DESIGNED BY LOVE - Sally Jo Pitts - One Free Book

Welcome back, Sally. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?  I have two more books to write in my Whodunit Seasons of Mystery Series—the winter ebook (Winter Deception) is available for pre-order now. I will be writing the spring and summer books next.

 

Tell us a little about your family. My lawman and private investigator husband of forty-eight years passed away a year ago. I miss his input and encouragement. He was my greatest cheerleader. I am blessed with “his and ours” children, and a fun mix of steps, grands and greats. I live in the Panhandle of Florida with my feisty schnauzer, Gibbs.

 

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how? Yes. When I was a teacher and guidance counselor, my reading focused on learning styles and career planning. With this writing adventure, I’ve met several authors of romance and romantic suspense and read more in those genres.

 

What are you working on right now? Book #3 in the Seasons of Mystery series, Spring Betrayal.

 

What outside interests do you have? My outside interests are church related—Bible study and I teach Sunday school. And my schnauzer has me trained to walk him in the evening.

 

How do you choose your settings for each book? My romance series centered around the same town, which  mirrors my current hometown of Panama City, Florida. In the mystery series, I picked locations that interested me. The mystery I just finished was in a fictional antebellum home because that era intrigues me, and I enjoyed the research.

 

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why? Billy Graham. I would love to hear about his insights and experiences with the various presidents he met during his lifetime.

 

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels? The concept of branding and building a platform.

 

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now? That the scriptures are timely. The writers of the Old and New Testaments spoke to those of their day but I continually find that the messages are applicable to our times.

 

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful? 1- Don’t quit, 2- Continue learning the craft, 3- Read- you can select, from a variety of authors and genres or concentrate on one, reading in general will help your writing.

 

Tell us about the featured book. Designed for Love is book #3 in my Hamilton Harbor Legacy series. A new War Between the States is brewing and North and South clash when a local interior designer is pitted against a New Yorker in a competition that will shape the destiny of the small town.

 

Please give us the first page of the book.

The urgent call came the night before. 

“You’ve gotta be here tomorrow.” Bagel shop owner Elaine Robinson’s anxious voice surprised Izzie Ketterling.

 After six weeks in Tallahassee helping her mom recuperate from shoulder surgery, Izzie was more than ready to get back home but hadn’t expected being needed at the Hamilton Harbor Commission meeting.

 Not that Izzie had any special pull.

 What she did have was gumption.

She could be counted on to take a stand. With the windows down on her Suburban, Izzie belted out the words to “Open Up the Heavens” along with the song on the radio. Mulling over downtown redevelopment concerns replaced her worry about passing the National Council for Interior Design Qualification test.

A half hour into the trip, she stopped worrying all together and enjoyed the colors of nature splashed on wild persimmon trees tucked among pine-scented evergreens. Crisp October air, so welcome after a hot summer in north Florida, swirled about her face. She fingered her hair, stiffened with hair gel. Earrings, she’d fashioned out of golf tees, clunked in the breeze.

On the outskirts of Hamilton Harbor, the bright red Tally-Ho Drive-In sign appeared to hang suspended in the gathering thunderclouds. Somebody must have finally located the bulbs to light up all the letters.

Throughout her high school years, the sign read, Tall O. Eight years ago, tall zero could have made an appropriate label to hang on her.

 

How can readers find you on the Internet?  https//:www.sallyjopitts.com  

 

Thank you, Sally, for sharing this book. It sounds like a great story.

 

Readers, here are links to the book.

https://amzn.to/3eLDA1p

https://amzn.to/35adcey 

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book. 

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com