Hi friends,

I hope all of my U.S. readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. And hopefully everyone is looking forward to a great holiday season with family and loved ones.

A quick update on my writing:

I managed to squeeze in just enough words to complete National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) month for the fifth time. In addition to new writing, I did a decent amount of editing and publishing chapters to Royal Road, so it was hard to keep a perfect count of my words.

I enjoyed the challenge, though! I find I do better when I'm working toward a goal, especially a small, achievable one.

In fact, most of the time I write, I do short 25-minute sprints with a visible timer to help keep me focused. There are a lot of online distractions, not to mention just reading interesting stuff that loosely counts as "research for my book." LOL. So keeping myself accountable with short timers is another fun writing tip.

As far as my new series, Shieldwall Academy, goes, I just wrote chapter 34 this morning in book 2, so it's coming along nicely. The free chapters over on Royal Road are up to Chapter 66, so getting close to a full book there if you haven't checked it out yet.

Fun exerpt:

Around Pax, the wagon had exploded into chaos, most scrambling back from the monster. But some of the initiates surged forward to attack.

A slight girl hurled her knife at the Blaze Lizard’s head, but it bounced off and fell with a clank to the wooden floor. Dahni spun a sling around his head, letting sharp rocks fly almost too fast to follow as a girl next to him kept handing him more. Pax felt a shudder go through the monster as one of the rocks hit its eye.

“The eye,” he yelled out in a raspy croak. “Hit it with everything you’ve got! Make it let go!”

Awakening Horde: Shieldwall Academy Book 1

(Free 66 chapters on Royal Road)

Please add a star rating or review on Royal Road if you decide you like it. It only takes a minute and really helps boost the story. Thanks!!

Oh, and I didn't forget the subject line: I bet you can't guess how many pies my kids made for Thanksgiving.

Scroll down for a picture and the story:

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A shoutout to everyone who takes the time to click on the books and promotions every week! It really helps support this newsletter!

My friend Tara Ellis, who also writes with Mike Kraus, just released the finale of her latest awesome series:

Road to Redemption by Tara Ellis

Brand new on Amazon and FREE in KU

Entangled's full force has arrived in Redemption, and its residents must all choose sides as the very soul of the town hangs in the balance in the final chapter of the After the Crash saga.

So Many Amazing FREE SFF eBooks!!

A new author friend I made who writes post-apoc Zombie books!

Destroy the Dead by Joanne Nundy

New on Amazon and Free in KU!

A virus injected into an unknowing victim…

A bite or scratch enough to infect others…

The end of the world?

So many excellent FREE SFF eBooks!!

Defiant Space by Richard Rimington

On Amazon and Free in KU!

A planet desperate to survive. A starship with monstrous enemies. Can a mission into the unknown prevent catastrophe?

So many Dystopian and Post-Apoc eBooks!!

Albertan Apocalypse by John Keillor

On Amazon and Free in KU!

THE FLASH CREATED A WORLD-WIDE WAR FOR RESOURCES

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How to have too many pies for Thankgiving!

Step 1: Decide to teach your kids life skills like baking and cooking.

Step 2: Choose desserts to entice them to participate.

Step 3: Have the bright idea one Thanksgiving to tell your kids they can make as many pies as they want, as long as they do all the work and clean up..

Step 4: 10 years later - stare at this table of twelve pies for five people (three kids are adults now and live on their own) and wonder whether your idea was brilliant or flawed :D

Yes, they were delicious!

Yes, they took over a week to finally eat them all! LOL

Thanks for all your support! Find time to relax and enjoy a good book this week!

— Misty :)

p.s. See all my books on Amazon here: Misty Zaugg Amazon Page

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