Hot
Shot
S.A.
Stolinsky
Suspense
November 1, 2016
Book Description:
Payback is a powerful thing...
Actor and bartender, Tyler West
experiences a sudden streak of luck -- winning poker games. Determined to
change his life, he enters the World Series of Poker. His life is suddenly
turned upside down when the Russian mafia fronts him 1.5 million dollars to
play at the tables. And then...he loses…
Now on the ride of his life,
deceit and deception are his key to uncovering the truth. He must recoup the money,
but will it come at a price? Can he stay alive long enough or will his time run
out?
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/cc3b8xb7sl8
About
the Author:
Stefanie Stolinsky, Ph.D. is a
licensed psychologist and forensic psychologist with a private practice in
Beverly Hills, California. She
specializes in trauma, adults
sexually, physically and emotionally abused as children, and PTSD. She is an
international speaker and has taught training seminars in overcoming the
aftereffects of child abuse. She has also taught licensing examinations to
candidates for both marriage, family and child counseling and for the
psychology licenses.
She began her career as an
actress in motion pictures, television and stage and created a unique therapy
combining acting exercises with psychodynamic psychotherapy to help survivors
of all kinds of trauma overcome the aftereffects of abuse. The first edition of
"ACT IT OUT" was a top seller for over nine years. A second edition
of the popular book was launched in April of this year and is available on
Praeclarus Press, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
She is also the author of several
award-winning short stories including her newest short story anthology, DATE
NIGHT, and numerous comedy mystery. Dr. Stolinsky lives with her husband in Los
Angeles.
Interview
Where are you from? San Francisco, CA
Tell us your latest news?
My
latest news is that my newest comedy/mystery, HOT SHOT, about degenerate
gambler, Tyler West, a 33-year-old hunk, who is in hot water with the Russian
mafia who hoped his gambling addiction to poker would help them launder 1.5
million dollars in Macao. Tyler loses
and when he decides to pay the mob back by stealing the money he owes from
their very own casino, the caper takes a wild and crazy turn. Tyler and his friends, and lover, Teresa,
find themselves in the throes of an FBI investigation in which an Indian tribe,
with a casino on federal land, helps the hapless guy get out from under what
could have been a deadly situation. He
learns that love trumps addiction, but goes through some winding plot twists to
get there.
When and why did you begin writing?
I
felt it was a gift that I could nurture and I enjoy telling stories. I love comedy and did some stand-up and
improv back in the day. The immediate
gratification of making people laugh kind of morphed into hoping they would sit
down with one of my books, after a hard days’ work, and just enjoy the
characters and the plot.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I
was 13-years-old the first time I was actually published, but I was always a
Shahrazad according to my husband who ought to know.
What inspired you to write your first book?
John
Grisham. I loved everything he wrote and
I couldn’t put the books down. I
realized he was writing about stories he knew and when I became a forensic
psychologist, I realized I could do the same thing and began THE COUNTERFEIT
LOTTERY, about a hapless would-be actress who solves crimes by creating a
profile acting class style. She ends up
exchanging fantasy for reality and beats the cops at what they do every time.
Do you have a specific writing style?
I’d
say my writing style is short, sweet, to the point and economic. I don’t like a lot of description---I prefer
to leave that to the audience to create in their own minds. When I was an actress, one of my coaches
said, you don’t have to cry, make the audience cry for you. I think that goes along with writing, too.
How did you come up with the title?
The
guy HOT SHOT was created for always thought he was “hot.” He was God’s gift to all women. When he
crashes and burns and loses fifty thousand dollars, his home, and ends up
selling his cat to make a little more money to gamble with, that made me think
he thought of himself as a hot shot.
Is there a message in your novel that you want
readers to grasp?
I
want people to do and feel what my protagonist feels about problems that
eventually will solve themselves---squish a Kleenex in your hands and throw it
in the air and let it land where it may.
That kind of “who cares” attitude can help a lot when people think
things are overwhelming when they might not be so serious.
How much of the book is realistic?
Most
of it is realistic, but not necessarily true.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events
in your own life?
As
I mentioned, the book was based on one of my best friends who literally lost
everything to a gambling addiction. He
was always wishing to “pay them back” for what had happened to him and when he
got therapy, he realized he was blaming everyone but himself for his
predicament. I just loved that guy—he
had a vulnerability that was so endearing.
What books have most influenced your life most?
Any
and all of Robert Parker’s books. I
adore Ray Chandler, Ross McDonald, Donald Westlake (and all his pseudonyms)
sometimes Janet Evanovich, Dashiell Hammett, and especially Mickey Spillane and
Max Allen Collins. Oh, and of course,
John Grisham.
If you had to choose, which writer would you
consider a mentor?
Robert
Parker, big time.
What book are you reading now?
I’m
reading a lot of James Patterson because the plots are simple, straightforward
and give me an urge to write. But I’m
also seriously into literary genre and have finished “Girl on a Train,” “The
Goldfinch” and “All the Light We Cannot See.”
I figure, if someone has won a Pulitzer, you kind of have to read them.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your
interest?
Connie
di Marco, sometimes called Connie Archer writes cozies and I think she is
extremely talented. I also like many of
the authors at FierySeasPublishing and not just because they are my
publishers. They seem to have a plethora
of horror, suspense, romance and thrillers that are really unique.
What are your current projects?
Finishing
the second book in the COUNTERFEIT series, and writing a blog for the Addiction
Blog
(http://addictionblog.org/).
What would you like my readers to know?
That
I really appreciate their taking a chance on reading me, and giving me a chance
to show what I can do, how I write, how my stories might impact their lives or
allow them some respite from a hard days’ work.
I want people to sit down, relax, get some wine or pop, or milk, and
open one of my books and laugh and enjoy the story to the end.
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