Racing the Rope
I can’t help it. I have to plug the book I wrote 16 years ago. I hadn’t read it since 2008 so to pick it up and read it again was an awesome journey back in time and when I cracked open the book I wasn’t sure what I would be in for. Me, sixteen years ago. Was I prepared for that? No, but it was a lot of fun.
I’m writing adult fiction now, but when I wrote Racing the Rope, I was a fifth grade teacher and writing several manuscripts for middle grade children. It was who I was back then, and what I enjoyed writing. Also, I was inspired by watching my kids at recess jumping rope. I was also inspired by the diverse and worldly fifth graders I had that first year at the private Catholic school I was teaching in at the time.
In 2006, POD (print on demand) technology was emergent and I took advantage of it. I had my book edited, published, and I sold it to the very kids who inspired it. I also sold 75 copies to a local school district who had me in during their Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser. So, it was a lot of fun. When I wrote it, I didn’t realize Disney was going to be releasing a movie called Jump In with similar themes, but I took that as that as a good sign.
Anyway, I wrote Racing the Rope with my fifth graders in mind and each was a character in the book. Granted, many of the characters were not portrayed in a flattering light. They were sassy, obnoxious, rude, self-centered, gender-biased, and arrogant. So, when I told my fifth graders to try to figure out which character was them in the book, they sought to discover the truth of how I viewed them that year. When they realized who they were, they lovingly yelled at me and we argued quite a bit. Of course, I exaggerated on their most obvious traits for comedic effect, but they observed my point well. My children and I bonded strongly that year, but they were a challenging group. Eleven years old back then, they are now heading toward their thirtieth year! Holy cow.
Racing the Rope tells the story of a boy, Geran (short for Geranium) who crosses gender boundaries when he joins a female-dominated jump rope competition, much to the chagrin of his “all boy” classmates. Though when they find a good cause to gender unite over jump roping, they bond as a whole class to show their love for a teacher’s sick child.
I am more than happy to say that after revisiting the story, I am enthralled to be revitalizing it and adding it to my future roster of proposed publications. It makes me happy because I had written close to fifteen manuscripts during those years, all of which I lost when the floppy disks containing my projects disappeared. Racing the Rope survived, and so it remains as one of the gems of that time period. At least for me anyway.
Feel free to buy it and check it out. Forgive the awful cover art and have fun with the story! Suitable for children ages ten and up. Written for the age 10-12 market.
https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/260561-Racing-The-Rope