Falling into glimmers as the wheel turns

Season greetings to my creative friends and fellow book devourers,

How have you been going, dear friends?

I have been up, down, and tumbled all around in the past few months. Not just from a world’s stage perspective but also from a more personal angle of supporting aging family members and meditating on what the future will hold.

No wonder, then, that this last stretch of time has been all about slowing down, gathering information, filling the creative well, and hunting for glimmers.

As many of you know, MIRI AND THE MUSE serves as both my indie author newsletter and a personal journal into living a creative life. Today’s edition is going to be more organic, allowing us to spend this time together sinking into the cozy vibes I’ve got going on.

Imagine sitting beside me as I write this post over-looking a nature reserve bathed in a sun shower and wrapped up in a warm cardigan. We’ve both got steaming mugs of inspiration sitting on the rickety table and the ink is still drying on freshly scrawled notes in my writing journal with KITTY’S CLAWS circled at the top of the page.

I can’t wait to tell you more about what’s in store for our quirky, bad*ss, shifter motorcycle club. Let’s get to it.

Hello my lovelies,

The autumn rains have well and truly set in over here.

Splashes of burnt orange, red and yellow have begun to tumble into leather brown rags sprinkled amidst the evergreen patchwork of nature reserves, suburban streets, and coastal swathes dotted throughout the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

This welcome change is reminding me to slow down, take a breath, and seek out the yummy spots. Like a cat, I’m soaking up any rare patches of sunshine by curling up with a good book or reveling in the beat of Mother Nature drumming on the corrugated roof overhead.

By allowing myself to exist in this gentler space, I’ve often found myself with a notebook in hand or my beat cards laid out on the closest flat surface I could find, teasing out the increasingly complex tapestry of the KNIGHTS OF DESTRUCTION.

This creative stewing time has led to some juicy discoveries...

[cue: Miri’s manic chuckling and rubbing of hands together]

Can’t wait to see this book take shape on the page as I dive into the writing cave!

With love,

M.S. xox

Hunting for glimmers is a creative practice I committed to soon after starting this Substack. Not just to fuel me as an artist, but as a human being as well. In turbulent times, I believe the practice of seeking out JOY—like love, deepening your connection to community, and kindness—is a radical act.

For anyone new here to MIRI AND THE MUSE, feel free to check out this brief intro post which explains how this segment of my newsletter came about.

Given the seismic shifts happening in the world at large as well as my own life, I’ve decided to double down on this practice of late. I hope these posts will inspire you to do the same so that we can celebrate these moments of everyday magic together.

Here are a few which have stuck in my mind as the wheel of the year turns…

Last month, I went to New Zealand to visit family and friends.

It was a beautiful trip filled with deep conversations, much music and laughter… including a few special nights spent in Auckland catching up with a dear childhood friend. My favorite highlights were sampling his delicious home-baked macaroons and an outing into the city to watch a fabulous kiwi production of the stage musical “& JULIET” at the historic Civic Theatre.

Some of my favorite moments on this trip—aside from sampling various musical feasts and community gatherings with my father—were the quiet ones I spent soaking up the peace emanating from my mother’s garden.

I’m so very grateful that thus far we’ve been able to keep our family home. My mother and father designed this house from the ground up, bringing to life a vision which is—quite frankly—breath taking every time I visit.

Just the other day, I was reading the latest posts from some of my favorite publications on Substack—as I’m not on the other social media platforms as much, I follow a lot of independent journalists, artists, creators and activists here—and I came across Better Future.

In particular, this clip pointing to an episode with Michael Mezz interviewing Rob Hopkins (co-founder of The Transition Network). I immediately headed over to my podcast app and subscribed there, saving this episode so I could listen again at a slower pace.

It’s called “How to Fall in Love with the Future.”

And what a beautiful reminder from the Universe it was.

I hope you’ll give it a listen and / or share other resources below that you’ve found inspiring. I love hearing about people and communities who are coming together to do amazing things in extraordinary times or sharing a vision of what could be possible.

Gah. I really don’t have the words to describe what this book did to me except to say that it most definitely derailed my best laid admin plans and stole my sleep.

From the first chapter to the last, I devoured this exquisite tragic tale with my heart in my mouth. OUR INFINITE FATES by Laura Steven is a fated mates saga spanning the ages with an epic case of enemies-to-lovers which leaves you fearing it may never resolve that delicious angst right up until the very last page.

I refuse to say anymore, you simply have to read it.

Oh no, wait. Yes, I do need to say one more thing.

This book celebrates a gorgeously inclusive and sumptuous love story centering queer and non-binary characters.

With trans and LGBTQ+ hate and violence on the rise, this magical tale couldn’t have come into my life at a better moment. I really needed to fall in love with the world again and Laura Steven reminded me how to dive. I think OUR INFINITE FATES will quickly weave itself into a must-have in the LGBTQ+ romance and fantasy section of any bookstore.

Make sure you ask for copies to be ordered into your library or favorite independent bookshop because I guarantee other certified book devourers will be just as delighted to lose sleep over this one, too!

For those waiting to read my Halloween-themed prequel short story told from Elizabeth’s POV—formerly known as TOASTY HALLOWEEN—I’m asking for just a wee bit more time. I promise, book devourers, your patience will be rewarded!

My editor suggested I find a snazzier hook for these tasty morsels, given I plan to write a fair few of them. I heartily agreed with her. And *phew* did we come up with some fabulous ideas and insights during our brainstorming session.

I’ve decided to rebrand these short companion works as a tongue-in-cheek “SURVIVAL GUIDE” mini-series to be published alongside the main books in the KNIGHTS OF DESTRUCTION series. Each short tale will be told from one of our favorite character’s perspective adding a splash of color, lashings of crazy shenanigans, and an occasional dollop of spice to the world at large.

Furthermore, this mini-series will look extra snazzy on your bookshelf because the print editions will come in cute lil’ postcard-sized paperbacks also known as pocketbooks because—you guessed it—they fit in your pocket.

The plan is to showcase these print editions exclusively at signings and then make them available for purchase in paperback form via my direct store once that launches.

With this in mind, I’m re-working the cover for this short—now entitled KITTY’S SURVIVAL GUIDE TO HALLOWEEN—with my designer as we speak. Once that’s ready to fly, I’ll do a final tweak adding a lil’ sumthin’ sumthin’ to match the quirky new theme.

Eek, I truly can’t wait for these cutie-patutie pocketbooks to be added to my table at upcoming signings. Fingers crossed I can get this first one ready to go by LOVE ON THE BEACH in August. I’m pulling out all the stops.

Thanks for taking the time to read my newsletter, friends and fellow book devourers, and keep spreading that precious light inside of you around. Happy reading!

With love,

M.S. xox