Hi friends,

We live in Michigan in a typical American suburb, though there are some more native areas nearby, so we'll see the occasional wild critter go by, though usually just a rabbit or two and a host of birds.

So, yesterday, I was in the laundry room and my daughter squeals out that there's a racoon on the back porch, which I thought was cool, even though we've never seen one here before.

Instead, with his head buried into the bowl of burnt popcorn we set outside to cool off, is this guy (his body is about the length of my lower leg or the size of a large pregnant cat, for reference):

An opossum! Though no one pronounces the first "O".

A few friends informed me that they can eat their weight in ticks, so I'm more than happy to have this guy around here considering how many ticks we had the last two summers. They were bad!

Plus, I learned they are marsupials, which is kind of cool, though they have some rat-like features. He's got the cutest little hands full of popcorn, and we all gathered on the other side of the glass door to watch him chowing down. He didn't seem to mind and even tried to take the metal bowl with him at the end.

Overall it was like our own personal zoo, perfectly safe behind the glass but with a front row seat to check out this native of our local environment. We really enjoyed it!

How about you? What kind of interesting critters do you have native to your area? Do any of them come up close for a visit? I'd love a pic or two!

Enjoy the world out there!

— Misty :)

You're in for a treat!

By bestie and author friend, Stephanie Mylchreest, who co-wrote both my post-apocalypse series with me, has just released book 1 in a new 6-book series.

And it's already racking up 5-star reviews:

"Non-stop Action", "An Amazing Read" & "Spectacular New Series"

Go Steph! :D

Edge of Darkness by Stephanie Mylchreest and Mike Kraus

New Release on Amazon! Free with KU!

When disaster strikes, who will you trust?

A coordinated, global attack kills half a billion in minutes, leaving the world clothed in chaos and death.

A young woman struggling with the trauma of witnessing her father’s murder is thrust into the limelight after the disaster, forced to overcome her past if she wants to survive.

Together with an unlikely companion, she must navigate the disaster to save her family - or die trying.

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Misty's Writing Update:

Just passed the 110k word mark in my current book and am working on squeezing in an animal companion before ending the book.

These are always fun and since it's fantasy, I can make up whatever I want. I was thinking about something along the lines of The Ugly Duckling. You know, a creature that is lowly and maybe even ugly, like a rat, that at some point, through magic will reach the true potential of something like a dragon.

Instead of duck to swan, I'm thinking rat to dragon. LOL.

He'll also develop mentally, eventually forming a true bond with the main character.

Any ideas to throw at me? What would be a fun starting point and how would this animal companion evolve into something truly awesome by the end of the series?

This is the fun part of writing fantasy. Whatever you can imagine, you can create.

Enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)

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