Happy Monday, friends! It’s the beginning of a new week and I can’t think of a better or more exciting way to kick things off than with a cover reveal! I’m a big fan of The X-Files and an even bigger fan of authors MarcyKate Connolly and Kathryn Holmes, so when I was asked to host the exclusive cover reveal for their forthcoming middle grade mystery, The Thirteenth Circle, which has been described as The X-Files meets Scooby-Doo, I jumped at the opportunity! Brittney Bond’s cover art has such a powerful sense of movement and magic to it and I’ll be eagerly counting the days until January 2024 when I can follow along on Cat and Dani’s adventure!
About MarcyKate Connolly
MarcyKate Connolly is a New York Times bestselling children’s book author who lives in New England with her family and a grumble of short-nosed dogs. She can be lured out from her writing cave with the promise of caffeine and new books. When she was in 4th grade, she and her neighbors saw an unidentified flying object zig-zag across the sky over their backyard and she’s been preparing to write a book like The Thirteenth Circle ever since. She’s also the author of several middle grade fantasy novels including Monstrous and the Shadow Weaver series, and a young adult duology (Twin Daggers and Heartless Heirs).
About Kathryn Holmes
Kathryn Holmes is the author of the Class Critters chapter book series, which includes Tally Tuttle Turns Into A Turtle, David Dixon’s Day As A Dachshund, and Madison Morris Is NOT A Mouse!. Her next book, and her middle-grade debut, is The Thirteenth Circle, co-written with MarcyKate Connolly (January 30th, 2024). Kathryn also wrote the young adult novels The Distance Between Lost and Found and How It Feels To Fly.
She grew up in Maryville, Tennessee, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, daughter, and piles upon piles of books. A graduate of The New School’s MFA in Creative Writing program, Kathryn works as a freelance dance journalist, among other writing gigs.
The spark for The Thirteenth Circle was a combination of a great idea + good luck + good timing. Both of us loved The X-Files growing up, and both of us had our debut novels published in 2015 and were fellow “Fifteeners.” Then, in fall 2017, both of us had children only a few months old as promotion began for what would be the last season of The X-Files revival. So, when Kathryn asked MarcyKate if she’d be interested in writing a book together, inspired by one of our favorite TV shows, the answer was a resounding YES!
Little did we know that this project would have a long and winding road to publication. The Thirteenth Circle quickly became a passion project, but it was also our “in-between” project while we juggled other demands of family and publishing. It wasn’t until late 2019 that we finally sent a polished draft to our agents, and after more revision it went out on submission to editors in fall 2020…at the height of the pandemic. Needless to say, it was on sub for many months. But in 2021, we got a rejection that felt like a small ray of light. The editor very kindly gave us some detailed feedback about what wasn’t working for her and offered to take another look if we revised. We sat with the feedback for a while and eventually concluded that she was, in fact, quite right! We tore the stuffing out of the book and sewed it back together — and, as luck would have it, we got it right that time. And now that book will be in stores in 2024!
It has been pure joy to write these characters, and while they have their share of ups and downs in the story, we hope that our joy shines through the pages too!
Cover art by Brittney Bond
Title The Thirteenth Circle
Authors MarcyKate Connolly and Kathryn Holmes
Target Audience Middle Grade
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by Feiwel & Friends
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon ● The Book Depository ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound ● Bookshop
The X-Files meets Scooby-Doo in The Thirteenth Circle, a middle-grade mystery from MarcyKate Connolly and Kathryn Holmes, featuring two unexpected friends, crop circles, science fairs, and Men in Black, perfect for both the highly scientific and cryptid enthusiasts alike.
Cat knows aliens are real, and she’s determined to prove it. By studying the Weston Farm Circles, her town’s legendary crop circle phenomenon, she’ll not only demonstrate the existence of extraterrestrial life, but also win the grand prize in the McMurray Youth Science Competition — a feat she’s sure will impress her distant NASA scientist father.
Dani most certainly does not believe in aliens. How can she, when they go against every scientific principle she’s been taught? So when Dani is paired with Cat to enter the McMurray Youth Science Competition — which she has to win to avoid going to her parents’ artsy summer camp — she knows she’s at a disadvantage. Her solution? Disprove Cat’s theory, of course…without telling her partner her true intentions.
But as the girls bond over science, it becomes clear that there is something strange about the Weston Farm Circles. And when Dani and Cat’s project is threatened by suspicious forces, they’ll have to work together to expose the truth, once and for all.
One Response
Excellent cover! Congratulations!