Thursday, January 21, 2016

Character Q&A with Jordan Welsh



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.


Buy Links:   Amazon    Camel Press    B&N

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?

Buy Links:   Amazon    Camel Press    B&N

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 Moon & Stars Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZIQAn1U00c
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.
Sign up for drawing before the end of January! Visit smithandsteffens.com and use the form on the 
Giveaway page!

+
$25 Amazon GC
Via rafflecopter


a Rafflecopter giveaway

No comments:

Post a Comment