Lonely Kitty... the saucy flash fiction which spawned a paranormal shifter motorcycle club with plenty of Xmas cheer!
Happy holidays... I've got a bunch of wildly delicious treats for you this month. Why Choose? Just nab them all! (NB. This is an extra long one so you can stuff your stockings with lots of fab tales!)
Greetings, friends and fellow book devourers.
I figured with the craziness going on, we could all do with a wee distraction so this December I’ve included a delectable WILD SHORT READ that was one of the first pieces of flash fiction I’ve ever written. It also happens to be the Christmas-themed treat which kept on giving… ultimately leading me to spawn a whole dang series!
(Keep scrolling to devour this original piece of short fiction a bit further down and to hear the saucy tale behind its evolution.)
Inside this post you’ll find…
not one but two delicious freebies to tide you over the holidays
an opportunity to win some why choose goodies you won’t want to miss
a bit about the core themes at the heart of my work and which of my books deliver them in style
a spicy, Christmas-themed, why choose shifter tale for my Wild Short Reads
and the story behind how 1000 words about three fated mates grew and grew!
First up, I’ve got not one but TWO delectable freebies ready for you to devour.
If you’re a long time subscriber here at MIRI AND THE MUSE, then you know the drill. Hit up those download buttons below and claim your freebies.
For anyone new here, let me give you the skinny.
Back in January 2024, I got together with a group of talented author friends to offer you—my fabulous book devourers—a delicious literary snack each month. This series of exclusive subscriber gifts has been going ALL YEAR so make sure you backtrack to my first post of each month to grab your goodies. But hurry because most of these offerings are set to expire by the end of this month!
Without further ado, may I present to you two of incredible talented writers…
The first is London Kemaker and this story looks *Miri fans herself vigorously* hawt!
Maxim is an army soldier on a secret mission. The details are need-to-know, and the rumors are weird, but Maxim knows his place is right at the front. He’s confident in his gun and his squad. He doesn’t need anything else.
Carn’ge is a Drakkon, an alien dragon in service to his Queen and her fated mate. They’ve come to investigate a demon infestation on this planet, nothing more. The task should be straightforward, until Maxim and his squad stumble into everything.
The human Maxim is Carn’ge’s fated mate, he can feel it in his soul. Suddenly the demons are the last thing Carn’ge cares about. All he can think of is claiming his mate and binding their souls together as one. Heartfire will burn anything, but if Maxim is his true mate, it will forge them both anew.
After confronting a demon, Maxim is willing to take alien dragons in stride, especially if the one called Carn’ge will touch him again. He feels deeply drawn to the Drakkon and doesn’t want to resist. Maxim had no idea first contact could be so explosive.
The second is from my very dear friend
—who was also part of the Christmas Nibbles charity which you’ll hear more about further down—and her book is called JUST ONE LITTLE KISS.
Everyone says a mate will solve my problems.
Yeah, right.
Three months ago I was mugged walking home and my life changed in an instant. These days I focus on staying safe and keeping my face hidden.
I was doing a good job until my best friend and interfering cousin teamed up to find me a mate. Now I have to be rejected by four shifters so they can get their money back.
I wasn’t counting on meeting Bruce, a werebear who made me want again.
This novella takes place in a small sanctuary town near the cabins my series Love In The Woods is centered around. It can be read as a standalone but future novellas in Whistler might have a cameo of the characters in my other series.
Oo. Who here—like me—is a certified WHY CHOOSE book devourer?
Then check out this competition and the sweet, sweet prizes which are up for grabs.
You’ve heard me rave about C.L. Cannon’s amazing book fairs before. Well, when I heard she was running this WHY CHOOSE competition, connecting authors and readers, I knew I had to jump on board.
If you love why choose / poly romance in any or all its wonderful forms, then enter this one to be in with a chance to nab yourself some delicious yummies!
What does WHY CHOOSE have to do with my work and what else makes up the fabric of my worlds?
To me, LOVE IS LOVE.
This is both a cherished belief and a real world fact that I—and many of my closest friends and family—live each and every day.
So it won’t come as much of a surprise to my beautiful book devourers that this core belief is baked into the heart of ALL of my worlds… no matter what relationship dynamic is the main focus of that particular story.
Furthermore, FATED MATES—especially after I’ve put my characters through the wringer—is one of the main themes tying together my work together as a whole.
That’s because the really juicy part of the fated mates trope is finding a way to choose powerfully the path which fate is laying out in front of you, day by day, and making sure that the journey you go on together lifts you, and the people you love, up higher than before.
Both Fated Mates and Love is Love inevitably lead me to the third and equally treasured theme which is the bedrock of my story worlds… FOUND FAMILY.
Life is hard. We all know this down to our very marrow. It’s also filled with moments of pure joy and inescapable awe. And all of those moments—whether they are filled with happiness or sorrow—are better when shared with the people you love.
My series—and those I fall in love with as a reader, too—are diverse and LGBTQIA+ inclusive. My work is focused, not just on the main characters of each story, but on the community these characters build around them as they go about living their lives and achieving their goals.
My current WIPs and evolving series feature these three themes and are often (but not always) centered on LGBTQIA+ relationship dynamics including polyamory, ménage and reverse harems.
If that’s your jam, but you haven’t read many of my books yet, then here are three I’d like to introduce you to which encapsulate these core elements of Love is Love, Fated Mates, and Found Family.
LONELY KITTY (book one of the Knights of Destruction)
This is a tawdry Christmas-themed ménage between a tiger shifter and her two fated mates… a pair of bad boys in leather. As their love unfolds, events transpire to bring an unlikely posse of rebel shifters together to form a brand new motorcycle club sworn to fight against a growing tide of hate in the shifter world. And so, the Knights of Destruction MC is born. Strap in because this paranormal MC romance series is going to be one hell of a rocky ride!
DEMON AT THE CROSSROADS (standalone novella)
This one is an action-packed and steamy AF paranormal motorcycle club reverse harem with a delightfully devilish twist. Once part of the Booktober charity anthology, this sizzling tale is only available to be read now as an ebook by my readers here at MIRI AND THE MUSE.
THE TROUBLE WITH PINS (book 3 of the Phoenix Crew)
Meet Pins—a submissive hedgehog shifter with a heart of gold and secret ninja skills—on a mission to find her place in a world of monsters. Oh, and she’ll need to sort out what the feck is going on with her two fated mates, otherwise known in Bear Falls as the Irish Twins. That pair of irascible fire bears seem set on pretending she doesn’t exist… but this plucky wee hog isn’t going to take their hot and cold nonsense lying down. You’ve never met a heroine like Pins and her adorable other half, Needles, so do yourself a favor this holidays and devour her epic tale. I dare you… ;-p
Now it’s time to share my WILD SHORT READ for this month.
This scene is a blast from the past. As a homage to the spirit of the Christmas season and the power of community, I decided to publish the original piece of flash fiction—in all it’s raw glory—here on MIRI AND THE MUSE.
Stick around afterwards so I can tell how these 1000 words grew and grew into its own dang series!
LONELY KITTY — the original flash fiction which spawned it all!
By Miri Stone
A #wildshortread hosted by MIRI AND THE MUSE
My life was a balancing act. Each action—like a worn river rock found on a lonely hiker’s trail—stacked delicately on top of the other. A cairn, of sorts. Or a shrine. Built to a childish ideal gathering nothing but dust.
Tiger shifters are solitary creatures. We don’t crave purpose found in packs like some preds. Nor do we need protection found in burrows like prey. We take pride in our wanderlust. At least, that’s what my mother taught me. She never could explain why I ached.
The door swung open with a crash. The sort who came through our shop didn’t bother to hide their strength and I didn’t bother to hide my smirk. We were a tattoo parlor who specialized in not asking questions as long as our clients paid cash. Up front.
The guy looked like death poured into road gear and ate up the air as if he owned the place. Unfortunately, my kitty agreed with him. That hussy liked a guy in jeans and leather who—by the throaty purr of the machine he’d ridden up on—took care of his ride. His eyes were tucked away behind a pair of sunglasses but the scruffy beard did nothing to hide the snarl on his lips.
Bear. Dominant. Alpha, my tiger purred, kneading the faded carpet at our feet. A second figure appeared. Wolf. His mate. Beta.
She snarled not liking the idea that Mr Sex-on-legs was already claimed. Still, the newcomer was fine. As the bear stuttered to a stop, the clean-shaven wolf with a jagged scar down his cheek took a deep sniff and whistled. My animal shot the lean male a dangerous smile. His answering smirk said he understood the danger my predator posed. And liked it.
My tiger stilled. Less dominant males usually threw their weight around, wanting to prove their place. It was a fun game my kitty liked to play until she showed them her claws. But this wolf bared his neck as he sauntered up to my counter.
Color my kitty impressed, the wolf has manners.
“Hey, sweet cheeks. Name’s Jasper and he’s Tobias. Tiny to his friends,” Jasper continued with an eyebrow waggle. “Care to squeeze us in?”
“Nope,” Tobias replied already stalking for the exit.
“Sure,” I smirked freezing Tobias’ hand on the handle. “If he can keep his animal in his pants. No losing your shit in the cubicles, Tiny. Says so on the sign.”
“Not a problem,” Tobias grit out, eyes flashing at me in challenge.
My animal slow-blinked, basking in the male’s dominance.
“That remains to be seen, doesn’t it, mate?” the wolf drawled, shooting me a panty-melting wink.
“What?” I replied as my animal let out a ragged purr.
I worked double time to choke off the mortifying sound as Jasper waved an airy hand at his mate. Tobias growled back, sending goosebumps over my skin.
The f*ck? I narrowed my eyes on the wolf. Did the guy just pee on his territory?
“It’ll be eight hundred a piece. Each session,” I spat, stomping off to my cubicle. “Leave it on the counter.”
I heard the thump of a wad hitting touchdown. I’d eyeball it on their way out. My boss was a real fire breather if folks shined us on. I got out fresh needles and some wipes, routine soothing my jangled nerves, and forced a congenial smile.
“Know what you want?”
Jasper’s eyes were hooded as he leaned against the wall. “Sure do. Tiny?”
With a rumble, Tobias dropped trou. It took every ounce of will power I had to hold the wolf’s gaze as Tiny got on the bench. Jasper leaned a knuckle on the table and scratched his fingers in an intimate gesture from his mate’s hip to the crease of his ass.
“Claiming mark,” he growled.
My breath came in ragged and my heart tried to climb out of my chest. “What kind?”
“Tiger’s claw,” Jasper smirked at the same time as the shifter beneath him snarled again.
I was suddenly one hundred per cent sure that the animal laid out on my table intended to take a chunk out of my naked ass. Muscles bunching, I glared at the cocky wolf.
Fight, f*ck or flee? That is the question.
Tobias’ hand whipped out, catching my wrist. The hold wasn’t inescapable but it was insistent. “Please, mate?”
The bear’s ragged voice was a gun shot, all throaty and needy, as my tiger roared in approval.
Mate? This—can’t be happening. I—I must not have heard him right.
I was standing again. Shivering. My arousal—a deep inexplicable burn—filled the air. I squeezed my thighs but a whimper clawed its way out. Tobias released my wrist, flipped himself on the table and hauled me across his waist. My hands landed on his pecs as I straddled his torso like a homecoming.
The table groaned as Jasper climbed on behind me. Grinding his cock at my back, the wolf swiped the hair from my neck. “Gotta say it, sweet cheeks. Can’t do what we want to do to you if you don’t say it.”
“Wh-what?”
The wolf’s teeth ground down on the tender flesh of my exposed shoulder.
“Say you’re ours,” Jasper replied, letting go of my tortured skin as I cried out. The bastard had left a bruise but I wasn’t crying out because he’d marked me. I was crying out because he hadn’t marked me good enough. I needed more. “Claim us, mate. Who do we belong to?”
“Me,” I rasped. Fisting a hand in his hair, I kissed the prick. “You’re mine.”
“That’s right, Kitty,” Jasper replied. Tobias surged upright with a jubilant roar. One greedy arm pinned us both in place as he grabbed my jaw in a meaty fist. He crushed my lips to his own while Jasper whispered hot and heavy in my ear. “Gonna make sure you never forget it.”
And that’s when the river rocks came tumbling down.
[ This sizzling scene of why choose flash fiction originally entitled “LONELY KITTY” by Miri Stone © 2020 was first published in my FB readers’ group and newsletter as part of the Wild At Heart - PNR Flash Fiction writing circle. All rights reserved. ]
A WEE LOVE NOTE FROM ME TO YOU
The evolution of LONELY KITTY from flash fiction to spawning its own damn series wouldn’t have been possible without some very special people in my life.
Namely YOU, my beautiful friends and fellow book devourers, because you kept writing to tell me how much you enjoyed each new iteration!
During the pandemic, my dear friend
and I needed a project which would give us some hope during those dark days so we invited our friends to submit stories that we could publish together as a charity anthology.CHRISTMAS NIBBLES was a spicy paranormal romance holiday-themed collection published in 2021. For my submission, I developed the above work of flash fiction into a whopping 35K novella called “MISTLETOE FOR LONELY KITTY.”
However, even after expanding and publishing this saucy tale for the Christmas Nibbles charity anthology, the story and characters contained therein still wouldn’t leave me alone.
In fact, while writing this novella William—that irascible know-it-all—convinced me that the KNIGHTS OF DESTRUCTION world was intrinsically linked to my other main shifter romance series, THE PHOENIX CREW. Of course, once that discovery was made, the characters took it as carte blanche to get dancing with the Muse, and started writing themselves into THE TROUBLE WITH PINS as well.
At the same time, I was also spinning up TOBIAS & JASPER’S POV to add those to the novella. LONELY KITTY soon became its own full length novel and more than doubling its original length in the process. Not bad for a saucy fated mates tale which started out as 1000 words or less, hey?!
And so LONELY KITTY, book one of the KNIGHTS OF DESTRUCTION, was born.
I hope you give it a whirl and that it lifts your spirits (or simply gives you a break from any troubling holiday terrain) restoring your faith in the power of love, friendship, and the found family we gather in our hearts throughout this one precious life.
So thank you—my friends and fellow book devourers—for reaching out over the years to share how much you have loved my stories and how much you can’t wait to read whatever comes next. I am truly grateful for each and every one of you.
Now, amongst the chaos of preparing for our extended family Christmas here in Sydney, I’m diving back into the writing cave because I’ve got some swoon and heartbreak coming up within the KNIGHTS OF DESTRUCTION which I can’t wait to share with you all.
As always, happy reading, friends and fellow book devourers.
With love,
M.S. xox