Allison Leotta is a former federal sex crimes prosecutor. 
That brings to mind a stereotypical image of a hardened woman, more male than female, tough enough to toe it with the big boys, and able to stomp down on the revulsion most of us would feel when confronted with the atrocities she had to face every day.
Well, the last two may be correct, but when meeting Allison, she’s more soccer mom than calculating crime fighter. She is Barbie doll-pretty, tows her kids to book signings, and uses words like funnest. Over all, Allison Leotta is adorable.
She is also one of the best authors out there. Kind to a fault and always willing to give a hand to newer authors.
Gosh I admire this woman.
And shel’ll be giving away a copy of her book to readers who leave a comment HERE or at the bottom of the post (We’ll announce the winner on Friday on this blog and also at Kiss and Thrill. Comments left on Kiss and Thrill are also entered.).
Please join me in this video interview and get to know a bit of the softer side, as well as the down right gritty, of Allison Leotta.
Allison’s newest book is Speak of the Devil and comes out today!! Don’t forget to leave a comment below to be entered to win a copy of of one of Allison’s books.
Here is the blurb:
In this thriller by “the female John Grisham” (The Providence Journal), 
prosecutor Anna Curtis must stop a vicious street gang before it destroys more lives—and her own family.
On the same night that prosecutor Anna Curtis gets engaged, a terrifying man known as Diablo leads a vicious attack on a brothel. Anna is assigned to investigate and bring “the devil” to justice. The challenge of her day job contrasts with the sweetness in her personal life, as she plans her wedding and shifts from being a single woman with a secret boyfriend to one half of a D.C. power couple and stepmother to a six-year-old girl.
The investigation soon leads Anna to MS-13, one of America’s most brutal street gangs. As Anna uncovers the full extent of Diablo’s depravity, she also discovers long-buried secrets, official lies, and a terrifying danger that comes straight to her doorstep. The facts she unearths in the case not only threaten her plans for a happy marriage, but everything she thought she knew about the past and present, good and evil, and the price of justice.
In this gripping thriller, Allison Leotta draws on her experience as a prosecutor to take readers into the back rooms of the US Attorney’s Office, the hidden world of the Witness Protection Program, and the secret rituals of one of America’s most dangerous gangs. Praised by top writers in the genre from David Baldacci to George Pelecanos, Leotta deftly weaves fact and fiction to create her best novel yet.
Great interview. Thank you both! I have loved seeing Allison’s success from her first book to today. It’s fun and inspiring to see other writers succeed! Wishing her the best with SPEAK OF THE DEVIL.
Oh thanks so much, Susan! She’s wonderful and so are you for stopping by.
XO
Thanks so much, Susan! And thank you, Diana, for this wonderful post and taking the time to interview me at the WRW workshop! That was a lot of fun.
Reblogged this on Kiss and Thrill.
So glad I saw this on Kiss and Tell. Looks like I have found a new author to read.
I know you’ll love her, Margie! Hope you stop back here soon. I usually have a new author ever week.
Thanks, Margie! I hope you’ll enjoy SPEAK OF THE DEVIL!
Great interview, Diana! I think it’s your best yet. Of course it helps that Allison’s books are wonderful and exciting. Now I can’t wait to read Speak of the Devil. 🙂
Thanks, Sharon! She is as interesting as her books and such a doll, too! So are you.
Thanks, Sharon! Diana is great, isn’t she? Katie Couric, watch out!
Great interview, Diana. LOL – why didn’t I discover these books when I was writing my DC US Attorney hero book?!
LOL. I don’t think Allison will be a secret for much longer, Rachel. Thanks for being here.
Ooh, a US Attorney hero! I’ll have to check it out! 🙂
Terrific interview. What a fountain of information Allison has to work with!
It is intimidating just interviewing her — she’s the total package, Wife, Mother, Beautiful, Smart, Professional — one woman who seems to have it all.
I’m pretty sure that, if you look closely, you’ll see a giant patch of Dino Oatmeal clinging to my lapel. But I really appreciate you pretending not to see it, Diana.
Sarah, thanks! As a prosecutor, I kept coming home from court saying “someone ought to put this in a book.” It’s nice to finally do it.
Hey, Dianna. Thanks for another of your fun video interviews. I’ll be checking out Allison’s books. I’m curious. Allison, are you still doing the lawyer thing or focusing your attention on your writing career?
Allison is focusing on her role as a mother and author right now — or at least I believe that is the case. I know she is not currently with the prosecutor’s office. I hope she’ll stop by and respond to your question herself.
Thank you so much for stopping by!
Hi Marsha — Diana is right. I left the Dept of Justice in 2011 to focus on writing full-time. I miss the job; I really loved it. But it’s so thrilling to be part of the world of books. I’m having a great time! (Folks like Diana are a big part of that!)
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