Shannon here: Gail Pallotta shares her inspiration for her latest Contemporary Romance, Barely Above Water. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a Kindle copy. Deadline: Sept 3rd, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Gail:
When I started planning Barely Above Water, romance never entered my mind. Yet, it grew to the most important part of the book, which has its roots in a mysterious malady I got seventeen years ago.
After one month of tests, the physician said he and his associates couldn’t treat me because they couldn’t diagnose the foreign substance in my body. I had numerous symptoms, including the inability to eat and digest food. I didn’t think I would survive, but the Lord led me to David Lee, D.C., Ph.D., C.ad. He reiterated the same thing the physician had told me, and my heart sank.
Once again, I assumed I would not survive. However, Dr. Lee, who found the bacteria for Chronic Lyme disease, treated me immediately and I started to recover. After I resumed an active lifestyle, others who also had Chronic Lyme disease asked about my treatments, and I finally decided to record them in a book. After I wrote about the medical facts, I read them over and saw a drab, unhappy manuscript.
That’s when the romance became the most important part of the book. In addition to faith and hope, I
wanted the magical element of meeting that special person. Other than one’s faith, there aren’t many things more uplifting than the sudden chemistry that sparks an interest in a guy and vice versa. Nor are there many things more interesting than all of the struggles and effort it takes to make a budding romance grow. Not to mention, the break-ups and rekindling it takes to find out if it’s true love or just infatuation. Put those in a romantic setting, such as Destin, Florida, where I set Barely Above Water, and they will take over the story.
I created the hero, Matt, who eventually grew more important to Suzie, the heroine, than Chronic Lyme disease. A fun, sometimes comical, rag-tag swim team with no coach at the beginning of the summer puts these two together. When Chronic Lyme disease threatens to tear them apart because of a heartache Matt has, he finds answers from an unlikely source, but hurt and disappointed, Suzie no longer trusts him. By now, after all that has happened, their relationship has taken precedence over the Chronic Lyme disease, and it continues to do so, especially as Matt realizes what he’s lost and attempts to win Suzie over again.
About the book one reader said, “A lovely story with well-defined and well-developed characters, and a storyline with factual information that will help, or at least educate, readers.” Another said, “I especially enjoyed the way she educated us, without realizing we were learning, about Lyme.” I attribute those comments to the romance.
Question for Readers: What’s your favorite romantic gift to receive or give?
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. A 2013 Grace Awards finalist, she’s a Reader’s Favorite 2017 Book Award winner and a TopShelf 2020 Book Awards Finalist. She’s published six books, poems, short stories and several hundred articles. Some of her articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. She enjoys connecting with readers.
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About the book – Barely Above Water: An illness comes out of nowhere and strikes Suzie Morris. Her boyfriend dumps her. She has no living family, and her physician can’t diagnose the malady.
Suzie relies on her Christian faith as she faces the uncertainty of the disease, and turns to a renowned alternative doctor in Destin, Florida. She takes a job coaching a county-sponsored summer swim team. She’s determined to turn the fun, sometimes comical, rag-tag bunch into winners.
Her handsome boss renews her belief in love, but learns of her mysterious affliction and abruptly cuts romantic ties. Later he has regrets, but can he overcome his fear of losing a loved one and regain Suzie’s trust?
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Barely Above Water – Barnesandnoble Barely Above Water – Kobo
Barely Above Water – Pelican Book Group Barely Above Water – Apple
Come back Aug 30th for Donna Schlachter!
What a great story post, Gail. I love your books!
Hi Carol,
Thank you for stopping by and for those kind words.
Faith and hope keep us going. Enjoyed your post, Gail. I went through testing and treatment of Lyme with a friend of mine. In the process discovered how allergic I am to mold. I could say more, but this is not about me! I’m adding this story to my purchase list.
Hi Loree,
Thank you for stopping by. You’re such a good buddy to go through the testing and treatment with your friend. Thank you for adding Barely Above Water to your list. I hope you enjoy it.
To answer your question on CrossReads, I love to receive flowers, white roses to be specific. To give, it would be chocolate. I’ve never been in a situation where I was diagnosed with a life-threatening problem, but I’ve known many who have had them and their greatest weapon is faith. Faith in an all-knowing God. He knows what’s best for our lives. 🙂 Praise God!
Hi Sharon,
Thank you for visiting, and yes, faith is so important in our lives, especially in times of difficulty or chaos.
For our first anniversary many years ago. I told my husband to just give me my favorite candy bar because I knew there was no extra money. My husband was in school full-time. Later that day the college florist delivered a dozen red roses to me at work with the note – “Here is your candy bar.” He had taken on a special job for the day so he could buy me the roses.
Hi Shirley,
What a sweet husband.
I have a winner! Shirley Strait won the drawing. I appreciate Gail for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.
Thank you for having me, Shannon.