AN INTERVIEW WITH PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR AND AUTHOR, SALLY JO PITTS

BY PATRICIA BRADLEY

Today I'm excited to welcome Sally Jo Pitts to The Suspense Sisters! She is a licensed private investigator, and guess what? That's the type of story she writes! And she's giving away a copy of Autumn Vindication (US address only)!

Here's the back cover copy:

A private investigator and amateur sleuth make an unexpected autumn discovery.

Private Investigator Robert Grey, a former state agent with a tarnished reputation, and his intern Jane Carson arrive in Pine Bluff, Alabama. Initially working a voter fraud case, they find themselves in the middle of a homicide and their client, the local sheriff, is the prime suspect.

Challenged with finding a murderer and grappling with career doubts of their own, the PIs are pitted against Robert’s nemesis.

With a man’s life at stake, can this unlikely duo find vindication while untangling the mysterious maze of suspects and motives hidden within the colored cloak of autumn?

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 Sally Jo, you’re a private detective in real life. How do that help you with your books.

Knowing the kinds of issues a private investigator is called on to work, and how to go about investigating and reporting a case helps me add realism to dialogue and scene situations. The voter fraud case featured in Autumn Vindication is based on a real case my husband and I worked in a north Florida county sheriff’s race.

                                              

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Would you be willing to give a few tips on how PI’s work?

Sure.

These are tips I learned from my husband who was in law enforcement 35 years before opening his private investigations agency. He taught me and I worked for him. Initially, I was a teacher by day and PI by night for many years until I retired and became a PI full time.

Tip #1- Identify the issue and determine if what a person requests is appropriate for a PI rather than wasting a client’s money.

We might get a call to watch someone suspected of making harassing calls. This should be reported to police to take a report. It is not something to hire a PI for. We might receive a call wanting us to watch a spouse to prove they were unfaithful. If it was a divorce situation, then obtaining specifics needed by the attorney was advised rather than wasting the client’s money spending hours collecting data that was of no use.

Tip#2- For surveillance, we gathered not only photos and description of the subject but as much information as possible about the person’s likes, dislikes, habits, favorite places to eat, where they normally parked their car, etc.

Tip# 3- If surveillance, scout the area where subject is to be observed and plan strategy on how to carry it out. A person living on an isolated, deadend street presents a challenge!

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Tell us three things about yourself that might surprise your readers.

I was campaign manager for my husband when he ran for sheriff. (I was a complete novice, checked out two books from the library on running a political campaign and he won in spite of me.)

I taught Success in Day-to-Day Living seminars with two other teacher friends when our children were still in elementary school. We learned that the time spent planning and teaching was keeping us from success in day-to-day living!

I am a licensed lie detection examiner.

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What genre did you start out writing? Have you changed course? Why or why not?

I first wrote the Autumn Vindication mystery that just came out, as a husband and wife detective story eight years ago. (It has morphed into a younger single guy and girl coworkers team.) But I put it on the back burner to learn more about craft. I attended conferences, learned from My Book Therapy and Deep Thinkers with Susan May Warren. My first published books were romance and I’ve tried my hand at romantic suspense.

Deep Thinkers is where I met you! What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?
Tough Criticism- That my protagonists were too old. My team consisted of husband and wife who were in their 60s/70s.
Best Compliment- My romance books should be Hallmark movies.

    

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What is the most important thing you’d like readers to take away from your books? 

Sally Jo: That everyone has a purpose.

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Would you want to be a private detective? Leave a comment with your contact information to be entered in a drawing for Autumn Vindication!  

Here's Sally Jo's bio: 

Sally Jo Pitts has had a career in private investigation, high school guidance counseling, and taught in the field of marriage and family living for over twenty years. Now, she brings her experience in affairs of the heart to the fiction page. 

Writing what she likes to read—faith-based stories—her desire is to inspire and encourage the reader. She is the author of the Hamilton Harbor Legacy romance series and Autumn Vindication is book one in a four-book Seasons of Mystery series. Visit her at www.sallyjopitts.com.