Please welcome the heroine of the Jordan Welsh
& Eddie Marino Series
In depth Interview with Jordan Welsh
We’re here in Scottsdale, Arizona, with Jordan Welsh, half-owner
of Shea Investigations, an up-and-coming private investigation firm here in
town.
Q: Tell
me Jordan, what drew you to become a Private Investigator?
A: When
I first moved here, I lived with my sister, Katie. Her place was burglarized
and some of the items taken were family heirlooms our Grand-mère Marie
left to us. They were exquisite, personal items she brought from France when
she came to America as a war bride. Irreplaceable. My sister and I were
heartbroken. The police had no leads and weren’t terribly motivated to recover
our treasures.
We hired a detective firm who did what the
police couldn’t. All the heirlooms were recovered as well as the majority of
other personal items. Katie and I actually cried in relief.
I was so impressed I applied for a job at the
detective agency. Even though I had no experience in the field, they hired me.
It was an entry-level position. On one specific assignment I was able to help a
family seeking recovery of their deceased father’s war medals. It showed me I
could make a difference in people’s lives with this kind of work. I went to
school, got my license and a few years later struck out on my own.
Q:
You said, “When you first moved here…” Where did you live before?
A: My family’s from
the Chicago area. My parents own Welsh’s Steak and Chophouse there.
Q:
And what brought you to Scottsdale?
A: The
need to escape. (laughs) My mother’s quite a piece of work. She was
always…well…helping me out. It just
got to be too much, so I packed up and “went West, young woman.”
Q:
Pet peeve?
A: Getting shot at.
That’s number one. Breaking a nail when I’m trying to wrestle a dead-beat
dad—that’s number two.
Q: What
do you do to wind down from such a high-stress job?
A: I
paint—and I’m pretty darn good too. Went to school in Paris for it and
everything. Painting. I donate some of my work to the Catholic Services where
my sister, Katie works.
Q:
Love of your life?
A: (She shrugs). Not sure I’ve met him yet, and I’m not sure I
want to. I got hurt pretty bad when I was in Paris. You know how French men
are…you don’t?...well, let me tell you. This man was a Greek god, and I’m not
kidding. But he tried to run me like a high-speed blender. Thank God my brother
was there to pick me up when it all fell apart. Now here comes this Eddie
Marino, my partner in Shea Investigations. And I’d have to be in a coma not to
notice he’s hotter than a habanero chili. And smart? And funny? And he’s
interested in getting something going with me besides partnering upon skip
traces. But there are some things about him that worry me. He has a sketchy
past, and besides, I don’t care how fine a man is, I never want someone else
trying to control me again. Ever.
Q: So, do you have any advice for our readers who might
be trying to decide whether to go for their dream or take the more conventional
route?
A: Go for it. Hold your nose and jump in
with both feet. It probably won’t be easy at first, but it’s work out
brilliantly for me—with one exception.
Q: What exception?
A: Well, you know I mentioned I moved to
Scottsdale to get away from my mother—not that I don’t love Arizona. The
people, the variety of the geography, the incredible winter weather. But the
main reason was leaving the machinations of my mother—who I really do love
dearly. But it looks like the joke’s on me. I just found out my parents are—get
this—moving here.
* * * * *
Jordan Welsh
and Eddie Marino Series
Stealing
the Moon & Stars ~ Book 1
Stealing
the Golden Dream ~ Book 2
Sally J. Smith & Jean Steffens
Stealing the Moon & Stars, A Jordan Welsh and Eddie Marino
Novel by Sally J. Smith and Jean Steffens
Scottsdale,
Arizona, where the Wild West meets Beverly Hills--home of the rich and famous
as well as the calculating and criminal. PIs Jordan Welsh, maverick heiress,
and Eddie Marino, a graduate from the school of hard knocks, are hired to find
out who’s embezzling from the Moon & Stars Children’s Foundation and stop
him. But the two have stumbled onto an agenda darker and more complicated than
they ever suspected. The bodies are piling up, and there’s no one Jordan can
trust, not even her mysterious partner, Eddie, who’s hotter than a chili pepper
and may be a killer.
Excerpt:
He hadn’t
said a word since they got in the car. Jordan
hated the
silence between them.
When she
couldn’t take it anymore, she turned to him. “You
mad?”
“No.” It was
very matter-of-fact. “Can’t be mad at you.”
“I’m sorry.”
She laid her hand on his thigh. “I just—”
“Don’t be
sorry, love.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “It
is what it
is. In the end, it’s all good.”
She leaned
her head against the headrest and relaxed, letting
the mellow
haze of the evening’s liquor woo her. Chet Baker
crooned
“Someone to Watch Over Me,” his voice low, sexy, and
as intimate
as a Sunday morning snuggle in bed.
A thrilling
sensation blossomed until it was all around
her,
everywhere. Seduction. The romantic lure of the song,
Eddie’s
virile presence so close beside her, the way his hands
slid
smoothly over the wheel, his strong profile in the subdued
light, his
tongue moistening his lower lip, and the rhythm of
his shallow,
even breathing. Something stirred inside her and
uncoiled
like a slithering serpent.
Stop the
car, Eddie. Pull over. Make love to me. Right here.
Right now. She was suddenly so filled with
desire, she caught
her breath.
I need
you. I can hardly stand it. She couldn’t bring herself
to say it.
Why not? What stopped her? It wasn’t as if she were
a virgin.
Maybe she was expecting too much from sex with
Eddie. But
what if he let her down? What if she let him down?
That’s
dumb. It would just
be another sexual encounter. Wrong.
With Eddie
Marino, it would never be just another anything.
Maybe she
was afraid of going full throttle. Maybe she was
afraid of
him. Yes? No? Ah, hell.
*
* * *
*
Stealing the Golden
Dream is second in the Jordan Welsh and
Eddie Marino series, which began with Stealing the Moon & Stars.
Scottsdale PIs Jordan Welsh and Eddie
Marino of Shea Investigations are hired to guard the multi-million dollar
Dahlonega Golden Dream Coin Collection. The collection is stolen out from under
them. A loved and trusted colleague is murdered. Eddie is being framed to take
the fall for both crimes. His freedom’s at stake, their business is on the
line, and the lives of their loved ones are in deadly peril.
How far to
the dark side is Jordan Welsh, society girl, willing to go to save Eddie from
his own criminal past? Will the scheme she concocts with family and colleagues
find the golden coins? Restore the reputation of Shea Investigations? And will
she be in time to stop the killer from murdering the man she loves?
Stealing the Golden
Dream
Excerpt: Stealing the
Golden Dream
The image of
Eddie with Sofia Vercelli was imprinted on her brain. But she had it in mind to
put it aside until Eddie was in better shape. Piling more stress on top of all
he was already dealing with would not only be cruel and insensitive, it would
also be stupid. He was much better at a good rousing argument than she. Better
to wait until things had settled down to bring up the subject—but it was
definitely a matter she intended to learn more about.
Jordan made
her way through the house, opened the patio door, and followed Sadie outside.
She stood by the pool staring at the half-moon mirrored in the inky water.
Jordan shivered in the cool breeze that rippled the reflection. March days in
Scottsdale were perfect—warm, in the upper seventies, low eighties. But the
evenings cooled down to the low fifties. The desert air was clean, seasoned
with the faint scent of mesquite, creosote, and the chlorine in the pool.
She rubbed
her bare arms. Eddie moved up behind her, slipped off his jacket and draped it
around her shoulders.
He put his
arms around her. “You know I wasn’t with her that night.”
“Why would
she say it if it wasn’t true?”
“I’m pretty
sure she figures if she does this I might take her back.”
Jordan
looked up, trying to see his face, but it was cloaked in darkness.
“It’s never
going to happen. I told her I’m with you now. While I don’t want anything to do
with her, if her story gets me off the hook, I’ll run with it. I can’t revenge
Muggs if I’m sitting in a jail cell.”
“You think I
don’t know that?” Jordan said. “She’s willing to lie for you? To the cops?
She must want you back real bad.”
Eddie moved
his hands to her shoulders and turned her around. “It’s all one-sided. Don’t
pretend you don’t know that.” He pulled her close and kissed her hard, long,
and smoking hot as Louisiana pepper sauce. It burned all the way to her toes.
Eddie, the
man she was born to love. She threw herself into the kiss, and before she
really knew what was happening, they’d made their way into the house and were
pulling at each other’s clothes.
He took hold
of one of her legs behind the knee and lifted it. She wrapped it around him as
he reached under the dress and caught the edge of her panties with the curl of
a finger.
*
* * *
*
Sally J. Smith and Jean
Steffens Author Info
Sally J. Smith and Jean Steffens, are
partners in crime—crime writing, that is. They live in the Valley of the Sun in
Arizona, awesome for eight months out of the year, an inferno the other four.
They write bloody murder, flirty romance, and wicked humor all in one package.
Stealing the Golden Dream Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSyyhrrCVXI
*
* * * *
Giveaways:
To
celebrate the New Year and the Camel Press promotion of STEALING THE MOON &
STARS,
Jean
and Sally's January giveaway is an Arizona gift basket containing Sonoran
Desert Honey,
an
adorable flour-sack tea towel with Arizona quail & cactus design, two
yummy flavors of tea
bags
to brew in your bright & shiny ceramic Scottsdale mug.
Giveaway
page!
+
$25
Amazon GC
Via rafflecopter
Recommended for 16+ due to some language, underage drinking, and slight sexual content
Moving on after a tragedy can be impossible, especially when you’ve been dealing with those tragedies for over two years. But it’s her senior year, and Harley Anderson is more than ready to do just that, even though the skeletons in her closet can’t exactly be hidden.
Enter Mason Daniel, the egotistical, sexy, surfer boy from California. A boy with his own hidden demons, and an even bigger secret agenda. Mason isn’t right for Harley. He knows this better than anyone. He’s the epitome of a runner, a guy who takes what he can get, only to split a short while later. But he can’t deny the emotions that Harley brings out of him, so he’s going to break his rules for once.
He should have known what it would lead to…
Two kindred souls, both lost and then found. Will they fail in their search for contentment and happiness, or will they instead find true love when it’s least expected?
Abigail Orson has a problem. A love problem to be precise; and she has absolutely no idea how to go about fixing it.
For years now, she has been chasing her best friend’s brother—demanding things from him that he’s never wanted to give. For one? A real relationship that surpasses well beyond that dreaded ‘just friends’ zone. You see, David Anderson is her idea of perfection to a T. The one and only guy who has ever had the ability to make her heart beat faster; make her toes curl with the simple blink of his long, girly lashes. But David is also a recovering amputee, and the only thing he really wants from Abigail is to be left alone. Abigail is a fighter though, and losing the one guy who has ruined her for every other is no longer an option.
A guy with one leg who has lost his motivation to live—to love—to actually be a man. David believes he’s a waste of space. If only the beautiful girl of his unattainable dreams would get that through her perfect, blonde, stubborn head! He’s not the right guy for Abigail. He’ll never be worthy of what she deserves. However, staying away is almost impossible, especially when he’s just as in love with her as she is with him. But Abigail has a life ahead of her, one that’s definitely livable without a nineteen–year–old gimp like him holding her down. What makes her want to stick around is beyond questionable to David’s mind.
Choices will be made. Lines will be drawn. And together, they will face challenges that nobody saw coming. David and Abigail may have had almost fourteen years to fall in love, but the thing is, timing and love have never exactly worked in their favor.
It has been years in the making, and definitely A Long Time Coming for David and Abigail. Let’s hope they don’t screw it up before they actually have the chance to get it right…
