What do a bear and a wolf eat on their one free night?
When I saw that Fresh Fiction had recipes up for Valentine’s Day, I had to laugh. The hero and heroine of my new novel, Taming Her Mate , Frankie and Ryan, are busy people! They’re saving Detroit from a deadly virus and keeping their respective shifter packs from going to war with each other. Their meals reflect their busy lifestyles. Inspired by the delicious recipes shared last week, I knew whatever my characters would cook would be interesting…
For example, Frankie is the daughter of the alpha wolf. She’s got to help out whenever life gets too busy for anyone in the pack. That means comfort foods that are easy to remember and that picky pups will eat. She makes the simplest meatloaf recipe she can remember with ingredients on hand and while it’s in the oven, she whips up a box of Macaroni and Cheese. And now here’s the cool secret: ketchup and brown sugar. The original recipe called for a modest amount of both, but let’s face it, who doesn’t love ketchup and brown sugar? She mixes up enough of that to slather over the meatloaf, and then she pours the Mac and Cheese on top. The recipe calls for an extra five minutes in the oven, but no ever waits that long. This is comfort food extraordinaire! Even kids recovering from the flu perk up at that.
But what about the vegetables? asks the very healthy, very sexy cop Ryan Kennedy. Sure, he loves comfort food as much as the next shifter, but that won’t keep his body running while being attacked by deranged wolves. No, he’s got a quick recipe for getting all those yummy greens inside. All it takes is a bag of leafy greens available at any grocery store and a blender. He dumps the leaves in, adds water (or oat milk if he’s looking for a creamy substitute) and spins it down. Once the leaves are micro-sized, then he adds whatever fruit is on hand. Enough to make it taste good. Sure, it looks like pond scum but the taste—and the health benefits—are out of the world.
And for dessert? Duh. Bear claws!
But, enough about questionable food choices, I also wanted to say that this year is officially the year of the GRIZZLY! I know, I know, the lunar calendar says that 2019 is actually the year of the pig, but I ask you, when was the last time a pig- shifter had you thinking lustful thoughts? Sure, they’re a lot neater than you’d expect, but the way they drop their long snout into the food trough is a turn off for sure.
Which is why I’m declaring 2019 the Year of the Grizzly! Even better, I’ve decided it’s a fire year because of all that passion burning inside our big bear shifters! Grizzlies are loyal, passionate, and have great focus. Once they set their eyes on their love, nothing—not even a deadly virus—will keep them from securing their chosen mate. They’re known to be ferocious when facing trouble, but no matter how difficult the problems, they’ll use every resource at hand (er, at paw) to make sure their mate comes out safely, happily, and well sated.
A grizzly’s lucky number is two, but most are not opposed to three, four, or even five, especially when it comes to children. Their lucky day is March 19, the day that Taming Her Mate was released out into the wild. And their lucky location is in the bathroom, especially when helping to bathe young cubs or treating their mate to some extra fun water play.
I cannot print their unlucky number because it’s the number of people who have died as a result of the Detroit flu and the horrible things it did to shifters. Even typing that number on my screen would bring about the wrath of the divine grizzly, and I will not do that. The grizzlies most unlucky location is the Detroit sewer. Sadly for Det. Ryan Kennedy, that’s where he is when the book opens and boy does he pay for that mistake.
Bad love matches for the Grizzly is an Ox, Snake, or Monkey, but the absolute best love is a Wolf.
If you’d like to learn more about what’s good and bad in the Year of the Grizzlies, check out my Grizzlies Gone Wild series.
