Sally Jo Pitts is an award-winning author who brings experience as a private investigator, licensed lie detection examiner, high school guidance counselor and home economics teacher to the fiction page. Having worked thirty years alongside her late law enforcement husband in his private investigations agency, she learned to teach by day and snoop by night. Currently, she draws on real-life experiences to pen faith-based stories of romance and mystery. Her works include the Hamilton Harbor Legacy romance series, the Seasons of Mystery detective series, and the romantic suspense series—Secrets of Sweet County.
Visit Sally Jo Pitts online
Sweet Double-Cross
A scientific mission turns into a harrowing day of death and destruction. Dedicated biologist Trudy Fields is passionate about her invasive plant species research in northwest Florida. When real estate developer Kirt Mayfair arrives in Sweet County to learn how to eradicate a kudzu infestation on property he plans to purchase, Trudy is assigned to assist him. Their instant connection surprises them both—especially when Kirt impulsively proposes marriage. But research and romantic interest takes a deadly turn when a colleague of Trudy’s is shot and killed on the way to the isolated kudzu experimental island. On the run from a ruthless killer with precision sniper training, Trudy and Kirt must navigate treacherous terrain, dangerous wildlife, and a shocking conspiracy. As bullets fly and bodies pile up, Trudy discovers Kirt is hiding his own secret. Amidst unexpected attraction and lethal betrayal, can the two survive this double-cross?
- ISBN: B0F6MWW8RJ
- Publisher: Elk Lake Publishing, Inc.
Interview with Sally Jo Pitts 2025
When did you feel called to become an author?
I suppose I’ve felt the nudging to write since reading The Secret in the Old Attic and other Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mysteries. As a youngster I liked to make up simple stories of my own. I dabbled in creative writing in high school and college but as a teacher and private investigator, my writing was relegated to lesson plans and PI case reports.
When I really felt the call to become an author came after I retired and took a college creative writing class to keep my teacher certification active. I submitted a short story, and the teacher posed the question, “Is there a novel in your future?”
Her inquiry made me wonder. Could I write a book? Was it really possible? What would I write? How could I start?
The questions sent me on a search which involved attending workshops, conferences, writing retreats, writing groups and critiques. I wrote and made lots of mistakes but soaked up all the advice I could get … and persisted. Seven years after that teacher posed the question I published my first novel, And Then Blooms Love, with Elk Lake Publishing.
For me, the call to write came from somewhere inside me as described in Job 32:18 “For I am full of words and the spirit within compels me.”
What did you learn while writing this book?
I learned all about kudzu, the biological facts and historical background of the plant in our country. The vine known as “the plant that ate the South” is among 1,050 invasive plant species in the United States covering about 133 million acres across the nation.
What is the toughest part of writing in your genre?
Ramping up and describing the tension is something I labor over.
If someone were to look at your Google search history (all for research of course!), what types of things would we find?
Anything about kudzu—how it grows, attempts to control, possible uses, etc. Also, they’d find research on Muskogee Indians that were in the northwest Florida area in the 1800s for my current WIP. But someone looking at my Google search would see lots of miscellaneous things too—recipes for food I have on hand, directions to the extension office, synonym for perspective, what is creeping Charlie, how to use a hashtag …
If you could have coffee with an author, dead or alive, whose work you admire, who would that be?
David Baldacci.
What would you ask him?
As many questions as possible in the coffee time allotted! What is his background? How did he start writing? What is his writing day like? What are his suggestions on writing character descriptions? Where did he get the idea for Amos Decker, his memory man character?
What’s your go-to drink while writing?
Coffee, my own mixture: Dr. Livingood Moringa coffee, 2 scoops hot chocolate mix, 1 scoop collagen, ½ tsp butter and coconut oil.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Time is precious. You never get it back. Use it wisely.
What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
Watching old movies and playing board games with the grandkids.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
Honestly, I have dozens on my bedside table and lots in my Kindle and BookFunnel apps. But next up reads when I finish my current cozy mystery, Swiss Alps, by Hazel Smith, and post a review, then I’ll read Marry Me, Marla by Mary Felkins, Still the One, Susan May Warren; True Blue Royal, Rachel Hauck.
What can we look forward to next?
My work in progress is book #3, Sweet Dare, in the Sweet County Secrets series. The story is about the lure of an Indian legend and a dare among three nine-year-olds that leads to a deadly discovery.
I suppose I’ve felt the nudging to write since reading The Secret in the Old Attic and other Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mysteries. As a youngster I liked to make up simple stories of my own. I dabbled in creative writing in high school and college but as a teacher and private investigator, my writing was relegated to lesson plans and PI case reports.
When I really felt the call to become an author came after I retired and took a college creative writing class to keep my teacher certification active. I submitted a short story, and the teacher posed the question, “Is there a novel in your future?”
Her inquiry made me wonder. Could I write a book? Was it really possible? What would I write? How could I start?
The questions sent me on a search which involved attending workshops, conferences, writing retreats, writing groups and critiques. I wrote and made lots of mistakes but soaked up all the advice I could get … and persisted. Seven years after that teacher posed the question I published my first novel, And Then Blooms Love, with Elk Lake Publishing.
For me, the call to write came from somewhere inside me as described in Job 32:18 “For I am full of words and the spirit within compels me.”
What did you learn while writing this book?
I learned all about kudzu, the biological facts and historical background of the plant in our country. The vine known as “the plant that ate the South” is among 1,050 invasive plant species in the United States covering about 133 million acres across the nation.
What is the toughest part of writing in your genre?
Ramping up and describing the tension is something I labor over.
If someone were to look at your Google search history (all for research of course!), what types of things would we find?
Anything about kudzu—how it grows, attempts to control, possible uses, etc. Also, they’d find research on Muskogee Indians that were in the northwest Florida area in the 1800s for my current WIP. But someone looking at my Google search would see lots of miscellaneous things too—recipes for food I have on hand, directions to the extension office, synonym for perspective, what is creeping Charlie, how to use a hashtag …
If you could have coffee with an author, dead or alive, whose work you admire, who would that be?
David Baldacci.
What would you ask him?
As many questions as possible in the coffee time allotted! What is his background? How did he start writing? What is his writing day like? What are his suggestions on writing character descriptions? Where did he get the idea for Amos Decker, his memory man character?
What’s your go-to drink while writing?
Coffee, my own mixture: Dr. Livingood Moringa coffee, 2 scoops hot chocolate mix, 1 scoop collagen, ½ tsp butter and coconut oil.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Time is precious. You never get it back. Use it wisely.
What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
Watching old movies and playing board games with the grandkids.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
Honestly, I have dozens on my bedside table and lots in my Kindle and BookFunnel apps. But next up reads when I finish my current cozy mystery, Swiss Alps, by Hazel Smith, and post a review, then I’ll read Marry Me, Marla by Mary Felkins, Still the One, Susan May Warren; True Blue Royal, Rachel Hauck.
What can we look forward to next?
My work in progress is book #3, Sweet Dare, in the Sweet County Secrets series. The story is about the lure of an Indian legend and a dare among three nine-year-olds that leads to a deadly discovery.
For more great interviews, visit our Author Interview Archives.