Interview with Gail Pallotta
Published 2014-09-14.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
I remember my mother reading The Wizard of Oz to me when I was very young, and I loved escaping to the world of Oz. I also related to a little girl with a dog.
What do you read for pleasure?
I love to read. I don't need to have a particular genre, just a good book. My favorites probably are mysteries with suspense. A good romance is great too, especially if it has some humor along with it.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
My husband and daughter gave me a Kindle one year for Christmas, and I enjoy reading on it a lot.
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
I enjoy talking to people, so I like book signings where I get to meet my readers. They have worked well for me. Online I visit blogs, keep a facebook page and participate in several groups. Goodreads and The Book Club Network are fun.
Describe your desk
Paper, manuscripts, paper, more manuscripts. A basket with manuscripts I'm not working on. Books, both reference books and some for fun books. My computer and the printer. A calendar, mostly for blog guest, blog visits and other online deadlines.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up at the foothills of the North Carolina Mountains in a small town with a close-knit group of like-minded peers. I love writing about the awe-inspiring landscape. I remember a business associate of my father's who came to see us when I was quite young. He said, "You know, I've traveled the world over and haven't seen anything any prettier than these mountains."
It was wonderful to grow up with salt-of-the earth classmates with the same value system I shared. I'm sure the things we believed in then, and that I still believe in now come through in my writing.
When did you first start writing?
I've been writing something as long as I can remember. My first published work was when a friend and I put out a newspaper in grammar school.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
Smashwords gives me a way to get my stories to a lot of readers.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
When someone tells me they were helped by something I wrote, or they enjoyed escaping with my book.
What are you working on next?
I just signed a contract for a romance about a young professional woman with a mysterious illness, who takes a job as a summer league swim team coordinator so she can move to Destin, Florida, and get the treatments she needs from a renowned alternative doctor.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
I enjoy getting together with friends and family, spending time at church, swimming and bargain shopping with my daughter.
Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author or publisher.
