Guest Blog: Sally Jo Pitts Winner: Debra Pruss

Dear Readers,

Please help me in welcoming Sally Jo Pitts. I love supporting a fellow Southern author, or any author, for that matter. I just am partial to my home region. I hope everyone is doing well!

Introduce yourself—name, where you’re from, and something people notice when they meet you.

Hi! I am  Sally Jo Pitts, currently from Panama City, Florida, but I grew up in Ocala, Florida. I have a double first name, which is kind of a southern thing, although I answer to either Sally or Sally Jo. People usually notice my southern drawl when we are first introduced. But if you are from Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia or most parts of Florida, I just sound normal.

Tell us about your book—title and back cover blurb.

My latest book, Sweet Deceit, is the first book in a new Sweet County Secrets romantic suspense series.

Someone will stop at nothing to keep the secrets of Sweet County hidden.

Public Relations consultant ANNIE MCAFEE hopes to spend a quiet summer in Sugarville waitressing, housesitting, and job hunting. But her plans are upended after she’s run off the road and narrowly escapes with her life.

Rookie state investigator WILL BRICE is looking forward to a bright future with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement until the governor removes the Sweet County Sheriff and appoints Will to take his place.

Propelled into the middle of Sweet County’s dark secrets, Will and Annie find that deceit hides beneath its sugar-coated façade, and the townspeople prefer to turn a blind eye to wrongdoing.

Confronted with a web of mysterious threats, life threatening crises, and the death of a teenager, the two must work together with the help of an unusual sidekick to expose the corruption.

Can this unlikely crime fighting trio crack the town’s sweet cover?

Share one thing that you found difficult or challenging about writing this book.

The novel is based on a true story when my husband was appointed sheriff in a small rural county. But it happened over 50 years ago, and I wanted the story to be contemporary. The challenge was to create a fictional county, modify the real things that happened and make them believable for today.

Ask the reader a quirky question.

Do you know the difference between a wet, dry, and moist county?

When my husband was appointed sheriff in 1967, he had to enforce the law in a dry county—meaning the sale of alcohol was prohibited. So, I had to find out if dry counties still exist in the U. S. today.

Here is what I learned:

 While the 21ST amendment repealed the nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States, it also gave states the right to regulate the alcohol industry as they saw fit. 

As a result:

·         Laws vary from state to state, county to county and even within counties, creating a patchwork of wet, dry, and moist counties across the country.

·         Wet counties allow the sale of alcoholic beverages to legal purchasers while dry counties prohibit the sale.

·         Moist counties permit the sale of alcoholic beverages in certain situations. Example: A large restaurant is allowed to sell alcoholic drinks, but package sales are prohibited.

Today there are still more than 200 dry counties in the United States, and many more where cities and towns are considered moist.

Citizens of fictional Sweet County support keeping their county dry which plays into the plot of Sweet Deceit.

The Florida county I currently live in is basically wet; however, there are special ordinances. For instance, alcohol is prohibited on the beach during March when college students arrive for Spring Break.

What about your community? Is it wet, dry or moist??

Share your social media and buy links!

https://linktr.ee/sallyjopitts

https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Deceit-County-Secrets-Book-ebook/dp/B0CTXNNTYV