Hi friends,

I'm in Vegas at a huge conference of independent authors and totally loving it!

There were so many presentations and workshops to go to that I'm overloaded on information with tons of new business ideas, not to mention the tips on how to improve my stories!

But the most fun part of the whole experience was meeting other authors! Some, I instantly clicked with and others, I've been enjoying their stories for quite a while, so I'm a bit of a fan-girl asking for a picture.

Here are just a few of the amazing people I met:

Left to right: Me :) , Kyla Stone, Boyd Craven, Franklin Horton, JJ Pike, and Jay Falconer.

An awesome line-up of post-apoc authors spoke to us about their careers, advice for writing and where they see the future of the genre going.

Apparently it's going to continue to grow as more people explore what it would be like and how characters could react to hard times ahead. :)

Here are: Dakota Krout, Ramon Meija, Michael Chatfield, Eric Ugland, Matt Dinniman, & James Hunter

I was so excited to meet a bunch of incredible litrpg authors as I begin writing in the genre. Dakota ran this panel of top authors like a game show, points and all. The winner? Eric Ugland! :)

And I finally met my FB post-apoc author friend, Barbara Gilbert, in real life. She was kind enough to always save me a seat and made me feel welcome!

I think authors are such a fun bunch of people, even if we occasionally get all geeky about things like story structure and Amazon ads.

And now . . . after over a month of being away from home, I'm really excited to get back and see the family!!!

I've never been away this long, which makes me think of all the sacrifices those in our armed services make. May God bless them and their families!

How about you? What's the longest you've been away from your family? Hopefully you'll be together for the holidays.

All the best!

— Misty :

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Some Fun Reads this Week!

Black Death Survival by Jon Cronshaw

New Release and FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

The end of antibiotics. The return of the plague.

Liam will do anything to keep his family safe.

Space Pirate Roberts by Jay Toney

Read on Amazon!

Plundering innocent worlds; that is Doc Roberts’ job and he is good at it. He is awarded a Letter of Marque and a territory to hunt in exchange for his service to the Alliance and of course, a cut of his take.

Rim Chronicles Boxset #1-#3 by Edita A Petrick

Read a Review Copy for FREE and Post your Review!

A war, just like a story, starts with a word....

An epic galactic adventure

Wars are started for many reasons…but wars are fought for one and only one reason—power.

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Click on the ebook collections below!

New Reads in Fantasy! FREE in KU!

Collection of Sci-Fi/Fantasy & Mystery!

FREE Fall Sci-fi & Fantasy!!

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Misty's Writing Update:

Want to guess if I got any writing done while at the author conference in Vegas . . . ?

LOL.

Of course, not!

Some authors here did, but I figured this was an amazing chance to learn more about the business, and even better, get to meet other authors like me.

If you've ever had a hobby that isn't super common, you know what I'm talking about. You explain details to friends or family, and their eyes sort of glaze over as they make small nods, obviously being polite until you finish.

But when you find a fellow enthusiast, you both practically gush fountains of words, because you've finally found someone enthusiastic, who understands.

That's what it's like at this conference. "KDP Countdown deals, how to get a Bookbub, click-through rates, best blurb practices, pantsing vs. outlining" . . . we talk and talk about all kinds of author terms because we've finally found our 'tribe'.

Hopefully, this will help me become a better writer and business woman, so I can bring you even more awesome stories!

And without all of you, none of this would be possible, so thanks again for supporting me in this still new-feeling venture of being an author.

You're the best!

— Misty :)

p.s. For a web version of this newsletter and previous newsletters: https://sendfox.com/mistyzaugg/campaigns