Gail Pallotta and Treading Water: Barely above Water, Revised Edition

Dear Readers, 

Thank you for being a part of this blog community! I hope you enjoy getting to meet the authors-- and I hope you're having a great summer! 

~Blessings, Christina 

Please introduce yourself—name, where you’re from, and something people notice when they meet you? 

Hi, I’m Gail Pallotta. A current resident of Georgia, I grew up at the foothills of the North Carolina Mountains. I love meeting and talking with people, and I think they sense that about me, because my husband says I’m the only person he knows who can go in the grocery for a loaf of bread and come out with someone’s life story.

Tell us about your book—title and back cover blurb? 

In Treading Water: Barely above Water, revised edition, Suzie Morris suffers a sense of isolation and loneliness when she’s struck with an illness her physician can’t diagnose. Without family, she’s on her own. To make matters worse, her boyfriend dumps her. Relying on her Christian faith, she moves to Destin, Florida, to get treatment from an alternative doctor. After she lands a temporary job coaching a fun, county-sponsored rag-tag swim team, her handsome boss, Matt Combs, renews her belief in love. However, when Matt learns of Suzie’s medical problem, he cuts romantic ties. Recently saddened by the illness and death of his mother, he fears he couldn’t face another loss. Later he regrets his decision and tries to make amends. Hope for healing flickers inside Suzie when she hears of new remedies, but will the latest discoveries work for her? If she recovers, can Matt regain her trust? 

Excerpt: 

   Suzie fidgeted in her chair three months later as she sat in an office in Destin, Florida. A door shut, and she jumped. She took a deep breath and pulled back her shoulders. She would appear confident and calm, God willing. She had to steady her right hand. The interviewer would probably offer to shake it. A man entered and walked to her, his broad shoulders taking over the room. 

   “Matt Combs. Sorry I’m late. I hope you weren’t too bored sitting here.” 

   He offered a handshake. She peered at his squared, strong-looking extremity as she extended her hand as fast as she could. “I’m fine, thank you. It’s nice to meet you.”

   Had he detected the trembling? He didn’t stare at her hand. Guess not. As Mr. Combs situated himself, Suzie surveyed his office, getting a glimpse of who he was. 

   A plaque for Outstanding Manager as head of the Okaloosa County Parks and Recreation Department hung on the wall alongside pictures of kids in bathing suits and soccer players in blue uniforms. A full trophy case sat next to his bookcase. She could get him another victory in spite of the sickness, if he’d give her a chance.

   The rollers on his black chair clicked as he pulled it to his metal desk. He pushed a pile of folders to one side then looked up with a sheepish grin. 

   “I haven’t had a chance to clean. Harold Gubb, my assistant and the county bookkeeper, was out sick last week. I’m a little backed up.” 

   Suzie clenched a pencil in three fingers and released it, then repeated the action in her lap. She started the habit to check her strength after she’d lost twenty-five pounds. Now she did it when she was nervous. “You have a nice office.” 

   Matt’s shoulders relaxed. “I suppose, as county cubicles at community centers go, it’s okay.” He waved his hand toward a desk in front of his. “Barely room for Harold when we’re both here, but I’m in the field quite a bit. We manage.”

   He retrieved a folder from the pile he’d just moved and studied it. “Ahh, I see you coached a swim team and won your division every year except your first. That’s quite an accomplishment.” 

   He gazed at her with admiration in his eyes. Suzie scooted up as hope Matt Combs might hire her flickered in the back of her mind. “You were in high school and college then. Now, you’re...” He glanced at her application, then sat back in his seat. “Twenty-five?” He arched an eyebrow. “Uh, most recently, you’ve worked as an editor of a community magazine in Blue Mountain, North Carolina. It says here you quit your job to move? Could I ask why?” 

   Suzie recoiled at the suspicion in his voice. Carson would say she had to move because she was a druggie. Sad that his ridiculous opinion still upset her. She glanced at the three-quarter-length sleeve of her blouse. Before Carson broke up with her, he’d suggested she wear sufficient clothing to cover her skinny body. Dwelling on him wasn’t worth the hurt and ire that rose from recalling his degrading remark, but more importantly she couldn’t let anything distract her. She had to have this job. She swallowed hard. 

  Play the game. 

Let's get to know the blog readers a bit--Ask the blog reader a quirky question or two? 

Suzie grows to love her job coaching a rag-tag swim team. Have you ever taken a job or volunteered for an activity more because you needed to than wanted to, then ended up enjoying it? These days, we all need our faith to get through life. Can you tell us about a time when you relied on your faith. 

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