Interview and Giveaway with Gail Pallotta

CONGRATULATIONS CAROL

WINNER OF STOPPED COLD

Welcome Gail. We are so pleased to have you with us on Sleuths and Suspects. Gail and I belong to the same writer's group and I'm happy to share about her new book on our blog. Be a follower and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Gail's book. Be sure and leave your email so we can contact you if you win. Without further ado let's learn more about Gail.

Tell us a little about yourself.  I’m a wife, Mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. I’ve been a Sunday school teacher, a swim-team coordinator and an after-school literary instructor. My husband says I write because I have pretend people running around in my head, and they have to get out.

Tell us about your most recent book/or the book we are focusing on. Stopped Cold is a teen mystery with a touch of romance and spiritual talk. The Christian message is: we don’t have to be number one of God to love us. The book’s set in a small town in the North Carolina Mountains, but things aren’t what they seem in peaceful Mistville.

 

The heroine, Margaret McWhorter, enjoys a laid-back Freshman year in high school flirting with Jimmy Willmore, swimming and hanging out with friends—until that day. Her brother, Sean, suffers a stroke from taking a steroid. Now he’s lying unconscious in a hospital. Margaret’s angry at her dad for pushing Sean to be a great quarterback, but a fire of hatred burns inside her to make the criminals pay.

Looking for justice, she takes Jimmy and her best friend, Emily, through a twisted, drug-filled sub-culture. A clue sends them deep into the woods behind the school where they overhear drug dealers discuss Sean.

Time and time again they walk a treacherous path and come face to face with danger. Even the cop on the case can’t stop them from investigating. All the while Margaret really wants to cure Sean, heal the hate inside, and open her heart to love.

Why did you choose this particular genre? First of all, I wanted to write a fun book. As a youngster I loved mysteries, especially when the kids, like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, solved the case. My book’s reminiscent of those amateur sleuths.

The message rattled around in my head for a long time. Over the years I’ve seen instances when not being number one created great pain for a child or young adult. Whether the pressure came from within, peers, siblings or parents, the need to be “better than everyone else” rather than “the best one could be” often hurt and sometimes led to destruction. We don’t have to be number one for God to love us. He’s given each of us a gift or gifts to use for Him.

What are a couple of your favorite books and what are you reading now? I’m not a genre person.There’s only one book I’ve ever read that I didn’t like. That was because if offered no hope. Other than that, I just like books. I recently finished Blind Justice by James Scott Bell. A couple classics I like are An American Tragedy and Of Human Bondage. As for romance, Pride and Prejudice. Other books that come to mind are The Kite Runner and I Heard the Owl Call My Name. I could go on…

 

What are you working on now? I have several projects, all adult, all Christian. One’s a romance about a woman who has a mysterious illness, and another, a dystopian book.

 

What advice would you give authors who are on their own journey to publication? Keep writing, learning about the craft and follow where God leads.

 

Do you have any books or websites that have helped you with your writing that you could share with us? I recommend Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell. I’ve received lots of advice and help from The American Christian Fiction Writers.

 

Is there anything you’d like to tell us we haven’t covered? Thank you for having me on your fun blog!

Please let us know where we can find you on the web. 

My Web Site, http://www.gailpallotta.com   

My facebook page, Authors and More, https://www.facebook.com/authorsandmore  

My blog, http://www.gailpallotta.blogspot.com

Clash of the Titles, http://www.clashofthetitles.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

Deborah Malone’s first novel Death in Dahlonega, finaled in the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Category Five writing contest! Deborah was also nominated for 2012 Georgia Author of the Year in First Novel category. She has worked as a freelance writer and photographer, for the historic magazine “Georgia Backroads.” She has had many articles and photographs published, and her writing is featured in “Tales of the Rails,” edited by Olin Jackson. She is a member of the Georgia Writer’s Association as well as Advanced Writer’s and Speakers Association. As a current member of the American Christian Fiction Writer she has established a blog where she reviews Christian Fiction.