Submitted Artwork Marshalltown-based author Katie Kennedy's latest work, “Hearts on Thin Ice,” is her debut work of adult fiction.
Katie Kennedy has written several books for young adults since her early teens, and she is currently working on her first novel for adults, a hockey-themed romance novel, Hearts On Thin Ice, recently published by Alcove Press.
The story revolves around Nick Sorensen, a hockey player recovering as the sole survivor of a plane crash, who hires interior designer Alyssa Compton to decorate his modest apartment and the two begin to fall in love despite their differences and the latter's trauma.
Kennedy explained that her agent had given her permission to write a romance novel, and the idea for a hockey theme came from feedback she saw on Twitter/X.
“A famous romance novelist started a thread with hundreds of people asking for a hockey romance novel,” Kennedy said. “I'm a huge Detroit Red Wings fan, and I thought, 'Yeah, I can do that. No homework required. Wouldn't that be great?'”
She was also inspired by hockey player Dylan Larkin, who has appeared in a series of clothing ads, and who has also been described as the perfect “love material”.
Kennedy said that because many hockey-themed romance novels are set in Colorado, she felt she wanted to go in a different direction and set her story in Detroit instead.
“The story is set in an NHL franchise in Detroit, not an actual team,” she added. “The female protagonist grew up in poor economic circumstances. I modeled a scene in the book on a food box near Hope United Methodist Church… just a little bit of Marshalltown inspiration.”
Kennedy describes the book as somewhat “provocative.”
The final chapter introduces new characters and sets up the story perfectly for the sequel.
“I know a lot of people are hoping for a sequel and we would love to do one, but we're not making any promises at this point,” she said. “I'm also planning on writing another romance novel[for a publisher]but I don't know yet if they want to set it in the same universe as Hearts on Thin Ice.”
Kennedy is the author of “The Presidents Decoded,” aimed at readers ages 8-12. The book follows the success of “The Constitution Decoded,” which was published in 2020 and won the Nautilus Gold Award for Young Adult Nonfiction. Her two published young adult novels are “Learning to Swear in America” and “What Goes Up.” Her upcoming endeavors include a book on voting for young readers (a companion book to her books on presidents and the constitution). She is also working on a book about the Salem witch trials for middle school students.
She and her family moved to Marshalltown from Michigan's Upper Peninsula in 2016. Since then, she has worked as an adjunct professor of history at MCC and as an adjunct librarian at the Marshalltown Public Library.
“I call them the morning job, the afternoon job and the evening job,” she said with a laugh.
Her books are available on Amazon and other retailers, and you can learn more about her at katiekennedybooks.com
