Jordyn Redwood – Real Life Romance & Excerpt – Part 1 of 3

Shannon here: Suspense author Jordyn Redwood shares how she met her husband and how her characters meet from her latest release, Proof. Comment on any post dated June 18 – 23 for a chance to win a copy. Deadline: June 30, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Jordyn:

One thing you should never do is say, “I’ll never…” to God. It was 1993 and I had just graduated nursing school at the University of Wyoming. Prior to graduation, I said, “I’ll never live in Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska or Kansas.” Not that I had anything personally against those states but I was a Rocky Mountain kind of girl and wanted to return to Colorado where I had grown up. The hot, humid, Midwest definitely didn’t appeal to me.
By the time I got moved back to Colorado after graduation, there were no nursing positions to be found. I know it’s impossible to believe, but nursing positions were very tight and they were asking for 3-5 years experience for a med/surg position. The other thing I knew—I wanted to work in critical care.
A friend of mine from high school was looking to live in Kansas City and said, “You’re not having any luck in Colorado, why don’t you try Kansas?”
Why not? Other than I didn’t want to live there. My father said I needed to work—wherever that might be.
I ended up moving to Lenexa, Kansas and living with the girl my high school friend was supposed to room with.
Here I was, in a state I didn’t want to live in, rooming with a girl I didn’t know, but I was working in the ICU.
I hadn’t been a faithful churchgoer during college but decided to make my faith more of a priority and I had a desire to work with youth. I thumbed through the phone book (this was pre-Google) and found a local Lutheran Church and offered to volunteer.
They had an upcoming Progressive Dinner and invited me to tag along. I didn’t think it best to do the whole series with a group of teens I’d never met so I volunteered to help serve the dinner portion.
Once everyone had their meal, there was literally only one seat open at the card tables. It was next to a soon-to-be-fellow youth counselor. The conversation went something like this.
“Hi, my name’s Jordyn.”
“Jim, nice to meet you.”
“What is it you do, Jim?”
“I’m an IRS agent.”
Big, heavy swallow. I don’t know why—it’s not like I was a tax evader or anything. He was tall and handsome. From there, we became fellow youth counselors. Developed a friendship. Started dating after about a year. Tried to hide it from the youth group—got the “cutest couple” award at our youth gathering—kids are so smart!! We’ve now been married almost fifteen years and have been blessed with two beautiful daughters.
I guess God had other plans for me—in Kansas—and that state does hold a special place in my heart.
Nathan and Lilly—also meet at a time when neither is looking for love. She’s a dedicated ER physician and he’s an equally ardent detective. And in the middle of a busy ER shift, they tussle over a patient. Hope everyone enjoys Lilly and Nathan as much as I’ve grown to love them!
Here is their first meeting in Proof:
Lilly glanced his way. His height topped hers by a couple of inches. Tousled brown hair and bloodshot blue eyes alluded to his lack of sleep. 
“You are?” She guided him back toward the door as they shot the last X-ray. 
“Detective Nathan Long.” 
“You know you can’t be in here until we give you clearance.” 
“I know, I’m sorry. I just need to ask her a few questions.” 
“What’s your interest in my patient?” 
The radiology tech tugged Lilly’s gown to get her attention. “We’ll have these in the computer soon.” 
His voice drew her attention back. “We think she was intentionally hit by the man she was going to ID as her rapist. Can she talk?” 
“She’s not responsive, and we’re getting ready to stick a tube in her throat. I doubt he’ll show up here.” Lilly turned back to the patient. 
“He might be crazy enough.” Long stepped closer to the bed.
Lilly took two strides and faced him, putting her fisted hand in the center of his chest. “Since you were wondering, I’m her doctor, Lilly Reeves. Perhaps you didn’t hear me when I told you she’s not responsive. I need you to wait outside.” 
“I have to try. She’s the only one so far who’s come close to identifying this man.” 
“Meaning there are multiple victims?” 
Detective Long was silent. 
“The police department is keeping quiet about a serial rapist?” She pushed her nose within an inch of his face. “You need to release that information to protect other women.” 
 He stood his ground. “I’ll keep someone outside this door.” He turned and left.
About Jordyn: Jordyn Redwood is a pediatric ER nurse by day, suspense novelist by night. She hosts Redwood’s Medical Edge, a blog devoted to helping contemporary and historical authors write medically accurate fiction. You can connect with Jordyn via her website at www.jordynredwood.net.
About the book: Dr. Lilly Reeves is a young, accomplished ER physician with her whole life ahead of her. But that life instantly changes when she becomes the fifth victim of a serial rapist. Believing it’s the only way to recover her reputation and secure peace for herself, Lilly sets out to find–and punish–her assailant. Sporting a mysterious tattoo and unusually colored eyes, the rapist should be easy to identify. He even leaves what police would consider solid evidence. But when Lilly believes she has found him, DNA testing clears him as a suspect. How can she prove he is guilty, if science says he is not?
Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Proof-A-Novel-Bloodline-Trilogy/dp/0825442389/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337199475&sr=8-1
Come back June 20th for Jordan’s interview!