Honoring our Fallen Heroes

As everyone knows, the United States military is so bad arsed that when they wake up in the morning and their feet hit the floor Satan and his minions tremble, saying, “Oh, sh*t, they’re awake.”

After all, it’s a well known saying and popularly held belief that God Himself anointed the American military to take care of things He needed a few strong hands on the ground for. Our politicians have not always lived up to that edict from above, but our soldiers and sailors have.

We’ve all seen the photos that rip your heart out of the wives of fallen soldiers hugging tombstones, clinging to  the casket before burial. We’ve seen the confused and frightened look of toddlers, the resolute gaze of tweens and teens determined to support their bereft mothers. And it’s broken our hearts.

We’ve seen veterans with missing limbs honoring their fallen comrades in arms and it’s brought tears to our eyes.

Yes, by all means, we do gather with family and friends for picnics, barbeques, and family feasts. Grandmothers wip up their menus that are tried and true family favorites. Dads show their prowess at the grill. This is all as it should be. We celebrate living.

We are a nation that can do both with gusto. Remember and honor our dead and at the same time revel in life.

Father God, look down on our nation. Send your Holy Spirit to our land to guide us in your will and your way. Amen, in Jesus name.

“The Killing” Has Been Uncancelled and I’m Ecstatic

When “The Killing,” the only show I watched with anything approaching devotion, was cancelled I wanted to cry. Don’t they know what good TV is? Don’t they care about decent crime fiction? Apparently not!

But then AMC uncancelled it and I can’t contain my glee.

The audience became hugely upset when at the end of the first season Rosie Larson’s killer was not revealed. When the producers assured the killer would be revealed by the end of the second season, many testy viewers didn’t return. With poor ratings, the show was cancelled.

However there was enough interest on many fronts and the show is coming back. In its third season, the show will depart from the coattails of its Danish predecessor Forbrydelsen. The third season will be entirely an American crime fiction tale. The producers have announced characters who have built up a loyal viewer following will continue on their journey. It will still be rainy and deadly. For the new season, a serial killer preying on homeless street kids is on the lose in show’s Seattle.

The new season will air Sunday, June 2nd on AMC at 8/7 central. Crime fiction enthusiasts, be there or be square.

Making it Through Mother’s Day Can be Difficult for Crime Victims

Our news reports are filled with stories of mass shootings, kidnap and the vilest rape imaginable. I can’t help wondering, with great pain in my heart, how the surviving victims of these awful crimes can face Mother’s Day. How can the survivors?

Although recent statistics show, amazingly, that violent crime and homicides are actually decreasing and are at a five-year low, those stats are cold comfort to those who have suffered at the hands of a violent criminal.

As the justice system swings into gear and punishes the criminal, we think, well that ought to bring the survivors some relief. Often it does not. In today’s world, if the crime is ratings worthy, the media will replay the footage over and over. This can often make things emotionally more difficult for survivors.

On holidays and especially on Mother’s Day, victims may experience feelings of extreme loss. The more recent the crime, survivors may experience anger, rage, or even numbness, shock, and confusion. These feelings are not normally associated with Mother’s Day, but they are exceedingly normal to victims of violent crimes. If we know an individual who is a victim of a violent crime, we must allow them the freedom to authentically feel what they truly feel on this emotionally charged day. That is not to say we can’t try to bring some warmth and love into the day. We should do that. Sometimes what is helpful is simply helping victims maintain a normal day-to-day routine. Maintaining the mundane can offer some relief and calm fears. So, it might be more appropriate not to make such a big deal out of Mother’s Day, but rather to just be there as a loved one or friend on this particular holiday and simply to assist in maintaining a sense of normalcy.

The Christian response is always to pray. Indeed, do pray for the crime victim and even for the perpetrator. Pray that the crime victim will one day be able to forgive. Forgiveness brings great release. As Christians we want to let the precious ones who have been the victims of crime know of the great healing and peace of Christ, but pushing this on the person who has experienced a horrific crime will probably not be at all helpful and may be extremely hurtful. The best thing for Christians to do is let the crime  victim see Christ through our loving attitude and actions. And of course, pray, pray, pray.

STOPPED COLD by Gail Pallotta Has Emotion, Excitement, Action

What I love about this story is it’s reminiscent of a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys type mystery, but updated….very now.

So Let’s find out what it’s all about…

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.

This novel fascinates me and I couldn’t help but ask Gail a few questions…

Nike: What motivated you to write about illegal drug use?

Gail: When I thought of all the problems teens face today, illegal drugs struck me as being one of the biggest. I also wanted to write a mystery and to have the main characters participate in sports. One of the reasons teens give for taking steroids is to make them bigger and stronger to enhance athletic performance. That gives them an advantage they can use to win or be the best.

Nike: Is the story based on a true life experience?

Gail: The sports part is. We’re a sports oriented family. The steroid part isn’t. The theme of the book—we don’t have to be number one for God to love us rattled around in my head for a long time. When I was in college a girl there tried to commit suicide because her grades weren’t as good as she or someone thought they should be. The pain she must have felt gnawed at me. Sadly, later I saw several more lives destroyed over situations in which people couldn’t achieve number one status, or could no longer be the best. After I married, had a child and began to work closely with children, I saw a big difference in those who believed they should do their best as opposed to those who were driven to be better than everyone else. The premise of having to be number one and steroid use fit well into a book involving sports and mystery.

Purchase Links:

Amazon. http://tiny.cc/lxssww

Smashwords. http://tiny.cc/pyssww

Front Porch Romance. http://tiny.cc/rzssww

All Romance Books. http://tiny.cc/40ssww

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. 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. Some of her published articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. Readers can find her on the internet on the staff of Clash of the Titles, http://www.clashofthetitles.blogspot.com and at her blog, http://www.gailpallotta.blogspot.com. Her Web Site is http://www.gailpallotta.com

Darling Daughter a/k/a AcidWolf966 (don’t ask) Drew a Crime Fictionista Avatar

 

 

I’m about to introduce a series of contemporary novellas so I decided it was time for a new, updated avatar…a little lady to represent me in the world of crime fiction, murder mysteries, detective stories, whodunits.

It pains me to let go of the 1940s style redhead I’ve been using, but it’s time for a change.

My darling daughter who draws under the name AcidWolf966 designed this plucky gal with tons of attitude to represent the Crime Fictionista with a very “now” look and style.