Guest Author, Sally Jo Pitts

 

Whoa! This story sounds fascinating and gripping. Thank you, Sally Jo, for sharing with us today.

 

A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR TURNED AUTHOR CONTINUES TO INVESTIGATE

I am a retired PI who worked for 30 years in my husband’s investigations agency before he passed away. Now I write, drawing on past experiences, and I continue to investigate data for my stories.

While compiling research for my latest novel, Sweet Double-Cross, I discovered there is a National Invasive Species Awareness Week that occurs each February to inform the public about the threat of plants or animals introduced to an area where they are not native and cause harm. Kudzu—the green vine with broad leaves, growing in clusters of three—is a notorious invader and can be seen along southeastern United States roadsides, covering fences, telephone poles, trees, tractors, barns and other buildings.

·       Known as the plant that ate the South, this invasive species can grow more than a foot a day in the summer. Some even claim they can see it growing!

·       Kudzu smothers native plants, alters ecosystems, damages infrastructure and is difficult to control.

·       The vine was introduced to the U.S. in 1876 from Japan and marketed as a way for farmers to stop soil erosion. During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, the government provided jobs for people to plant kudzu all over the southeast. (Today the government provides jobs to get rid of kudzu.) 

This plant became a key player in my novel since my heroine is a biologist conducting research on the vine. My hero has a kudzu infestation on property he wants to develop and is seeking assistance. But someone is interested in the research results bad enough to kill for them.

Sweet Double-Cross is book 2 in my Sweet County Secrets series located in a fictional county in northwest Florida.

 

Here is the back cover blurb:

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? 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Double-Cross-County-Secrets/dp/B0F6V9WF58

 

Author Bio: 

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 Sweet County Secrets series.

Connect with her at https://sallyjopitts.com/author