Dearest friends, creative souls, and life-long book devourers,
Oh my goodness. Where did 2025 go?! This year has been one hell of a roller coaster ride from start to finish. To top it all off, I wrote a surprise prequel short for the KNIGHTS OF DESTRUCTION which will be out in stores by the next solstice!
But… how did TOASTY HALLOWEEN come about?
Basically, I was hijacked by a juicy image of William—dressed in a magnificent costume, no less—being chased around the Dragon’s Keep by his enraged fated mate on All Hallow’s Eve. And, because he had me giggling out loud in public with his antics, William won our briefest of struggles. He convinced me that those other projects in my slate had to wait just a wee bit longer to see the light of day because THIS story needed to be in your hawt lil’ hands. Stat.
And, as you know, no one messes with William when he’s on a tear.
In today’s post at MIRI AND THE MUSE—which serves as both my indie author newsletter and a personal journal into living a creative life filled with delicious glimmers—you will find:
An update from the writing cave
A tasty paranormal romance—with a godly twist—by Laura Greenwood called WAITING FOR PSAMATHE.
And a mini teaser from TOASTY HALLOWEEN (working title because the piece is legit hot-off-the-keyboard and being worked on by my editor right now!)
Keep scrolling if you want to devour a few choice words from this work-in-progress soon to join the KNIGHTS OF DESTRUCTION cannon…
Fair warning. I can’t wait to share these snippets with you… but please know I am an author who likes to massage my work many, many times before it reaches your bookshelf. So consider this section of my newsletter a personal invitation to imagine yourself reading these words over my shoulder while they are pouring out of me in a busy cafe. And, together—here at Miri and the Muse—we’ll be able to marvel at the everyday magic of watching a story come to life.
Hello my lovelies,
As I said in the intro, it’s been a crazy year.
If you’re feeling rung out and exhausted—even before the holidays really got underway—please know you are not alone. It’s been a lot. I, too, have been nosediving into my e-reader, bookshelves and streaming services to revisit well-loved series as a way to gain some temporary respite.
However, like my KNIGHTS OF DESTRUCTION, I won’t give up. I will keep writing these worlds where incredible shifters and other paranormal powerhouses fight for your right to love who you love; to be respected and protected; and for your right to not just survive but also to thrive as the magnificent specs of stardust I know you are.
And, because I know so many people are under incredible financial strain right now, I’ll be giving this one away as a subscriber gift—from me to you—to make your holidays that wee bit brighter.
With love,
M.S. xox
My talented author friends and I have teamed up to offer our subscribers a tasty morsel every month. WAITING FOR PSAMATHE is the delightful tale of a Greek Goddess’ second chance at love. It sounds like the perfect beautiful distraction to light up your holidays… Plus, there is an HEA guaranteed in all of Laura Greenwood’s JINX PARANORMAL DATING AGENCY books!
N.B. This excerpt is written from Elizabeth’s point of view and her other half—a tiger shifter—goes by the name of Lonely Kitty.
Hold onto your spanx, my witches and ghouls, Lonely Kitty grinned. Because the nostrils are officially smoking!
All the happy noises of moments before—like high-pitched squeals and rustling candy being torn open and heightened conversations between colleagues who’d perhaps had a bit too much punch—fell into a deep, terror-filled silence. As one, the rest of the Silver Stake Coven slowly turned to face their doom, but the enraged shifter wasn’t paying them any attention.
Fontaine braced himself against the elevator doors. His muscles popped with the strain of holding his animal at bay. Monstrous claws slid silently in and out of his nail beds in an exquisite dance of violence balanced on a knife’s edge.
William’s not going to like that, Lonely Kitty observed dryly. The dragon just ruined his pretty nail job. Next stop, scales and punishment.
No one’s gonna give a flying f*ck about the nails, I shot back. What if William gets hurt?
Something tells me this isn’t his first rodeo, she drawled. Plus, our esteemed guests were getting way too comfortable in the dragon’s territory. I’m looking forward to Destruction rescinding their invitation. Stat.
Good point. Okay, let’s get ahead of this, I replied. First, we help Storm evacuate her people. Then—
Of course, that was the moment a pair of blockheads lost their nerve.
Dumb and Dumber lobbed a nasty volley in Fontaine’s direction.
Storm snarled at her compatriots to stand down, but the damage was done.
In slow motion, the entire gathering tracked those vicious spells arcing through the air until they hit their intended target. The corrosive magic exploded against the dragon’s torso where it spat and fizzled industriously, attacking his riding attire and filling the room with the smell of burned leather and just a hint of seared flesh.
Other than that, no reaction.
It was like popping candy had been launched at a firestorm.
Lonely Kitty sneered, Amateurs.
The second-in-command grimaced. Whether it was because of his enforcers’ unfortunate lack of composure or the underwhelming result of their fearsome battle spells, I couldn’t tell. Either way, every single one of us held our breath waiting on what came next.
Fontaine didn’t so much as twitch.
Badass, murmured my tiger. She was still staring at the supposed warrior, waiting for the second-in-command to make his move, but he’d gone very still. His survival instincts must have kicked in. Her tail swished in amusement. All right, dragon. I’m down. Let’s roast a witch.
[ TOASTY HALLOWEEN is a raw, unedited excerpt from an original work written by Miri Stone © 2025. All rights reserved. ]
I hope you enjoyed my new section, WORDS MY HEART WROTE.
My readers may also be interested to know that no generative AI or LLMs have been used in the writing of this book, nor do I plan to incorporate those types of tools into my future writing practice.
I’m following the development of this new age carefully. I am deeply invested in ensuring that both my work and that of my fellow writers, creatives and artists around the world are valued by society as new technologies evolve. I believe that artists should be paid for their work and, if they opt in to this next phase, be paid for future derivatives of their work.
In other words, rest assured that my stories are one hundred percent HUMAN MADE.
They are also full of em dashes; cuss words; bold creative choices; dark themes and steamy moments; as well as my own unique way of writing shifters, fated mate romances and urban fantasies using many of the popular word choices and touchstones featured in these vibrant genres. My books and other works of fiction—long and short—are filled with all the brilliance that human imagination can bring while Dancing with the Muse. They also occasionally include a few rogue typos that this style of indie publishing inevitably entails.
Thank you for supporting my books and other writers who are working hard to keep telling their magical tales straight from the heart.
Happy reading, friends and fellow book devourers!
With love,
M.S. xox
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