Misty Zaugg's Blog, page 4

Do you have vitamins in your emergency supplies? Be prepared Tip #12

Hi friends,

I hope April is treating you well. And to everyone who celebrates Easter, may you have an enjoyable holiday with your loved ones!

Right now, I'm missing the half of my kids that had the audacity to grow up, become adults and move way too far away.

Not to mention the ones who have my completely adorable granddaughter!! :) Guess I need to get some plane tickets soon to visit.

Well, on to today's fun topic. One that many people who focus on preparing food, fuel and shelter for emergencies might overlook.

Vitamins in your Emergency Storage - Be prepared Tip #12

Now, just to start off, many vitamin deficiencies can take months or even years to show up. So for any short term emergency this wouldn't be too important.

Plus, if you're storing food that is supplemented with vitamins, you may also be perfectly fine.

On the other hand, many storage foods are often lacking in Vitamin C or A, both of which usually come from eating fresh fruits and vegetables, which may be lacking in a long term emergency.

Since quality vitamins are relatively inexpensive and a little goes a long way, what is a good all-around recommendation of what to store?

1. Pure ascorbic acid powder that you can divide up into other empty pill/vitamin bottles to keep it dark and dry. By storing the pure powder, this Vit C supplement won't have fillers to interact with, thereby increasing its shelf life.
2. A general multivitamin in pill form that includes Vit A. Solid pills kept dark, dry and cool will last much longer than their expiration date: up to 10 years instead of the usually listed 2 years.
Note: Gummy/chewy vitamins or supplements like probiotics will have a much shorter shelf live.

A small sealed box or bag is perfect to store your bottles of vitamin. Make sure to store them somewhere dark, dry and cool, like the bottom of a supply tote in your basement.

Plus, there are other creative ways to get your vitamins in an extended emergency, including sprouting some of your wheat or special sprouting seeds. Rosehips, a fruity addition to herbal teas, can also be an easy way to forage locally for Vitamin C.

What about you? Do you have vitamins in your emergency supplies? Any tips?

Good luck with getting prepared out there!
______________________

Misty's Writing Update:
Four more hours of grumblediting today and there are still a handful of line items on my list to fix in this humungous book 1. I'm creeping ever closer to 180K in length (600-700 pages) Eeek!

Part of me enjoys the polishing, but another part is always impatient during this part of the process.

I did finally start working on the form to submit to the cover designer I'm using. They are asking me to pick two covers that are good examples of what I'd like.

If any of you like to read litrpg, I'd love a link to a book whose cover caught your eye.

Litrpg still doesn't have an official category page on Amazon, but the Sci-fi and Gaming category has a bunch of books there.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers...

See any covers that stand out to you?

Despite the business-y work I'm doing now, I'm already giving some thought to what fun adventures I want to include when I outline book 2. Fun times!

Thanks for all you do to support my writing. You're the best!

Enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

How powerful is a knee strike exactly? Self-Defense Tip #21

Hi friends,

Thanks to everyone who grabbed copies of Aftermath during the sale last week! We hope you enjoy it and are so excited to hear what you think.

If you read reviews when choosing something new to read, like I do, would to take a moment to leave one for Searching for Shelter? It really helps new readers find the books and we're really close to 500 reviews! No biggie if you can't. Thanks!!

Click here and scroll down to the review https://amzn.to/37oLxdm

It's time for another simple self-defense tip. Chances are you've been doing this one without even knowing it.

Knee Strikes are Powerful! Self-Defense Tip #21

Have you ever had to high-step to get over an obstacle, a small child or something rolling down the driveway at you?

Then you know how to do a knee strike! :D

It's probably one of the more common defensive moves, because a strike to the groin is pretty quick way to end a confrontation.

Because of this, however, many men have learned to protect that vulnerable area.

So, is it still useful?

Yes! It turns out the thigh is almost as good of a target. A knee slamming into the leg muscles is powerful enough to cause a very painful muscle spasm. This accomplishes two very useful things to help you get away from an attacker.
1. Cause sudden, intense pain to distract your attacker and make them let go.
2. Injures the leg so chasing after you is much harder = you can get away.

Keys to a powerful knee strike:
1. Stay level or low to the ground, keeping the supporting leg slightly bent, to maintain balance and increase your power
2. Tuck your leg and drive your knee forward with as much speed as possible.
3. Keep your hands raised to protect your face, especially if the attacker bends forward in pain when your knee lands.
4. Exhale sharply or yell out something short like "Stop", "Back off" or "Jerk". Feel free to bust out a karate yell, too, if you'd like. The yell will tighten your core muscles, focus your energy, make you hit hard and might even make the attacker think twice about sticking around for more. :D

And um . . . that's pretty much it. If you can high-step over an obstacle, just do it with more intention and speed, and you've got a powerful knee strike.

The secret is to practice!

Have a friend hold a couple of sleeping bags rolled tightly together, an old couch cushion, or get a punching/kicking bag to practice on.

It really just takes a handful of tries before you'll get a feel for this simple, yet powerful strike and be better prepared to defend yourself.

Have any of you used a knee strike to defend yourself? How did it go? Any tips? Please share.

Good luck and keep safe out there!

______________________

Misty's Writing Update:

So, the final chapter is done, but . . . not the epilogue! LOL.

My best author friend, Stephanie Mylchreest, read the beginning of the book and gave me some feedback. She has perfect timing. She commented on a senior mage being a fun character she liked, and I'd almost forgotten about the lady.

Steph's comment was just in time for me to add the imperious mage with all her attitude to the final chapters.

And then Steph commented about chapter 10, which I'd almost forgotten about. It's a bit mysterious and you're not really sure what's going on because it doesn't have anything to do with the current story. Turns out it's a little clue to a fun plotline that will unfold over the whole series.

Thanks again, Steph!

So, now I've got a bit of an epilogue to write with a few more clues to this mysterious situation before the next book comes up.

I enjoy these little "Easter Eggs" myself in longer series, so hopefully the readers will, too.

Then it'll be on to my very long to-do list and all of the things I marked to fix later.

My procrastination is coming hope to roost - lol.

Thanks again and enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

Does your smile affect your well-being? Health Tip #6

Hi friends,

Since your support and the spring sunshine is making me smile, I thought I'd share some fun info with you on the topic:

More smiling can make you live longer!

Many studies on smiles show that they release substances in the brain that decrease stress, increase happiness, help you heal faster, increase work productivity and creativity, and even make you live longer.

In fact, measuring the width of smiles in individual pictures in a yearbook actually correlated to more successful lives and living longer.

Even seeing someone else smile can have huge benefits. A fun study used an MRI to measure the amount of enjoyment in the brains of subjects looking at various smiles. Then they compared the data to MRI readings of enjoyment of chocolate or thousands of dollars. The smiles won. :)

So, if losing weight or exercise are a bit of a challenge, how about just smiling more to improve your health? We can make a difference by surrounding ourselves with opportunities to smile: children, happy situations, comedy shows, cheerful friends, etc.

There is even evidence that forcing a fake smile can still start a cascade of good responses in your brain, body and health. Scientist theorize that the brain responds to the act of smiling as if all the good things normally associated with smiling are actually happening.

So, maybe this week, watch for opportunities to smile more often: sit outside in the sunshine, watch the antics of a child or pet, do a small kindness for someone you haven't contacted in a while, or whatever else makes you smile. Go for it. :D

I plan on putting a little sticky note with a smile on it on my laptop, because I can always use another boost to my creativity and happiness. We'll see how well it works.

If you try it out, let me know if it helps you, too.

Good luck and keep smiling out there!

____________________

Misty's Writing Update:

Two chapters! That's all I have left to finish this book . . . I hope! It might be three. LOL.

Then comes a lot of editing, or as I like to call it: grumblediting.

Yeah, not my favorite part of writing. :) I'd rather jump into a new and shiny story, but I know that a bit of polishing can make the story so much better, so I spend the time.

As a side note, I have a few openings for beta readers if you are familiar with Google docs and have a gmail address. My beta readers enjoy reading the book before publication, and they mark typos or plot holes for me to fix. So if you have an eye for mistakes and like fantasy/litrpg, send me a note if you'd like to join the team.

My next step is to get working on a cover for this book, which I'm excited about. It will be my first semi-illustrated cover, so fingers crossed I can find a good artist.

And finally, Steph and I have decided to invest in producing audiobooks for our Escaping the Virus series. We're both totally new to the process and know it's pretty pricy - $2k - $4k per book. But we've had a lot of readers who only listen to audio, so we're hoping it will sell well enough to pay for the investment. It's a new venture, so hopefully it goes well.

By the way, if you're an audio fan and have a favorite post-apoc narrator, feel free to offer suggestions, and we'll check them out!

Thanks again and enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

ALL 6 Aftermath books on sale!

Hi friends,

We have an amazing promotion happening for the next four days, starting tomorrow. Our publisher has put ALL 6 books in the Aftermath series on sale for 99c each! So, cool, huh?

No food. No shelter. No way out but through.
A calamitous pair of storms.
Two women on the run from their past caught in the whirlwind.



83% OFF: $5.99 for all the books instead of $34.94

Aftermath series in US: https://amzn.to/3NGGSEb

Aftermath series in UK: https://books.to/WHQtk

For those of you who've already read the series and enjoyed it, please feel free to share the links above on social media or with a friend who might enjoy the books on sale.

I know I really like getting book recommendations from my friends, so thanks for spreading the word!

Thanks again and enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

A berry that fights viruses? Herbal Tip #4

Hi friends,

For those of my friends living in the states, isn't it nice to see little glimpses of spring? We had a beautiful, sunny day last week, warm enough to go out in t-shirts.

Neighbors emerged from homes like prisoners freed from jail. :D It was so fun to enjoy the beautiful outdoors after months of cold, huddling inside.

Of course, we immediately had a spat of dreary, cold and rainy days afterward, but we're hoping for more sun soon.

Last week, I got a great email from a reader, Patricia, in response to my email about making medicine kits. She mentioned how she makes a lot of her own herbal health remedies and uses those preferentially. Her favorite is elderberry syrup, which I also love! So, I thought I'd share some of the little I know about it.

Elderberry - A natural anti-viral!

This berry is small, purple and rather tasteless or bitter, if you try to eat it raw - exactly the kind of berries kids are warned not to eat in the wild.

And with good reason. Elderberry leaves and twigs, in particular, can actually be deadly and the raw berries can also be dangerous.

However, if you cook the juice extracted from the berries and don't get any twigs and leaves into your concoction, you'll have a pretty potent antiviral.

Here are the steps we go through to make elderberry juice from the bushes growing on either side of our house:

1. Pick the clusters of berries when they are purple and ripe in later summer/early fall. (You have to beat the birds)
2. Enlist friends or kids to help strip the berries from the twigs. We've found using a fork works well, or just fingers if you don't mind purple-stained skin.
3. Buy or borrow a boiling water steamer that extracts the hot juice from the berries, making it now safe to ingest. Without this piece of equipment, you can also cook the berries, smash them with a potato masher and put the hot slush in a few layers of cheesecloth to squeeze once it cools. Hot and messy, but no special equipment required.
4. Bottle the juice as is (requires a pressure canner), freeze it as ice cubes to add to drinks when someone is sick or cook up with sugar to make a syrup that you can then also bottle or keep in the fridge for quick use.

Of course, the beneficial properties of elderberries have become well known recently, and you can usually pick up a bottle of syrup or extract at the local drug store or online. Pricier, but much easier! :)

Have any of you used elderberry with good success? Made your own juice and/or syrup? I'd love to hear how it's worked for you.

Good luck and stay healthy out there!

____________________

Misty's Writing Update:
I'm at the point in this HUGE book that I feel as if I'm constantly 5 - 10 chapters from the end.

I did wrap up the big battle, but now there are a bunch of plot threads that need tied off before the end. It seems that I keep remembering another one.

I'm currently deciding how much trouble I want the bully and other antagonists to cause for our main guy and his friends here at the end. I figure the good guys need a nice influx of loot and success, but nothing in a good story comes easily without opposition.

It is kind of fun though to play with the balance between rewards/achievements and tension/conflict as I finish this book.

If things go as planned, I'm hoping to finish up the first draft in another week, but tune in next time to see.

I just hit 160k words and with a regular paperback having 250 - 300 words per page, that makes this book between 540 and 640 pages long. I'm wondering exactly how much it'll cost to print this in paperback. Eeek!

Enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)

Have you seen this vacuum packing hack? Be prepared Tip #11

Hi friends,

I had some nice feedback about an earlier newsletter explaining an idea to buy basic medicine in bulk and then to make kits with friends or in a group activity.

Then Scott, one of our awesome fans, asked about vacuum packing the medications to help them last longer. That sparked a memory of another fun idea I ran across years ago.

First of all, yes, vacuum packing will help most anything last longer, including medicines. Also, they will last long if kept dry and cool (but not frozen).

And the fun vacuum sealing hack?

I read a DIY post about a guy who dehydrated full meals at home and then assembled the components of each meal into gallon bags that he then vacuum sealed and shipped to the closest post office to his long camping trips.

With the smaller Ziplocs that were nested in the bigger bag, he inserted a thin piece of paper towel at the edge of the closure, leaving a small gap for air.

This made the magic happen.

When he vacuumed out the air of the larger bag, the air in all the smaller inner bags was sucked out through the gap where the paper towel had been inserted.

This would be a great way to handle a larger bag that you filled with multiple smaller Ziplocs, each containing a different medicine.

Obviously, this would be for a medicine kit that won't be opened and closed very often, perhaps something in your bugout bag or stored in a medical kit for emergencies.

Don't bother with the one you keep in your purse or waist pack as you'll be in and out for ibuprofen regularly once your friends realize you're always prepared. :)

Any tips that have worked for you when storing medicines and medications?

Good luck and stay safe out there!

____________________

Misty's Writing Update:
Well, life seems to occasionally jump up and scramble all carefully laid plans. I'm sure you've had that happen, too.

Nothing really bad or anything happened, but we needed to find new renters for a house we own.

Little did I know that our area is currently experiencing a drought of decent rental homes. So, instead of the occasional call during the day, I was inundated by calls, emails and FB marketplace messages from morning to late at night.

I also worked to arrange for cleaning and carpet replacement estimates followed by getting those finished so the home was ready to rent again.

I did open my book file and start adding new story only to be interrupted over and over. By the end of the week, I just gave up on trying to write.

It turns out I enjoy writing a lot better than I like doing the rental thing, especially when I had to tell two awesome families that I was renting to a third. Ugh. I do NOT like being the bearer of bad news.

So, finally, I sat down on Wednesday and got back to creating a life-and-death battle with an over-powered, scary fantasy beast. Woohoo!

SOOOO much more fun than real life stuff!

Yes, it takes work and effort, but creating is something I love doing.

Closing in on the end of this book soon!

Enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

Do you trust your instincts? Self-Defense Tip #20

Mar 11, 2022
Hi friends,

Thanks for all your tips on diabetes that you emailed me. I'm always looking for extra things to try, since I expect to be working to stay healthy with this for quite a few years to come.

And if any of you find success lowering your blood sugar by using exercise after meals, I'd love to hear. :)

Trust Your Instincts - Self-Defense Tip #20

Today, I thought I'd discuss trusting your instincts as a crucial self-defense tool to avoid dangerous situations.

Anyone who has listened to victims' stories, has likely heard something similar to:

"I knew something was off about the guy."
"I didn't want to offend him, but wish I had left earlier."
"I almost said no to the invitation. Why didn't I?"

The common theme?

Many had an instinct that warned them of something wrong, but they ignored it for various reasons: Not trusting themselves. Social pressures to fit in. Embarrassment. Trying to please someone, etc.

And we've often heard statements that discourage trusting our instincts, like:

"Don't be so paranoid."
"He's a nice guy. What's your problem?"
"You worry too much."

What can we do better?

First, trust your instincts and respond to them immediately.

Say no. Don't go. Leave. Walk away.

Whatever it takes to avoid a person or situation that makes you uncomfortable. If these actions make you feel embarrassed or you don't think you're that brave, then try a few role-plays. Get a trusted friend to act out the situation where you don't think you could stand up for yourself. Practice until you feel more confident. Good luck!!

Second, change your language to encourage yourself and others to trust themselves:

If a friend cancels on an outing they are unsure of, perhaps reply with:
"Of course. I want you to feel comfortable and if you don't, it's completely fine not to come."

A friend mentions someone they avoided because of how they feel around them. Encourage them:
"Nice way to trust your instincts and look for someone who makes you feel safe instead."

As we encourage and support ourselves and others around us to take whatever steps are necessary to feel safe and avoid people/situations that make us uneasy, we can cultivate new, much safer habits.

Good luck and stay safe out there!
____________________

Misty's Writing Update:
Ok, someone in my final battle is having a serious brush with death, but I can't say how it turned out.

Plus, there might actually be another unexpected danger looming, that our crew is unaware of . . . because that's just how a final battle has to happen, right? :D

And on the question of whether some characters should die in stories, the responses I got last week seemed to agree that an occasional side character dying upped the stakes and the surprise of a story, so a reader didn't get too complacent knowing everyone would always make it through.

Ok, fine. I guess I have to agree with that.

So, someone may or may not be dying here at my computer during these final battle scenes . . . hopefully it's not me - lol.

I just passed the 148k word mark in the book and for those of you who go by pages, there are usually 250-300 words per page which means this book is about 490-590 pages long!

Dang! It is my longest by a wide margin.

And one of these weeks soon, I will hopefully tell you I've finished it and started number 2!

Enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

Eat and run - an effective diabetes tip? Health Tip #5

Eat and run - an effective diabetes tip? Health Tip #5: March 4, 2022
Hi friends,

I know many of us are still so worried and concerned for all the people who are struggling amidst so much turmoil in the world. They are all in our prayers and we hope things can quickly reach a peaceful resolution.

It's been a while since I had a health tip, and as I was considering the topic, I thought about my diabetes and how many others are also handling this chronic illness.

Also, our bodies are all different and will often react to various foods, medicines and treatments differently, so consult with a doctor before making any significant changes.

I thought I'd share one of the simpler things that has helped me with my diabetes and hope that it might help one of you, too

Eat and Run!

Unlike the saying that means you have to leave right after finishing your meal, I have found that a literal interpretation of the saying is very effective for diabetes.

As your body digests the carbohydrates in your meal, your blood sugar naturally goes up, and the systems of those with diabetes allow the blood sugar to rise and sometimes stay at dangerously high levels.

But what if you exercise right after you eat? Does it help? What kind of exercise works best? How long do you need to work-out?

Here are general guidelines:
• A Cleveland Clinic study showed exercising about 30 minutes after the start of your meal will help keep post-meal glucose within acceptable levels.
• During aerobic exercise (walking briskly, running, swimming, etc.) your muscles will start using up glucose at as much as fifty times the normal rate.
• This can continue for up to two hours after exercising.
• Insulin sensitivity (a good thing, that means your body is responding to insulin better) can also stay high for up to 24 hours after exercising.
• Anaerobic exercise (ex. lifting weights) may actually increase blood sugar due to using glycogen inside the muscle for fuel and a not as significant decrease in insulin levels. Bottom line: Aerobic will control glucose better in the short term. However, more muscle mass can be beneficial in the long run.
• Early evening is the time to exercise instead of morning. A study with pre-diabetic men showed a better overnight glucose control when exercising in the early evening versus morning.
• Short is still great! Another study had seniors with diabetes take a 15-minute walk after each meal and it significantly helped their glucose control - on par with a longer 45 minute exercise session. Plus, the walk after dinner really helped overnight glucose levels.

So, if you've got diabetes, start small. Maybe just a 10-minute walk after you get up from the dinner table to start and go from there.

Good luck and stay safe out there!
_____________________

Misty's Writing Update:

Yay! I'm actually writing the final battle scene. It is going to last a few chapters at least. I have what happens for the finale in mind, but I'm currently brainstorming a fun twist I can weave in somewhere, something that will also add an interesting side-plot or hook to the series or flesh out a side character.

What about you? Do you like surprise twists?

Personally, I love them, especially if there were clues left earlier that I missed or dismissed as insignificant. The twists I hate, however, are the ones where a main or important side character is killed.

I know. I know. It is more realistic. But I don't read fiction for realism. I read to enjoy escaping from the hard, sometimes tragic sides of realism in my real life. I figure it's called fantasy for a reason! :)

So, it is only with great reluctance (and the urging of my co-writer Steph and now my husband) that I will even consider killing someone. And even then, I negotiate. "Who is the least important character so far who has an actual name that I can sacrifice as a martyr in the coming battle?"

How about you? Would you rather everyone important is still alive at the end of a book (battered, but alive)? Or do you think a small dish of tragedy, as long as it's not the main character, is alright and even adds more depth to the book?

Come on - if you all vote for no death, maybe I can get away with it as I finish this book. Tell me soon, though, because the scene will be written in a day or two.

. . . what do you think I'll do? :)

Enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

Do you have Medicine Kits for Emergencies? Be prepared Tip #10

Feb 25, 2022
Hi friends,

I'm so sorry to hear about recent turmoil in the world and hope you and your families are safe!

It's still the dregs of winter here, though we are getting an occasional warm day to melt things in between snow storms. For me, I'm glad when the sun comes out, since it brightens my mood. Well, that and a new variety of chocolate. :)

I've been thinking about updating some of our preparedness supplies that I've let languish for far too long. Medicine is something that takes a lot more babysitting than a sealed bucket of wheat or beans.

Normally, the expiration of most pills is one year, but if kept sealed, cool and dry, many will last much longer. Do your own research to see what you're comfortable with. The military did some research into antibiotics so they didn't need to discard tons of effective medication every year and found that some lasted many years part their expiration.

So, here's an easy, fun idea you can do as a large family or group to have medicines when and where you need them. Many hands makes light work . . . and splits the cost.

Simple Medicine Kits for cars, bug-out bags, etc.

1. Pick up large bottles of basic medicines at your local warehouse store, bulk store, or online.
2. Buy a large pack of small sealable baggies. (I used 2x2 or 1.5x1.5 sizes from Amazon)
3. Separate the medicines into equal amounts to split between participants.
4. Write the dosage instructions in permanent marker on each baggie.
5. Gather one small baggie of each medicine into a slightly bigger container. A sandwich baggie works or something more sturdy like an Altoids tin. (If you have small children, a child-proof bottle is recommended.)

When I did this, we ended up with ten different kits that included 4 - 8 doses of the following medications:

1. Ibuprofen - pain relief, anti-inflammatory
2. Acetaminophen - pain relief
3. Diphenhydramine - anti-histamine
4. Chewable Bismuth Subsalicylate tablets - stomach issues
5. Aspirin - pain reliever, blood thinner
6. Pseudoephedrine - decongestant
7. Guaifenesin - expectorant
8. Antacids (from a bulk bottle and 5 or so rolled in piece of tinfoil) - heartburn

I keep one of these kits in my waist pack along with a small first aid kit I'll have mention in another newsletter.

We also put one into each car, but be aware that high heat will decrease shelf-life of medicines. These also come in handy to grab and send with teenagers who are leaving to camp or to toss in my carry-on bag on when traveling.

What about you? How do you handle being prepared with medicines for an emergency?

With the shortages in stores we've seen over the last couple of years, it is a good idea to have a plan. I'd love to hear your ideas.

Stay healthy out there!

______________________


Misty's Writing Update:
I'm this close to actually starting the final battle in my book, which I'm thinking should probably have come a little sooner than after 125k words. Our main character and his two friends are unlocking an extra spell each to give them the best chances of surviving, and then they're off to save the academy from the horde of beasts ready to come boiling out of the underground.

Yep, this book will officially be the longest book I've written so far. But it's not a problem, since the litrpg genre leans toward longer books. In fact, one that I'm currently reading is over 800 pages. So, I will, by no means, be close to the longest books in the genre.

And this book should be right up your alley, since we had so many of you vote recently that you enjoyed longer versus shorter books.

I'm also considering releasing the book on a serial story website called Royal Road where a chapter would come out daily, probably 3-5 chapters a week, while I move on to write book 2. This gives people a chance to give me feedback on the book and for the story to find fans before it eventually goes on Amazon.

I'm just curious if any of you read on Royal Road and what you think of my idea?

It's interesting how many new avenues keep popping up for independent authors to get their stories into the hands of their readers.

If you read ebooks somewhere else besides Amazon, I'd love to hear!

Enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

Wild Critter Pics from Readers - Check these out. :)

Feb. 18, 2022
Hi friends,

I loved all the emails I got from you about the wild creatures you share your space with. The list was huge and some were a bit scary, like the alligator one of you had to shoo out of your yard. Eek!

Even better, a handful of you sent in some great, and some funny pics. So, I thought I'd share them with you since I enjoyed them so much myself.

Living on an island off the coast of Washington, Karen gets deer, coyote, rabbits, eagles and lots of raccoons. Check out this beautiful shot of a racoon that enjoys helping itself to the plums on her tree in the backyard:



Cherie has everything from wild turkeys to eagles perched in the tree hunting. She even included a pic of her crew of wonderful pets:






Eutre, from my own Michigan sent in some great pics, including one of her cat who "fancies herself a hunter" when finding a deer in the back:






And finally, Barbara shared a startling and fun photo of a deer coming up to say hello on her deck amidst chairs and flowers as well as a fox chilling out in the yard:




Thank you all for sharing just a bit of the wildlife around you with us!

______________________

Misty's Writing Update:
Ok, it turns out I don't have to go far to come up with some crazy monster ideas . . . just check out the stuff that lives here on earth with us.

Remember my rat to dragon idea?

Well, I decided to go with a mole to start, figuring it could unlock some sneaky stealth skills that would come in handy for my main character who is at the bottom of the social ladder in the mage academy.

A pet that can sneak around without being seen or burrow to hide and spy would come in handy.

So, I went looking for pics of moles to get ideas, and ran across something called a star-nosed mole.

Wow! That's all I can say. Go take a look for yourself, and you'll see what I mean.

It has a flared, pink nose surrounded by a bunch of octopus-type tentacles that it uses to navigate tunnels by touch. Really strange and creepy looking, which is perfect for a monster in my book.

I just added a few scales instead of fur, to give it a reptilian flare (and keep the possible dragon-ish metamorphism open for the future) plus a tail with a knob that can used as a weapon and ta-da - new fantasy monster!

And it's a baby one, so though strange, it is oddly cute. LOL. Writing fantasy can be really fun!

Enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website