Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL**
with SHANON GREY!

Welcome to my Friday bonus feature called Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **Author Special**!! Today, in lieu of one of my own recipes, I’m going to introduce you to a new author who will share one of her favorite recipes. Not only will you and I occasionally learn how to make something new and delicious, but we’ll get a chance to check out some wonderful authors. Introducing author, Shanon Grey, and her favorite recipe for DRUNKEN POT ROAST!

THE SHOPPE OF SPELLS
The Gatekeepers ~ Book 1
BY SHANON GREY

Book Blurb

The When is a whole more than the sum of its parts? When it has ties to the quaint little town of Rutherford, GA, as Morgan Briscoe discovers when a cryptic message threatens to change her life forever.

Morgan’s relatively normal life is turned on its ear when she learns not only that she is adopted, but her birth parents are dead and she now holds half-interest in a business with their ward, Dorian Drake, who, despite his riveting good looks, can barely conceal his hostility toward his new partner.

Morgan discovers that she is more than she seems and together she and Dorian have the ability to control a portal to another dimension. Unable to control their growing attraction, Morgan and Dorian dance around their desires and her burgeoning abilities, until danger forces them to face their destiny.

THE SHOPPE OF SPELLS ~ available from Amazon and B & N

MEADOW’S KEEP
The Gatekeepers ~ Book 2
BY SHANON GREY

Book Blurb

Jasmine Monroe once felt like damaged goods. Not anymore. Her latent abilities, although appearing too late to save her from a brutal attack, will keep her safe from being hurt by anyone, ever again. Secure in that fact, she’s moved on. Until she meets her first love’s doppelganger.

Eryk Vreeland, a misfit and an embarrassment to his upper-class/upper-crust family, is a magician. His shows are renowned, his contributions to charity astronomical, his illusions precise. Except—not everything is an illusion. Sometimes, there is real magic.

Forced together to rescue and protect a young woman, safeguards must come down and, when that happens, their attraction strengthens—beyond their control—until they can barely tell where one person stops and the other begins.

Will they surrender to a legacy or risk a disaster to stay apart?

MEADOW’S KEEP ~ available from Amazon and B & N

PENNYROYAL CHRISTMAS
The Gatekeepers Series
BY SHANON GREY

Book Blurb

Kateri Chance comes back to Ruthorford for a fresh start and runs into the man that caused her to leave in the first place. She must resolve her past before she can move forward. However, someone doesn’t want that to happen. Join Kat as she explores Ruthorford, the small town that protects its own.

PENNYROYAL CHRISTMAS ~ available from Amazon and B & N.

MEADOW’S KEEP
The Gatekeepers ~ Book 2
BY SHANON GREY

Excerpt

Prologue

Jasmine Monroe hauled the suitcase out from under the bed and, using both hands, hoisted the reinforced leather case onto the mattress. With swift movements, she flipped the latches on either side of the handle. Sweat beaded and slid down the cleavage between her breasts. She twisted her shoulders and pulled the damp T-shirt away from her body, fanning it.

She threw back the lid. Inside lay a tangled mass of chains and locks, some open, some closed. She grabbed a large lock and cursed when it resisted her tug, captured by the weight of the chaos around it. Holding the closed padlock in her right hand, she narrowed her eyes, focusing on the mechanism. She heard a crackle as the current moved from her body. The shackle slipped out of the lock and twisted to the side. She upended the lock to allow the chains to fall back into the suitcase and tossed the lock on the bed.

Jasmine thrust her hand back into the mass of chains. Using the back of her left forearm, she wiped the sweat away from her upper lip. Ah, gotcha! She twisted through the chains and yanked several times. The $1,400.00 military-grade titanium padlock moved a few inches, then stopped, still attached to two heavy-duty links of metal. As before, she held the padlock and concentrated. Nothing happened. She pressed her lips together. Her obsidian eyes narrowed. As her other hand moved forward, she resisted the urge and pulled it back. No, she had to be able to do it single-handed. She felt the energy build and move into her hand. With a loud pop, the padlock’s shackle gave way. She yanked it free of the chains and, turning around, slid down the side of the bed to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her gaze drifted down. Through the blur of tears, she could still see the scar on her wrist. Never again would some son of a bitch chain her to anything. Never again would another person have control over her body.

About the author…Shanon Grey.

Shanon Grey weaves romance and suspense with threads of the paranormal. MEADOW’S KEEP, Book Two in The GateKeepers Series, about the quaint town of Ruthorford, Georgia and its very special inhabitants, is her newest release. It is currently available for download from Amazon, B & N, and Smashwords. The print version will be released later this month. THE SHOPPE OF SPELLS was the first in her series. PENNYROYAL CHRISTMAS ~A Ruthorford Holiday Story~ is out in e-format as well. Under contract with Crossroads Publishing House, her books are available in e-format and print at most booksellers.

Shanon spent her life on coasts, both the beautiful Atlantic and the balmy Gulf. Hurricane Katrina taught her the fragility of life and the strength of friendship, family, and starting over.

She just found out that her son salvaged notes and pages of her original novel, Capricorn’s Child, which she thought has been destroyed with everything else. (Ironically, a neighbor found her marriage certificate in a tree.) She plans to resurrect her original novel one day.

She currently lives in Coweta County, Georgia, trading the familiarity of the coast for the lush beauty and wonder of the mountains, where her husband fulfilled her lifelong dream—to live in a cottage in the woods, where inspiration abounds.

~~

Links to Shanon’s website, blog, books, etc.

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

I hope you enjoy the recipe Shanon is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 176 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DRUNKEN POT ROAST

This is a cross between pot roast and beef bourguignon. It’s fabulous for an awesome dinner the first day and, on the second, fix some biscuits, chop up the leftovers, and enjoy a drunken stew. It’s still up in the air with my family as to which they enjoy more.

Measurements are approximate. Do what you want. You can use a bigger pan and use more. I fix a lot because: 1) they eat a lot, and 2) it makes for more stew.

One large chuck roast (3 to 5 lbs.)

Bag of carrots or 6-8 whole ones chopped into large pieces

4 Vidalia (or any sweet) onions, quartered or so chunks

Yukon gold potatoes, quartered a lot or a little (you can use any type of potatoes you prefer)

Flour for dredging

Vegetable oil for searing

Salt and pepper

32 oz. beef broth (I use the Swanson package but you can use any kind you like) or 2 14 oz. cans

2 cups burgundy (Again, your choice regarding kind and amount.)

(You can use a large – turkey size – roasting bag if you wish. I just use a turkey roasting pan and cover with foil.)

Put the flour in large bag or a pan; add salt and pepper to taste. Add roast to the bag and coat with flour. Sear in hot vegetable oil. I even take large cooking forks and sear the edges, but that’s optional.

Put seared roast into large pan and add vegetables. I drain the oil and use some of the burgundy to get the bits from the searing pan. Pour burgundy and broth over roast. Cover with foil and roast in 350-375 degree oven for several hours. Depending on size, it can take two to three hours. It won’t hurt to cook it longer. It just gets more tender.

The flour from the roast makes thicker gravy. But, if it isn’t thick enough for your crew, use some cornstarch mixed with cold water, add to liquid from pan to make a thicker gravy.

On the second day, you can add mushrooms if you like and some peas. Or not. It’s good as it is.

Enjoy!

~~~

**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**:  Shanon is giving away a paperback copy (U.S. only) of MEADOW’S KEEP to one lucky reader who comments on this Killer Book Bench blog. Don’t miss the chance to read this story!