission. Crossing all my fingers and toes :)

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  73. I love this twist on the 12 Dancing Princesses.

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  74. AWESOME! Can’t wait to get it and read with my nieces.

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  75. Princesses aren't just future Queens but problem solvers, yay!

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  76. Look forward to this! Congratulations!

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  77. You and Julia knocked it out of the park! Thank you for speaking to the inner princess in all of us:)

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  78. I love how you wove STEAM into this clever story!

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  79. I love the cover design and the idea of the story. I'm very excited about this. Congratulations and good luck and many more successes to come.

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  80. I can't wait to read this book! Love the cover art!!

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  81. I love the idea of a fairy tale with a twist. This book sounds so fun!

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  82. Looking forward to reading the story!

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  83. Congratulations on your book! Great idea for a fractured fairy tale.

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  84. Tracy - Every book has a story, and it was grand to hear your genesis and also how you connect your world as author and agent. Life is full of terrific connections that make all we take on so much richer. Way to go author!

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  85. So excited for you and love love the serendipity of the story idea!!! And sooooo cute! And perhaps something they can do again! Congrats!

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  86. I'm a big fan of fairy tales in all forms. Bring it on.

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  87. Love fractured fairy tales. Look forward to reading this one!

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  88. 12 Dancing Princesses is one of my favorite fairytales, I can't wait to see this new take on it.

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  89. Excited to read! Thanks for the opportunity for giveaway as well!

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  90. This is a book that would be perfect for my daughter. Can't wait to read it! Excellent interview too.

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  91. I can't wait to read this! I love inventing princesses!

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