Welcome, Author Gail Pallotta and her new release, STOPPED COLD!

Today I am thrilled to welcome the wonderful author Gail Pallotta to Gina's World of Good. Gail will be discussing her newest release, STOPPED COLD, which is already stopping traffic on the sales charts! Welcome, wonderful author, blogger and friend - Gail! Let's start with chatting about your thoughts on writing.

As an author, what makes a book great in your eyes?

I love to read, so it’s difficult for me to find a book I don’t like, but there are a few I’ve read that stand out. Those touched my heart on a personal level and had meaning for mankind as well.

Tell us a little about what you are working on.

I recently finished an adult romantic comedy with suspense. It’s a fun book with surprises. Also, I’m writing a romance about a young girl with a mysterious illness.

Let’s talk about the book you’d like to promote today.  How did you come up with the title and where can we find it?

Stopped Cold is a sports mystery. In it the heroine looks for drug dealers who sold her brother the steroid that caused him to have a stroke. As I worked on Stopped Cold, I thought of titles that had something to do with sports and came up with the word “game.” Pondering further, it dawned on me that some might think of taking drugs as a game, so I titled the book A Dangerous Game. Another day while writing about the young man who took the steroid, I thought, “Man, he was stopped cold.” I changed the title.

Here are buy links for Stopped Cold:

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/305506

Front Porch Romance: http://www.frontporchromance.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=33&products_id=194

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Stopped-Cold-ebook/dp/B00CBAT37I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365693797&sr=8-1&keywords=gail+pallotta

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-stoppedcold-1157330-176.html

What was your first reaction when you got a glimpse of your cover art?

Excitement. It validated that I really had a book coming out soon.

Please give us a blurb and excerpt!

The Book Blurb:

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.

An Excerpt:

My heart flip-flopped, my feelings in a boxing match. Sean

was so sick. I couldn’t understand why he took the steroid.

Trying to figure it out haunted me day and night like a ghost

inside my head that wouldn’t shut up howling. Then Jimmy

gave me attention, and I was all flowers and sunshine.

How ironic that Sean’s illness brought Jimmy and me

together. Maybe we would have gotten to know each other

better anyway. I’d never know for sure, but Sean would be

glad for me. The need to find the people who hurt him burned

in my stomach like a raging fire. “Wednesday sounds good.

Can we go after my swim practice?”

Suzie put her palms on the table. “That’s good for me. I have

to go to French Club Wednesday after classes.”

“Let’s meet in front of the gym at four-thirty.” Jimmy stood.

“I’ll see you then.”

He left, and Emily leaned across the table. “Sometimes I

wonder if Candy’s as out-of-it as she acts. I can’t see Sean

dating her.”

“If I didn’t know Sean, I’d think he did it to aggravate Dad.

But Sean’s not spiteful. He tries to please people.” Tears

forcing their way to my eyes caused me to blink. “You know

what? He probably did it because Candy hangs out with the

football players. You can see how they all flip out over her.”

Emily peered at me with sad dark eyes. “Sean deserved

better.”

“I know. I wish I’d talked to him about her and steroids.”

“You can’t blame yourself for what happened.”

How could I not blame myself? He got no help from me

when he needed it most.

Joe Garrett walked past us then meandered through the

students toward the doorway.

“Do you think he heard us make plans?” Emily tilted her

head toward Joe.

“No, we weren’t talking loud. There’s so much noise in here

I doubt he could hear anything.”

A glint danced in Emily’s eyes. “You’re probably sorry

Jimmy left. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s totally into

you.”

I couldn’t have stopped my grin if I’d wanted to. “You think

so?”

“Oh, yeah.” Emily nodded. “I’m glad he’s going with us

Wednesday.”

“So am I. Thanks for asking him.”

“You’re welcome.” Emily shifted her gaze to my plate. “You

have to keep up your strength. We’re not leaving until you

eat.”

Seeing Candy, the talk about the temple, and the shame of

telling Jimmy about Sean had squashed my appetite. “Emily,

I can’t. My stomach’s churning.”

Emily’s dark eyes turned stern. “You have to.”

I rubbed my stomach.

“Think of something soothing and eat.”

My thoughts turned to the warmth I’d seen in Jimmy’s eyes

the day he told me he was keeping Sean in his prayers. The

first nibble of my french fry tasted better than I thought it

would. Now, the chicken sandwich. Yum.

Emily grinned. “After you eat it all, I’ll take you home.”

Since Sean had been in the hospital, Emily looked after me.

Guess she realized there was no one else to do it. “You

sound like my mom, but for a ride, I’ll do it. I’m too tired to

wait on the bus.”

Emily laughed. “I’m more like a big sister.”

I cleaned my plate. “There.”

Emily and I strolled out of The Grill to her car. The

conversation Candy had with the football players replayed in

my mind and fueled my hatred of the drug dealers. Seemed

like Candy thought steroids were a big joke. Did she really

know something about the temple?

Emily turned on the radio and kept her eyes on the road. “I

love this song.”

It was a soft, love tune. Tears pooled in my eyes. With all of

the hurt and anger in my heart there wasn’t room in my life

for such songs. “It’s pretty.”

 Thank you for visiting, Gail! Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win an e-book copy of  STOPPED COLD. Good luck!