Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with MARIA LEWIS!

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, MARIA LEWIS, and their favorite recipe for Tinsel Munroe’s Spicy Scrambled Eggs!

THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT
Supernatural Thriller
BY MARIA LEWIS

Blurb

From the Queen of Halloween comes a slasher-crime for the millennial generation; a delicious mash-up of horror and pop culture.

Tinsel Munroe is the host of The Graveyard Shift – a late-night radio show where she and her loyal listeners celebrate the sounds of cult cinema. She has busted her ass to carve out this section of the airwaves and nothing will keep her from reaching her prime-time dreams…

That is, until someone gets murdered live on air.

She’s freaked out by the horrible incident. Her true crime-obsessed sister Pandora is fascinated by it. Detectives assure them the killer will soon be caught.

Yet with a growing, macabre audience that likely includes the killer, Tinsel begins receiving strange messages. Her home and her workplace suddenly aren’t the sanctuaries she once thought they were. And the bodies won’t stop dropping, with the killer or killers striking in increasingly gruesome ways. In order to survive, Tinsel is going to have to listen to more than just the airwaves…

A fast paced, thrilling murder mystery novel, paying homage to slasher films of the 90’s, The Graveyard Shift is the perfect Halloween read for fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix.

THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT
Supernatural Thriller
BY MARIA LEWIS

Editorial Note: Edited for language.

Excerpt

CHAPTER 5

Thursday night festivities were just beginning to wind down when Tinsel pushed her way through the front door of The Fitzroy Pinnacle. There was a tuckshop window that provided a view into the beer garden out the back. As she’d passed it, she’d seen that even there amongst the fairy lights and creeping vines, the crowd had dissipated.

“Baaaaaaabe!” her favourite bartender Gee yelled as they spotted her. “I was just about to turn off the frozen margarita machine but could sense in my waters you were around the corner.”

The greeting did a lot to ease the discomfort that had been steadily growing until she had stepped over the threshold. A spicy, frozen marg would do even more.

Gee was in a variation of their standard uniform: bucket hat, eye catching earrings, tea towel thrown over their shoulder and cute sweater/blouse combo.

“Where’s Ray?” Tinsel asked, looking around and finding only one indoor table remaining that was occupied with patrons picking over her number one dish – the pulled pork nachos.

“It was so quiet, I sent everyone else home,” Gee replied, grabbing one of the cocktail glasses. “I’m doing close by myself.”

Tinsel slipped behind the bar, taking the stem from Gee and using her hip to bump them aside. “Then close away, don’t let me stop you.”

“Ugh, you’re a gem!” They planted a kiss on the side of her cheek as they dashed off, Tinsel only half watching as Gee began swirling around the place like an organised tornado. Cutlery containers were collected, candles were rapidly blown out, tables were wiped, empty glasses were stacked and packed. While they were busy, it meant she had free reign of the music and she quickly queued a handful of Swet Shop Boys bangers to come on after the Madonna track faded away.

Until then, she grabbed a slice of lime, used its juice to rim the glass before placing it face down in the Tajin chilli seasoning until there was an even coating lining it. She poured the last of the frozen margarita mix as it churned from the slushie machine, flipped the switch off and added her original piece of lime as garnish. Tinsel took her usual spot at the end of the bar, hanging her bag on the hook underneath and let out an audible groan as she took a heroic first sip.

“Okay, I can tell your day has been drab if you’re smashing half a marg on the first go,” Gee commented, flying around her as they made their way to the closed kitchen.

“If only you knew,” she murmured. Since the clock had ticked over from midnight until now, it felt like Tinsel had been copping kicks to the snatch one after the other. The day had started out horrific and gotten progressively terrible, with her metaphorical vadge all but dust now. Her phone rung and she flinched when she saw it was Zack.

Pandora had this motto – never sleep on an argument – yet this was more than an argument. This felt like the end, truthfully, and Tinsel cringed at the thought of all the things she’d slept on in this relationship. Years of it. When it finally stopped ringing, she blocked his number. Eventually she would have to talk to him, but that was beyond low on her priority list. Subterranean, even. She didn’t want to see him and with a start, she realised that eventually when he came home, she didn’t want to be there.

Wallowing was the last thing Tinsel needed to do and action made her feel foolishly positive. Downing another gulp of the frozen margarita and licking the chilli powder from her lips, she quickly text Detective James new instructions.

Meet you at the staff door as the pub is closing up.

The dots of a message being written in response were clicked away as she stood up, sculled the last of her drink and rinsed the glass. Slipping it in the dishwasher, Tinsel hit the necessary buttons for a wash cycle and grabbed her stuff.

Gee appeared around the corner just as she was passing the kitchen, catching her by surprise and causing a scream.

“F**k!” she yelped.

“AAAA!” Gee responded, both grabbing each other and clutching on to their arms for dear life. The panicked breaths turned into uneasy chuckles.

“Sorry,” Gee started. “I didn’t–”

“No, I’m sorry. Just very jumpy at the moment.”

“How unlike you,” they purred. “Halloween hangover?”

“Something like that. Listen, I’m going to call it a night.”

“Okay hon, lubya!”

They embraced and parted ways, Tinsel taking the internal route through the backroom, past the locked staff door, and up the stairs to her apartment. Heading directly to the bedroom, she pulled an overnight bag from the wardrobe and began throwing supplies into it. Double checking she had enough of everything for a few nights, she tossed in her makeup bag and headed towards the bathroom to grab her toothbrush and a few toiletries.

Pandora had a spare room and a never-ending desire to involve herself in Tinsel’s problems, so she would make the most of it for a few days. Finally throwing in her laptop, back-up hard drives, and chargers, she slung the bag over her shoulder and made her way out, flicking off the lights as she went.

Cracking open the staff door, she made herself comfortable sitting on top of one of the empty silver kegs that were positioned outside for collection. Resting her back against the wall, Tinsel watched as a loud ding heralded the arrival of a tram that sped past on the main road at the corner. It was the motion that drew her eye, and she frowned as she watched the dark figure of someone leaning against the wall of the bottle-o across the street. They were in shadow, so she couldn’t see their face or make out much detail like height or clothing, but it irked her.

Now would be a good time to show up hot cop, she thought to herself, pulling out her phone to check on his status. She had just one message from him.

STAY INSIDE UNTIL I GET THERE, it read.

“Sh*t,” Tinsel muttered. Looking up, she was the only person down this side street, which peeled off Saint Georges Road and was largely residential. There were parked cars lining the curb and she watched as a cat skittered across the road only to shimmy under a garage door. Her eyes darted back to the bottle-o, but the person standing there was gone. The neon “open” sign had also switched to “closed,” casting the parking lot around it in even thicker darkness.

Her decision to wait there for Detective James suddenly felt foolish and she wished Gee was still inside. The darkened windows of the pub told her they were long gone. She had her keys clipped to the belt hoop of her jeans and she reached for them, turning her back to the street as she went to unlock the door behind her and head inside again. Her fingers were barely on the cool metal when she heard a thump behind her.

About Author Maria Lewis…