Gail Pallotta: Stopped Cold, and giveaway!

Gail Pallotta talks about her newest YA, Stopped Cold.

Welcome! Gail is giving away EITHER a PDF file OR a coupon to purchase the version of your choice from Smashwords to a commenter of her book. Drawing will be held on Saturday.

 

Gail, what was the inspiration for Stopped Cold?

I wanted to write a fun-to-read story. As a teen, I especially liked Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys mysteries. The amateur sleuths in Stopped Cold are reminiscent of them.

As far as the plot goes, over the years I’ve seen quite a bit of pain in some children and young people when they can’t be number one. Whether the pressure comes from within, peers, siblings or parents, not winning often hurts and sometimes leads to destruction. When I was in college a student on my hall tried to commit suicide because her grades weren’t as good as she or someone thought they should be. The agony she must have felt gnawed at me. Then the message in the book started rattling around in my head. We don’t have to be number one for God to love us.

Young people face lots of problems today, but I chose to write about steroid use. Reasons teens give for using steroids range from simply wanting to look better to attract a girlfriend or boyfriend to wanting to build muscles to enhance athletic performance, which indicates a desire to be “number one.”

Today’s society throws a lot at young people, in some instances giving mixed signals about right and wrong. This makes it more difficult to make good choices than it ever has been. It’s inspiring to see so many making decisions that lead to  rewarding, fulfilled teen years and set them on a happy path.     

How did you research?

   For information about steroids, I read quite a bit of material from library books, the Physicians Desk Reference and the internet. Also, I interviewed an undercover detective and a narcotics officer as well as an administrative policeman.

   As for swimming, my daughter was a high school and U.S. swimmer, so I had lots of experience as a Team Mom doing everything from timing to serving as a team coordinator. Still, it’s been a while, so I consulted a coach and a director of summer league swimming about the technicalities.

Share a funny life moment. Hmm. Recently, I was asked to tell something romantic my husband, Rick, did when we were dating. It’s been so long. My mind went blank. Then I thought of our first date. Rick had offered to come over and grill a steak.  

When he arrived, I showed him to the patio with the grill then went to the kitchen to check on my baked potatoes and chop lettuce for a salad. 

          “Could you bring some water?” He called out to me. 

          Thinking he was thirsty, I filled a glass.  

Then he hollered, “Could you hurry?” 

I rushed out and gasped. Flames shot from the grill. I hurriedly handed him the water and dashed back to the sink with my heart beating like a jackhammer. I charged outside with a pitcher in my hand and a large pan of water wedged under my armpit, splashes sloshing on my living room carpet. On the patio the blaze nearly scorched the plywood ceiling. 

From the street below a passerby yelled out, “Hey buddy, I think it’s done.” 

          Only a couple more trips, and the grill sat smoking. 

          Perhaps, not romantic, but certainly exciting and what one would call a “hot” date.

 

Could you introduce us to your heroine, Margaret? 

          Margaret’s a good student and competitive swimmer at Meriwether Christian High School in Mistville, N. C. She’s known as Maggie Butterfly to her swimming buddy, Tammy, because butterfly is Margaret’s favorite stroke. She’s enjoying life going to swim meets, hanging out with friends and flirting with Jimmy Wilmore. Then her older brother, Sean, has a stroke from taking a steroid. Suddenly the deep heartache cuts her off emotionally from her friends and the life she knew. She resents her dad for pushing Sean and her in sports. Maybe if he hadn’t Sean wouldn’t have taken the drug. She’s overcome with hatred for the drug dealers who sold Sean Winstrol V and won’t rest until she finds them. Her goal is to report their whereabouts to Detective Joe Garrett, the cop on the case. She’s a believer and prays for God to heal Sean while she and her friends launch an investigation. She just wants to have her brother and her life back and to heal the hate inside.   

 

What do you hope your audience gains from this book?

I hope they enjoy the story as they experience the excitement of Margaret’s swim meets, her closeness to Sean, Jimmy and Emily and the scary search for the drug dealers. 

They’ll know why not to take steroids, and hopefully will benefit from the message that they don’t have to be number one for God to love them. There’s a huge difference in using one’s God-given talent to the best of one’s ability and having to be better than everyone else.

 

Book Blurb for Stopped Cold

    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 and open her heart to love.

Bio

Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, Mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. She’s been a Sunday school teacher, a swim-team coordinator and an after-school literary instructor. A former regional writer of the year for American Christian Writers Association, she won Clash of the Titles in 2010. Her new teen book, Stopped Cold, is a best-seller on All Romance eBooks. Some of her published articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. Readers can find her on the internet on the staff of Clash ofthe Titles, at her blog, and on her website.

 

Buy Links for Stopped Cold:

Smashwords 

Front Porch Romance

Amazon

All Romance eBooks

And visit:
Goodreads

My book review:

Stopped Cold

Gail Pallotta

Front Porch Romance

c. April 10, 2013

ASIN: B00CBAT37I

e-book $2.99

Young Adult

 

From the publisher: 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.

My review:

Pallotta’s high school drama could take place anywhere. Pressure from all sides: parents, teachers, coaches, and peers take their toll, no matter the size or type of school. Margaret McWhorter and her brother Sean attend the exclusive Meriwether School, one which is targeted by drug-trafficking creeps who have infiltrated the very place that’s supposed to be a safe and supportive environment.

 

It’s not enough to be talented in the world of high school athletics. Margaret and Sean’s parents unwittingly push their son over the edge as new competition for Sean’s quarterback position comes in and takes over. Sean is pressured into taking steroids and body-building, and suffers a stroke and subsequent coma. Even though the pressure for Margaret, a champion swimmer, is eased by Sean’s condition and the resulting parental guilt, she can’t stop her own consuming desire for vengeance against those who hurt her brother.

 

But Margaret is only a freshman. She’s just learning about life in high school, what can she do to find the bad guys? And who are they? Who can she trust, besides her mother’s faith that God will make everything right? And Dad—he was the one who pushed Sean too much to begin with.

 

Detective Garrett, the one assigned to the case, is moving way too slow for Margaret’s taste. He won’t figure things out until someone else gets hurt, and Margaret isn’t about to let that happen. She finally confides in her best friend Emily, who agrees to keep her eyes and ears open around school and their fav hangout, The Grill. Life changes in many ways as Margaret is forced to learn who to trust and what to believe in. Emily is a Buddhist, and a boy Margaret secretly admires, Jimmy, wants to hang out and help find the people behind the drugs. Is Emily’s faith stronger than Mom’s? And what does Jimmy really want?

 

Find out in this great new read. Told in first person, follow Margaret’s journey to discover the depth of true character and faith not only in school and friends, but family.

Michelle Sutton talks about Surprise Love, baseball, and Ashton Kutcher

Michelle Sutton is the author of over eighteen inspirational novels with more coming in the future. She has been married almost 23 years to the same man and they have two kids in college. She lives with her family in Arizona.

 

 

Introduce us to your favorite character in your book.

Well, I like Bryan the hero who is trying out for the Texas Rangers baseball team because he looks like Ashton Kutcher "only cuter" according to the heroine, anyway.

What kind of research did you do for this book/character?

I consulted with some people who knew about the rodeo lifestyle and people who were avid baseball spring training fans. I also referred to a couple of situations I came across while in Surprise like someone who had a freezer full of tarantulas and scorpions (frozen) because they made paperweights with them for fun and sold them on the side.

What specific aspect of your book do you hope readers will discover about (themselves/your main character) in this story?

Don't follow someone else's dreams for your life. Make your own choices.

What’s been a favorite work experience you’ve had so far in life?

Favorite work experience? Probably the day my employees gave me a card that said something like, "Do you want your people to love you or fear you?" And the inside said, "I want my employees to be afraid of how much they love me." That was hilarious. Plus, I didn't realize boss's day was coming. It also included several Starbucks gift cards.

 

If you could do anything you want, what would it be? Write fiction full time and review books for say, Publisher's Weekly or the Library Journal.

What’s the most exotic place you’ve traveled?

 

Hmmm... exotic? I live in Arizona and there is plenty of exotic stuff to see here. Maybe Mexico? But it was a border town and there were people begging on the streets. Not used to seeing that stuff in the USA. Not like that anyway.

 

What do you see outside the closest window right now?

The Huachuca Mountain range with a light dusting of snow on the peaks.

What do you tell people when they ask “and what do you do?”

Actually I tell them I'm a supervisor for the state government, and by the way, I also write fiction and have 18 different books they can buy on Amazon.

Where’s your favorite place to grocery shop?

Um, my husband does all of the shopping. I just eat whatever he buys, but I guess if I had to choose, then Safeway.

What, to you, is worship?

My heart inclining toward God and being open to hear what He is speaking to my heart.

 

Michelle Sutton - Healing Hearts - fiction making an impact on real lives...
new titles releasing in 2013... Collette's Crusade, Learning to Trust, Somebody Help Me,

Her Innocence, Serena's Something

 

Work in Progress blog hop - The Last Detail pique!

Greetings! And welcome to another blog hop! I'm following the fabulous Teena Stewart, who is one of my co-conspirators on Brave New Century, a historical novella collection from the Prism Book Group, coming...sometime!

Teena blogged on June 6.  But our book isn't the one I'm talking up today - this one is the latest I've been blessed to sign with Prism, all on my own.

 

What is the working title of your next book? It's called The Last Detail.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Several years ago I met a good friend half way between our homes for a weekend catch-up and getaway--this happened to be at Peru-LaSalle, Illinois, and one of the parks we visited was Starved Rock State Park. It had such a neat history, as well as the gruesome story of a murder in the 1950s. A local author wrote about this murder, and for me, the idea morphed into what would happen when people die who have no family to clean up after them? The fictional business The Last Detail was born. The story takes place in this area, in a fictional community, of course, called Fox Falls, and uses Starved Rock park often.

In what genre does your book fall?

 I hope it will be contemporary fiction.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

 Ug - this is not something I think about. I'm terrible at this! I suppose a Ben Affleck-Amy Adams couple would work.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

 All Christian marriages should be perfect, right?

Who is publishing your book?

 The Prism Group. Thanks, Marcy!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

 

About six weeks.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I think a little of Cynthia Ruchti's book, They Almost Always Come Home, which is also not a genre romance, but of rekindling what was lost. Contemporary is hard to categorize, because although there's love and romance in there, the story is more about keeping it alive after, and I think that's what makes for good conversation. Probably Jodi Picoult's books.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I wanted to talk about marriage--the way men and women perceive each other while they're getting to know each other; how we think we're doing God's will when He has other plans in mind; how even after we get what we want, it's hard, hard, hard work making marriage be the blessing it's meant to be. Sometimes we're so busy doing for God or following our own path, we forget to take time out for each other.

What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

 

The characters aren't based on my oldest son and his wife, but it was interesting that I was writing about a missionary who never planned to marry, which was something my son's wife had thought about in her life at one point, and a young woman who was very safe in her own little community, with no desire to change anything.

Find more news and more books on my website.
~Lisa Lickel

 

Follow along on our hop by visiting the fabulous Karla Akins next!    

Where's Zack? Keeping kids reading in summer

Keeping children reading during the summer months can be a challenge, but this summer there’s help. New Christian Books Online Magazine is holding a summer reading quest for readers nine and up called Where’s Zack?

 

 

There will be lot of wholesome reading materials, both articles and short stories, posted free at the magazine at http://www.songsfromtheword.com/NewChristianBooks  The focus will be on finding Zack, the fictitious 13-year-old who disappears in the Florida backwoods in Lost in the Woods: A Bible Camp Mystery by Cheryl Rogers.

 

In the e-book, Zack battles nature for 30 hours until being found by a search helicopter and airlifted to safety. Now Zack disappears again, this time during his family’s summer vacation.

 

During the month of June, visitors will read about the family’s vacation destinations and modes of travel. By June 30, they’ll need to guess were he disappears this time. They will be able to choose from a multiple-choice listing on an online form. Everyone will receive free e-books.

 

“Those who correctly guess where he separates from his family will be given the next Bible Camp Mystery slated for release later this year. It is called Alone in the Woods: A Bible Camp Mystery,” says Rogers, who publishes New Christian Books Online Magazine.

 

The e-books will be awarded in early July, leaving participants with more wholesome content for the rest of their summer. No purchase is required to enter the quest. Readers of any age may participate (one entry per person, please).

 

New Christian Books Online Magazine features new book announcements, book excerpts, Bible-based living columns, digital book news, features and author marketing news, plus an online store and affiliate program.

 

Learn more about the quest at http://www.songsfromtheword.com/NewChristianBooks/summer-reading-quest

Jody Hedlund - Christian Author Interviews

Welcome to Christian Author Interviews.
Enjoy our interview with Jody Hedlund, an award-winning historical romance novelist, in this episode. Listen in via the video or audio and share your thoughts in the comments.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway below and share this interview with your friends!


Listen to the audio here:

 

About Jody Hedlund

Jody Hedlund is an award-winning historical romance novelist and author of the best-selling books, The Preacher's Bride and Unending Devotion. She received a bachelor’s degree from Taylor University and a master’s from the University of Wisconsin, both in Social Work. Currently she makes her home in Michigan with her husband and five busy children. Her latest book, A Noble Groom, just released.

Follow Jody Hedlund Website | Facebook | Twitter

 

 

 

 

Books Mentioned in the Interview

The Doctor's Lady

The Preacher's Bride

Unending Devotion

Rebellious Heart

A Noble Groom

Enter to Win a Paperback Copy of A Noble Groom!

Enter below to enter the giveaway below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway Christian Author Interviews is hosted by Shelley Hitz of Crossreads and Body and Soul Publishing. We would like to send out a special THANK YOU to all of the CrossReads bloggers!

Pay attention to the enemy of your soul.

Three Reasons to Listen to the Enemy

By Lynn Hare

 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

– James 4:7 (ESV)

Pay attention to the enemy of your soul. He’s got something you need.

Following a car accident in February, I was laid up with leg, back, neck, and facial injuries. By March, I was still in so much pain, I couldn’t even get comfortable in bed.

I told my husband, “This morning I didn’t want to get out of bed. The pain is winning.” My head dropped to my chest.

But I listened for Jesus’ voice. I heard Him whisper, “Those thoughts are not yours. The enemy is in your head.”

How do we wage war? By listening to the enemy. Here are three reasons:

1.) The enemy will show you where on the battlefield to fight.

When we hear, “I’m not making any progress,” we need to look for growth.

When I said, “I’m not getting better,” I frowned at the bald-faced lie. “Hey,” I said, “No wonder I’m under attack. I’m about to improve!” Determined, I rode my exercise bike and stretched my leg muscles. I was rewarded with a surge of energy. The next day, instead of two crutches, I was on one.

2. Like negatives from a camera, the enemy shows you the reverse of the truth.

Like photos developed in a dark room, black becomes white. Red turns green. Yellow is soon purple. When the enemy shows us an image, we need to declare its precise opposite.

I caught myself saying, “I feel lonely and isolated.” But then I glanced at the stack of get-well-soon cards and meals friends had dropped off. “NO!” I said aloud. “I have lots of friends!”

I determined to write two letters of encouragement each night.

3.) The enemy unwittingly drops hints that point to our future.

When I looked in the mirror, I thought, “Look at the swelling over my eye. What a loser!”

But instead, I looked ahead to what God was shaping me to become. I said aloud, “I’m a winner!” I doubled my words of encouragement to others. Several told me they were uplifted and strengthened.

And now the enemy was no longer in my head. I grinned, leaned forward and asked, “What else have you got?” He scowled and backed away. “Forget it.”

Lynn Hare Bio:

Author, speaker, and certified teacher Lynn Hare enthusiastically provides grace-filled messages about encouragement, prayer, and practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit. A member of Oregon Christian Writers, she lives in Portland with her husband, Tim, of thirty-two years. Her inspirational pieces appear in numerous Christian periodicals. Website: www.lynnhare.com

 

Barbara Derksen talks about her new FindersKeepers mystery series

Meet Barbara Derksen, Prolific writer! 

Barbara, how long did it take you to write your latest book?

            I usually finish one mystery a year but I also did a devotional and a children’s book this past winter. I write mostly in the winter because we are on the road all summer for Christian Motorcyclists Association. Shadow Stalker was started last summer but completed over this long winter we’ve had. 

Barbara, what three things do you know now about the publishing world that you wish you knew when you first started?

            My first mystery was written before I attended any writer’s conferences. I did not understand POV and that would have been very helpful. I also envisioned being discovered like other artists and now know that to be fallacy for most of the really good writers out there. I don’t know if I would have done things differently, but the knowledge would have caused me to think about my audience more. I read a book early on about marketing but I had no idea how many steps it takes to get a book seen by the buying public. Marketing is huge and that knowledge may have given me pause to reconsider writing … but maybe not. 

What have you learned about writing and yourself since you started your most current project?

            I‘ve learned to pace myself, to include in my characters’ lives what the Holy Spirit is teaching me spiritually, and how important it is to edit, edit, and edit some more.  

Tell us a little about your books, especially your latest release.

            I write devotionals with a target audience of bikers since that’s who we minister to all summer. Each one builds on the one before so all six can build spiritually into a person’s life in a major way. God is using them all across the country including men’s bible studies. Straight Pipes, Two-Up, Chrome, Chaps, Road Trip, and this year, More Than Bells, speak to anyone who wants to listen and, ‘ve been told, God meets them in the pages.

            My children’s stories have come about because I have grandchildren. Building a subtle truth from God’s Word into their lives is my motivation and I meet many grandparents at biker rallies who want to take something home to their grand-kids. The stories are about animals with kids names who teach some of their characteristics to the readers but also talk of a Creator and pray and such.

            My third genre is the mysteries. I began with a mystery but I pulled Mind Trap so I could rewrite now that I’ve learned so much about the craft. Then I wrote a four book series, Wilton/Strait Mystery Series. Vanished, Presumed Dead, Fear Not, and Silence take two people, virtual strangers who share the same church, on many adventures to solve mystery, find missing people, and point the authorities in the right direction to capture some evil people. Andrea Wilton and Brian Strait grow spiritually through the series and relationally as well.

            My latest book, Shadow Stalker, is the first in a new series, the Finders Keepers Mystery Series. Shadow Stalker begins with a five year old girl, Melissa Rompart, who watches her parents’ death by the hands of a man who stalks her through life to kill her too. As an adult, Christine Finder, alias Melissa Rompart, has returned to her home country and city to embark on a search of her own with a sideline for tracking missing people.  She teams up with Jeremy Goodman, a strong believer who shares how God leads in his life. Christine is a skeptic.

What marketing techniques have worked the best for you?

            I’m not sure any one works better than any other. I use whatever I can to get my name out there, from interviews, live and on the internet, TV appearances, live radio, or social media. Meeting the public at book tables, signings, readings, etc. adds familiarity. Marketing takes time and work. Like a musical artist, we have to keep our name in front of people so anyway we accomplish that works.

Who in the profession would you most like to sit down with, and what would you ask?

I would like to find a publicity specialist to find out how they find the interviews, and other media events for their clients. I’d like to pick their brain about the files they’ve accumulated and what criteria they use to distinguish a good interview from a poor one. But moistly, I’d want enough money from my sales to hire one so I wouldn’t have to use valuable writing time to do the marketing.

About the book:

An ominous shadow hangs over her, as Christine Finder,  alias Melissa Rompart, visits the brutal slaying of her parents most nights in a dream.  The threat of discovery propels her to search for the whereabouts of the killer to see the man brought to justice. In the meantime, the killer stalks her mind while she operates Finder’s Keepers, an agency that searches for the people her clients hire her to find. Nathan Brent is only four years old and missing. Will she find him in time or will the killer find her first?

Amazon.com 

Amazon author page

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Facebook fan page

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website

Shadow Stalker page on website (read excerpt and order)

 About the author:

Watching the expressions on the faces of her readers, as well as answering questions about her characters, is what drives author and speaker, Barbara Ann Derksen to write yet another book and another. Her favorite genre is murder mystery but each book brings forth characters who rely on God as they solve the puzzle in their life.

Barbara’s devotionals are sought after each year when she publishes a new one that reflects what God has placed on her heart. From Straight Pipes, her first, to More Than Bells, Preparation for Prayer, the latest, Barbara’s devotions take people to the place where God can touch their heart and leave a lasting impression. When people stop by her table for the latest, they talk to her about using the devotions in their chapter meetings, or their personal devotions. Some men return at their pastor’s request because the books are used as launch pads for men’s bible study. Many copies have been passed on to new believers as discipling tools.

Born in Canada, Barbara lived in the US for 12 years. There her writing surfaced as she worked under contract as a journalist for six years with over 2500 articles published in newspapers and magazines during that time. Meeting and interviewing people, digging for the hidden gems in their lives, made those years informative as well as instructive. She began attending Colorado Christian Writer’s Conferences and each year, under the tutelage of great Christian writer’s like James Scott Bell, Angela Hunt, and others, she honed her skills.

Barbara has developed a speaking platform and has spoken across the US and in Manitoba, Canada for women’s groups and in church services on topics such as The Writing Experience, working in the ministry of Christian Motorcyclists Association, Love, Parenting, Time Management, and a host of others.

With 17 books to her credit, one currently inactive and awaiting revision, each one surpasses the last, according to her readers. They look forward to discovering the new characters in a new series Finders Keepers. Book One – Shadow Stalker – is now available.

Writing, however is simply a tool to be used in the ministry she shares with her husband. With his gift of music (he sings country gospel), Barbara and her husband operate CatchFire Ministries, a ministry to bikers through Christian Motorcyclists Association. They travel for four to five months every summer in the US and the rest of the time in Canada where they seek to inspire, encourage and invite people into a deeper ministry with Jesus Christ. They also minister at Veterans Homes and churches along the way and are about to begin a ministry to Juvenile offenders incarcerated at Manitoba Youth Center. The mysteries include a gospel message that opens her readers to the possibility of reading books written from a Christian World view and supply funds for CatchFire.