Gail Pallotta is an
award-winning author, 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. Readers can find her
blog at http://www.gailpallotta.blogspot.com.
Her Web Site is http://www.gailpallotta.com
Welcome back to my blog, Gail. This book is a Young Adult Mystery.
Please tell us about your new book.
It’s a teen sports mystery with suspense, first love and spiritual
talk. The theme of the book is: We don’t have to be number one for God to love
us.
It’s set in a small town in North Carolina, but things aren’t what they
seem in peaceful Mistville. Here’s
what’s going on with Margaret McWhorter and her friends. She 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.
I love mysteries. Where did you get your
inspiration for this novel?
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. As for the message, 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.
That is so true, Gail. What kind of research did you do for this
book?
A lot. Children face a
number of problems today, but I wrote about steroids. One reason teens say they
take steroids is to enhance athletic performance, which indicates they have a
drive to be number one. I read 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. Even though the use of
steroids is going down, according to the latest statistics I could find there
are around 125,000 teens who say they’ve used them. Sadly, I imagine there are
some who’ve used them, but don’t say they did.
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. I also went over the technicalities of meets with a coach
and a director of summer league swimming.
What intrigues you most about writing Young Adult stories?
Seeing how young people face the challenges in today’s society. Each
era brings its own set of unique problems. Currently we live in a world that
gives mixed signals about right and wrong, so that makes choices even more
difficult for teens than the ones made as recent as thirty years ago. Human
nature doesn’t change, even though the times do. Today’s young people must deal
with all society throws at them while coping with the same emotions all of us
had when we were their ages. There are lots of qualities to admire about
today’s teens as they handle these trying circumstances.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I’m having a discussion and give away in the “teen” room at The Book
Club Network. Each week for a month I’ll ask a question then choose a winner
from the comments. Each winner will get a PDF download of Stopped Cold and one of the following prizes: An Olympic jacket
from the 1996 summer Olympic Games, a stuffed cow from a Chic-fil-A football
bowl game, a leather purse, or Fancy Nights perfume. The contest is going on
now at http://bookfun.org. Come
over to the “teen” room and join us.
Buy Links for Stopped Cold: Smashwords, Front Porch Romance, Amazon, and All Romance Books
14 comments:
Gail, I think you have a winner with this book. It's so timely what with all that is happening today in sports and steroids. I didn't know, though, that you interviewed an undercover detective, policeman, and narcotics officer. Wow! Talk about being sure to be accurate, you did just that, lady. I'm thrilled this book is a best seller at All Romance eBooks. Congrats!
Hi Miss Mae,
Thanks for stopping by to read about Stopped Cold. It is a book for today with the fun of amateur sleuths reminiscent of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.
Thanks too for the congrats.
Great interview! I have always loved mysteries. Growing up I was a big fan of Nancy Drew. I even got the computer games of Nancy Drew to play. Gail, I like the fact that you wrote this book around teens and steroids since that is something that takes place now.
beckyqward@gmail.com
A young adult mystery? I'm in! I really enjoy the MG mystery genre, and I haven't seen too many YA books in this category. It sounds really good!
Hi Becky,
Thanks for stopping by. It must have been great fun to play the Nancy Drew computer games. I thought quite a bit about the plot, characters and message of the book before I started.
Hi Dena,
Thanks for coming by. Yes, I wanted to write a mystery and have subjects that teens could relate to going on in the real world.
I would love to win a kindle copy of the book. Mysteries are good, and I prefer Christian novels, where I don't have to worry about inappropriate content.
Hi Anonymous,
Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you enjoy Christian mysteries. Stopped Cold fits the category.
Wow! I just cannot wait to read this book, Gail. The topics you have addressed in STOPPED COLD are both timely and timeless, and I am sure that readers of all ages would really benefit from reading it. Great interview. Wishing you much success with this and in all your writings.
Linda, your blog is wonderful. What a great forum for topics that are so relevant and based in faith. Thank you both!
Hi Gina,
Thank you for coming by to read about Stopped Cold and for sharing your thoughts.
Hi Gail,
Congratulations on your new release.
"Stopped Cold" covers an issue that needs to be addressed. Who knows how many lives will be changed by this book.
Linda, thank you for hosting Gail. She is one gifted writer. Not a surface writer, but one who digs below the surface. I like that.
Hi Laurean,
Thanks so much for coming by and for your kind words.
Yes! Totally can't wait to read this! Adding it to my TBR list... Love that cover, too ; ) I always wonder how much power they have over the direction of the design of their book cover. My brother just got into designing book covers and would like to know what he should expect! Thanks for sharing with us and Thanks for the giveaway!
mestith at gmail dot com
Hi Meghan,
Thanks for coming by to read about Stopped Cold. I gave the cover artist input about the subject of my book and some scenes in it.
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