Spotlight: JORDAN WELSH and EDDIE MARINO SERIES by Sally J Smith and Jean Steffens

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.

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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?

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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.

Website:  http://www.smithandsteffens.com

Email: smithandsteffens@cox.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smith-and-Steffens/406147242823342?fref=ts

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/search?q=SmithSteffens&src=typd

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!

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$25 Amazon GC

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Spotlight and Guest Post: Nicole Lieren, Author of MORE THAN ONE NIGHT

Today it is my pleasure to have Nicole Lieren as my guest:

Write What You Know…Or Not!

As a debut author, I receive a lot of great advice from both published and aspiring authors. The great thing about advice is that if one thing doesn’t work for you, there are usually two or more varying opinions waiting in the wing for their turn to guide you.

One piece of writing advice authors hear a lot is: “Write what you know.” In other words, pick subjects, professions, locations, etc. that you are familiar with for your story, scenes and characters. Not bad advice. There’s less fact checking on Google (translates to less time spent in the research phase of a book) and less expenses if you’re one of those people who need to “see” things.

Following that advice, I started writing “More Than One Night” with a few things that I know. Details such as the location of the story. Our heroine, Melodie, is a children’s librarian in the southwestern suburbs of Chicago. As I live in that area, I was able to write those details with confidence. Of course, our hero is from Mississippi and I’ve never set foot in the great state – so that required some quality time with my BFF Research Assistant, Google.

Another example that falls into the “what I know” category came from the first date for our hero and heroine. Daniel and Melodie meet on a plane trip to Dallas TX (another location I’m familiar with) and they have their first date at a place called The Glass Cactus while listening to an 80’s cover band. Again, all things I know as not only have I partied at the fine establishment, but I happen to think the 80’s was the best decade of music ever (like totally, for sure LOL)

What was very hard for me to write, though, was the fact that there’s a strained relationship between Melodie and her mother. They’ve never really had a good relationship and it makes life very difficult for our heroine. As I’ve been very fortunate to have a loving and supportive mother my entire life who I love and adore, writing a very different mother/daughter relationship was very unfamiliar.

When it comes to love and matters of the heart, having been married to my real world hero for 27 years, there is a lot I can write about that I know. However, Daniel and Melodie are faced with some challenges that are unfamiliar to me so part of the challenge in telling their story was to have them teach me what they knew of life, love and each other. Together, we were able to get them to their happily ever after.

I hope you enjoy reading this story of courage and the desire to overcome the challenges of our past to find the love each of us deserves. Thank you for letting me hang out and share a little about myself and my characters today with you!

Live, Love, Laugh

Nicole

Thank you Nicole!  Here is a spotlight of your book for my readers!

MORE THAN ONE NIGHT (Heroes of the Night #1)

The Few. The Strong. The Brave. 

Melodie Alexander, a children's librarian, prefers to live life between the pages of a book. But when the death of her best friend prompts her to step out of her comfort zone, she finds herself directly in the path of self-proclaimed bad boy, Daniel Bresland.

Daniel knew how to be a solider. Life after war? Not as easy. He served his country in Afghanistan, both in the military and as a private contractor, but fighting the war came at high personal cost. Now he's determined to keep his relationships "casual" in order to protect his heart and prevent anyone from getting too close.

A chance encounter between Melodie and Daniel on a flight to Dallas proves that opposites really do attract. But when scars from the past threaten their new relationship almost before it starts, Daniel must decide if he can risk opening his heart again to convince Melodie he wants more than one night.

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Guest Post : PATRICE LYLE, Author of KILLER KUNG PAO (Health Nut Mysteries Book 1)

Synopsis of KILLER KUNG PAO

Dr. Piper Meadows heads to the Body, Mind & Spirit Expo expecting to solve health problems, not murder. But her first day starts off wrong when famous psychic Mystic Ming compares her hair to a "dung beetle's nest" and tries to get her kicked out of the show. But Piper's bad-hair day gets worse when her Aunt Alfa gets in a public scuffle with Mystic Ming, where he accuses her of trying to poison him with her peanut oil-based essential oils. When Mystic Ming drops dead from his serving of killer kung pao laced with peanut oil, it's no surprise that Aunt Alfa is fingered as the prime suspect.

Unwilling to let her auntie squander her golden years in prison, Piper orders a set of How To Be a PI flashcards and sets out to find the real killer. Secrets and suspects sprout up faster than wheat grass, including a handsome tattoo artist, Tattoo Tex, who intrigues Piper more than she'd like to admit. But can she trust him? Piper had better solve the case of the killer kung pao before the murderer turns his sights on victim number two...one sleuthing doctor!

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GUEST POST

What Comes Next After 

KILLER KUNG PAO

By Patrice Lyle

There will be two more books (and hopefully more!) in the Health Nut Mystery series from Gemma Halliday Publishing. Book 2 is KILLER KARAT CREAM and book 3 is KILLER KALE CHIPS. Here are blurbs for both books:

BOOK 2: KILLER KARAT CREAM 

       Diamonds are a girl’s best exfoliater.

       After Dr. Piper Meadows sends out invitations to an exclusive spa night for holistic professionals to debut Sparkle O’s new Karat Cream – a diamond dust exfoliating cream that experts swear blasts off more layers than dynamite – she’s excited to show off the new organic fountain of youth. But when celebrity dermatologist Dr. Jasmine croaks from a lethal dose of poisoned Karat Cream at Dr. Piper’s event, she must turn to her PI flashcards once more to catch a killer intent on ridding the world of more than just dead skin cells.

BOOK 3: KILLER KALE CHIPS 

      Who knew kale chips could be deadly?

      When famous author Veronica Forks drops dead from a bag of poisoned kale chips, suspicion falls on former-Mafioso-turned-surfer-dude Ken, creator of Ken’s Killer Kale Chips. According to Dr. Piper’s PI flashcards, he has the motive (she witnessed a tiff between him and Veronica), the means (the kale chips), and the opportunity. But he’s too cute to be a killer and, as any good PI knows, the flashcards aren’t always right. Plus Aunt Alfa and Brownie are addicted to Ken’s Killer Kale Chips and if Ken’s arrested, Aunt Alfa and Brownie will never snack again. So Dr. Piper takes it upon herself to root out a killer who loves to dabble in kale chips before he or she strikes again.

Author Bio: 

Patrice Lyle loves green smoothies, dark chocolate, mysteries, and humor. She wove these elements together when she created the Health Nut Mysteries, a cozy series about a naturopathic doctor who solves mysteries at health expos. Patrice also writes paranormal young adult and middle grade fiction, as well as holistic medical suspense. She has an MA in Writing Popular Fiction and a PhD in Holistic Nutrition. She's also a Certified Traditional Naturopath. She now lives in Florida with her husband and two kitties, and is a firm believer in the theory that laughter is the best medicine.

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Excerpt: 

My aunt was the most adorable health nut ever. Clad in her size-two teal velour pantsuit, matching foam rollers, and red, patent-leather Mary Jane pumps, she strutted across the beige carpet pulling a neon green duffel roller bag and munching on a gluten-free Cosmic Cupcake (her favorite). She hadn't changed at all—including her hennaed hair—in the last three decades. And I hoped she never would.

"Hey, Pipe." She planted a kiss on my cheek. "You'll never guess what happened on our walk. It was the craziest thing."

Even though it had only been a couple hours since I'd last seen her, I gave her a quick hug. "I was wondering where you—"

And that was when I noticed the suspicious pink snout sticking out of the side zipper of Aunt Alfa's bag. Oh, holy chocolate babka to the nth degree.

"You heard that yoga girl at registration," I said quietly. "Animals aren't allowed in here, and we have to follow the rules."

She pursed her lips as if she were sucking a lemon, which she did every day because lemons are great for the liver, and pointed at a woman nearby who was accompanied by a guide dog. "Check out that dog. Studies have shown pigs are fourth on the intelligence roll, behind humans, primates, and dolphins."

I was familiar with the study because she talked about it all the time.

"It's rude to point." I gently lowered my auntie's arm before someone noticed her. "That woman is blind, Aunt Alfa. Guide dogs are always allowed."

"I know." Aunt Alfa crumpled up her Cosmic Cake wrapper and tossed it into a nearby trashcan, making the shot like a basketball star. "Our piglet should be allowed too because he's smart enough to be a guide pig. Besides, I'm ninety-one years old. I defy anyone to stop me."

A nonagenarian with a 'tude was what her dead ex-boyfriend had called Aunt Alfa during the nightmare séance. I feared he might have been on to something.

"I don't like it either, Aunt Alfa, but you have to take Brownie to our room."

"You know how depressed he gets alone. He'll pig out." She jutted out her crepe-paper jaw. "I can't believe I forgot Charlotte's Web. That's the only movie he likes."

Finally, progress. "Actually, he loves Babe, and I brought the DVD with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We watched it last weekend, and he sniffled at all the sad parts." I'd been in major Floyd-avoid-mode so I'd spent my Friday night curled up with a movie, a bag of dark chocolate chip cookies, and a piglet.

Aunt Alfa shot me her pity grin. "He was just being polite, Pipe."

That figured. Guys were all the same. Even the potbelly breeds.

Aunt Alfa rose on her toes and glanced around the room. "I'm going to find the manager and force him to see things my way."

Oh, no. Had I made a mistake insisting she come? I'd worried about her starting a riot at my condo complex while I was gone, but I hadn't considered the consequences at the expo.

"You have to take Brownie to our hotel room," I said. "Seriously."

Brownie must have recognized his name because just then a high-pitched, someone's-murdering-me piglet squeal erupted from her bag.

Weee. Weee. Weeeeeeeeeeee.

Several people turned in response. One woman having a tarot card reading by the yellow-turbaned psychic looked perturbed and asked, "Was that… a pig?"

Then a sneeze louder than a New York City firework festival rang out. Followed by a coughing attack.

"Mystic Ming allergic to pig," a familiar voice choked out. "Ming berry berry allergic to many things."

I turned to see Mystic Ming wobbling in the aisle across from me. Then his skinny legs buckled, and his face lightened to the shade of a marshmallow. Right before he collapsed onto the expo floor.

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