S.C. Merritt is the author of the Sweetwater Springs Southern Mystery series, a fun, clean cozy mystery series, and the newly launched Bucket List Mysteries! Side note, S.C. is one of my clients so I can personally vouch for how amazingly nice and fun she is and I’m so excited to have her join us for this Author Q&A!
The Sweetwater Springs Southern Mystery series is already up to Book 6 (Cake & Corruption), and you can check out all the books in the series here. Plus, don’t forget to add Dead in the Water, the first book in the Bucket List Mysteries to your reading pile!
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a wife and mom of two grown/married children. My husband, Vic, and I live in Mississippi (at the moment) but are moving to Georgia in September. I was born in Alabama and have lived in Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi.
List three fun facts about yourself that we wouldn’t read in your ‘official’ bio.
Hmmm…I have travelled as a professional singer (much younger days), I have flown a plane, I play tennis.
When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?
2019. Most people say “all my life”, but I really had no inclination to write most of my life. A few years ago, I started jotting down some memoir type of things and considered putting them together for family, but as for fiction, I tried my first story as a hobby project for fun and then my mom and daughter talked me into publishing it. I had no idea anyone would read it.
Why did you choose to write cozy mysteries?
I’ve loved mysteries all my life. Some of my favorite memories are watching TV shows with my mom and grandmother like Perry Mason, Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-O (the OG). It’s really all I ever read (besides the Bible).
I know this will be a tough one, but which of your characters is your ‘favourite’? If you can’t answer that one, then which one do you identify with the most?
My favorite character to write is Momma in my Sweetwater Springs series, but my MC, Glory is for sure the one I identify with. She is a church secretary which is what I’ve done for the last 25+ years.
Who are your favourite authors?
I have a lot. Probably Hope Callaghan, CeeCee James, Jenna St. James, Tonya Kappes, Cindy Bell, Wendy Meadows, Kathi Daley, Carolyn Haines…I could go on.
What do you like to do for fun?
I played a lot of tennis (on two teams) pre-covid, but haven’t picked it back up since the courts reopened. Our family plays a lot of cards, Yahtzee and dominoes, too.
Do any of your characters share your own personality?
Absolutely. Glory, of course is most like me. But I think I put some of my own character traits in many of my characters, good and bad. Sometimes I give them traits I only wish I had.
Your new cozy mystery series is called the Bucket List mysteries. What are some things on your own bucket list (if you have one)?
Top of my bucket list is to live somewhere tropical someday (or at least have my own pool). I heard a speaker once talk about bucket lists and hers was called Naked with Candy List. I thought that was hilarious. She got the idea from a friend’s small son who came running when his mom asked him if he wanted candy. He had taken all his clothes off and couldn’t care less who was in the kitchen. We should all run toward the fun things in life without a care in the world.
Make sure you visit S.C. Merritt’s website and follow her Facebook author where she shares news about her books (including special sales and deals), fun photos and other author tidbits:
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