Gail Pallotta is our guest today.
She wrote a book called Hair Calamities And Hot Cash.
Today, Gail will share the story behind her story.
Hair Calamities and Hot Cash is “a comedic romp from small town to big city in search of missing money, hair catastrophes, and love. A truly fun read” says Cynthia Hickey, author of the Shady Acres Mystery series…
What happens when a New York stockbroker crashes his car into Eve Castleberry’s North Carolina beauty shop … on the same day the young widow’s defective hair products are causing wild hairdos?
Soon, Eve finds herself helping the handsome stranger hunt the thieves who stole his clients’ cash…and hot on the trail of two of the FBI’s most-wanted criminals!
Romance blossoms amid danger, suspense and Eve’s hair-brained plan to get back the money.
Learn more and purchase a copy.
What inspired you to write this book?
The story behind Hair Calamities and Hot Cash begins many years ago in a small town at the foothills of the North Carolina Mountains, where my mother ran a beauty shop.
It doubled as a social center, counseling service, and gossip mill all wrapped up in one place. Discussions of life’s milestones, employers, illness and hard times filled the room while hair flew. Clients planned showers, graduation parties and get-togethers for their neighbors.
The hair dryers hummed while the clientele sitting under them read magazines, sewed everything from cross-stitch to mending or worked crosswords puzzles. Teachers finished grading papers and students completed homework. If one of them caught wind of a bit of news or a problem, the dryer top flew back, and a comment or advice followed.
In Hair Calamities and Hot Cash, the clients reside in Triville, a fictitious town, which takes on the atmosphere, camaraderie, and caring attitudes of my native hometown and many other yesteryear American communities. They treated every sickness with casserole dishes. Often temporary jobs appeared for laid-off workers, and helping hands reached out to fill the needs of others.
They weren’t perfect, but they were kind, caring people. They had best friends, casual acquaintances, folks they tolerated and those they kept at a distance. However, if a crisis arose or illness struck, prayers went up whether it was for a best friend or someone kept at a distance. They were all God’s children.
The walls of Mother’s beauty shop echoed the spirit of the community, and I wanted to bring it back.
What a creative and fun story about your mother’s shop! Thanks for sharing.
Award-winning author Gail Pallotta is a wife, mom, swimmer, and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family.
A former Grace Awards Finalist and a Reader’s Favorite 2017 Book Award winner, she’s published five books, poems, short stories, and two-hundred articles. Some of her articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums.
She loves to connect with readers. Sign up for her newsletter here and visit her website here.
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Gail is giving away a copy of Hair Calamities and Hot Cash. Follow the directions below to enter.
The day my first born got his first haircut. It was a milestone that was made into a very fun day
Hi Kat,
Of course. (: Thanks for sharing that. It will bring back fun memories for many, I’m sure.
I remember going to the beauty shop and I saw this hairstyle in the magazine and I wanted my hair to be exactly like the picture and well, it looked totally different and I remember saying that I was okay and leaving the shop and crying in the parking lot.