Misti Wolanski has always loved to play in fantasy land and practiced writing all through her teens. She now freelances as a web writer for her day job, to use those writing skills. In her spare time, she likes crocheting and knitting jewelry, baby clothes, and small toys. She does not, however, embroider.

Website: http://mistiwolanski.com
Twitter: Carradee

Blog: http://carradee.blogspot.com

aleyi    beauty and the beast    changeling    christian fantasy    classic fantasy    dark fantasy    dark urban fantasy    darkworld    elves    epic fantasy    fae    fairy tale    fantasy    fantasy short    folktale    high fantasy    historical    historical fantasy    magic    new adult    novelette    overhill records    paranormal    selkie    short    short fantasy    short fiction    short stories    short story    story collection    surreal fantasy    traditional fantasy    urban fantasy    vampires    werewolf    werewolves    ya    young adult    young adult fantasy   

Ilona Andrews
Latest book: Under Her Skin. Published on October 9, 2010. (4.56 from 9 reviews)
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Jean Ryott
Latest book: Hostel Fortuna. Published on August 1, 2012.
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Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Latest book: Stained Black. Published on June 14, 2013.
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Lindsay Buroker
Latest book: Forged in Blood I (The Emperor's Edge Book 6). Published on May 17, 2013. (5.00 from 5 reviews)
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Margo Lerwill
Latest book: Keep. Published on October 24, 2011. (4.00 from 1 review)
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• Blindsight:: A Mirus Short Story on March 16, 2011
  
  Highly enjoyable read, with vivid descriptions. There were a few points that were a bit heavy on the telling, and the ending was quite abrupt and left me expecting another scene, but I'll definitely move on to reading the rest in the series.
  
• Devil's Eye on March 24, 2011
  
  First, a caveat: I read paranormal romance for the paranormal, not the romance. I find that entire "Love at first sight" and "I don't know you but I love you anyway" stuff silly. That is, however, a matter of personal taste and is something I try to ignore. This story has that "Love at first sight" stuff in it, so if you can't stand it, move along. Otherwise, "Devil's Eye" offers an enjoyable read with some lovely turns of phrase. I love how the hurricane tied into things. There were still a few sluggish descriptions, but that's standard when you have an entire world involved that nobody knows about. Worth buying, and I look forward to reading more by this author.
  
• Forsaken By Shadow on March 30, 2011
  
  I read Kait Nolan's "Blindsight" and "Devil's Eye" before I read this, and it could be that I've gotten used to her style, or maybe I'm brain-fried from fatigue, but I didn't notice major infodumps in this one like I did in those other two works. It was enjoyable, with a fast pace… but perhaps a bit too fast. I understood the characters and what drove them at the beginning. As things moved on, I found myself being told more motivations than I was shown. (I did skip the sex scenes, tbh, which ended up being a bit confusing, but I don't think I missed THAT much.) It was still a highly entertaining read, but with what else I've read by Kait Nolan, I can't help but feel that it could've been better.
  
• Under Her Skin on March 31, 2011
  
  I bought this for the Ilona Andrews story, though I also tend to read much of Jeaniene Frost's work (I say "much" because I skip the steamy sex, and Frost seems to have a lot more of that in her stories than Andrews does.) I enjoyed all the stories in this e-book, though Ilona Andrews is my favorite. It's nice to read something that considers how inequity of power affects a relationship, instead of ignoring that issue altogether or going "So what? Our love will conquer!" *wince* (Note that *wince* is over things I said Ilona Andrews did NOT include in her short little love story.) Also, in all 3 of them, I could nicely see (at least some) where the characters' romantic interest came from, even though it of course seemed kinda… fast. (Of the 3, Meljean Brook avoided that issue b/c the characters already knew each other. Ilona Andrews, I could at least understand why it moved so fast. Jeaniene Frost pulled that "Oh! You smell like my mate!" instinct thing that instinctually annoys me, but I still found the story worth reading.
  
• Inevitable, a Paranormal Romance (The Inevitable Trilogy #1) on April 05, 2011
  
  I noticed _Inevitable_ for the cover. After reading it, I definitely think this book will appeal to readers who like sweet and emotional romances like those of Stephanie Meyer or Amanda Hocking. The writing style is different, though, so I recommend trying the preview before buying. _Inevitable_ was an interesting blend of realistic with the ridiculous, but I don't mean that as an insult. A being charged with keeping all the possibilities of the parallel universes "fair" decides to give herself a body so she can improve a guy's last year of life. If the idea sounds ludicrous to you—well, it does to me, too, and I enjoyed the story. Despite everything the girl knows—and despite her awareness that her ability to "see" possibilities suffers when she dons a body—she's caught off-guard even by certain things linked to plans she made before taking a body, which suggests she can't foresee events she's influenced, but I don't believe it ever said that outright. She's also remarkably emotional, but that does sorta make sense, since she's not used to having to deal with hormones. Still, certain scenes didn't work for me, mostly towards the beginning. It's possible that's because I'm a fairly logical, rational girl and therefore don't have much frame of reference for understanding an emotion-ridden girl. Even though I do have a hormone disorder that sometimes screws up my moods for no reason beyond my hormones going bonkers. Honestly, I wasn't planning to read any more in the series, but the last section really made the book for me, because it was perfect in the characters' imperfection. The ending line in particular makes me want to pick up book 2.
  
• The Freelancer's Survival Guide: Third Edition on April 14, 2011
  
  Fantastic. I had read much of the blog posts before buying this, and bought this as both a thank-you and a way to have a copy handy. Now I'm wondering if I should get the paperback version, because I know a lot of people who can benefit from this. "The Freelancer's Survival Guide" isn't just for independent contractors. I'm an independent contractor who also independently publishes fiction, and much of what's in this book is helpful for both my endeavors.
  
• Dis: An Urban Midgard Short Story on June 07, 2011
  
  Dis is an enjoyable short story that introduces the reader to a promising world. Definitely recommended to urban fantasy fans. A few details are confusing if you aren't too familiar with Norse mythology, but I'm sure they'll be clarified as Margo writes more in that world. Colbie didn't seem to like Zaj much, which made me wonder how he got access to enter her apartment. Also, I felt the… avatar-ish thing… needed another line of introduction; it completely lost me about what was going on there until I'd finished the story and pondered a certain character action. Those 2 things kept me from enjoying the story as much as I could've, but it was still enjoyable. I'll definitely watch for Margo's further releases!
  
• Replaced: A Short Story on June 28, 2011
  
  Did a good job of capturing the story in an appropriate word count, and the story itself is one I'll probably remember for some time.
  
• Red on Aug. 26, 2011
  
  I read this book right after it came out, and since then I've been trying to come up with something negative I could say about it, to add some balance to this review. Not happening. If the premise interests you, read it. This is a fantastic YA werewolf title that I'd gladly hand to friends. Elodie is a girl who believes she's due to become a werewolf, a ravaging monster, due to a family curse. Sawyer is a hereditary werewolf who's fighting his own demons for the recent death of his mother. Making things work out between them is difficult enough--and someone might be trying to kill Elodie...
  
• Keep on Dec. 27, 2011
  
  I've been eyeing this short story for a while and kept wanting to buy it. It was the first thing I read on my new nook Simple Touch. I had some trouble getting into the story, due to some turns of phrase and sentence structure that I found awkward. As I kept reading, I was drawn in and realized I wasn't reading it with the right flow, and therefore I wasn't quite picking up on all the meanings right. Once I caught on, I *loved* it. I'm sure I'll be re-reading it in the future. "Keep" is a fascinating classic fantasy story that both abuses and uses the overused tropes. I recommend it to anybody who likes traditional fantasy.
  
• City of Dis: An Urban Midgard Short Story on Jan. 03, 2012
  
  This story picks up where "Dis" left off (but also can stand alone). Snappily written though long enough to be considered a "novelette", "City of Dis" tantalizes with hints about what's forthcoming in further Urban Midguard books. Fans of urban fantasy will enjoy the rich worldbuilding and Norse-based mythology. Like urban fantasy, particularly when the author doesn't use the usual mythologies? Try this.
  
• Genesis (The Incorruptibles Saga - Book One) on May 23, 2012
  
  If you like time travel stories focused on the ethics of time travel and how time traveling would affect reality, "Genesis" by Alton Bock is worth checking out—unless you can't stand reading about the Holocaust, because that's when a lot of the story takes place. I enjoyed the story despite not caring for the title character (Genesis). The objectionable content is limited without producing a whitewashed story. (The sample pages give a good feel for what the book's like. Pretty much, if you object to a story acknowledging the fact that people do bad things, you won't like it. If you just don't want to see bad things explicitly described in graphic detail, there's nothing that I can recall in "Genesis" that'll bother you.) Disclaimer: I read an earlier edition of this book. It's my understanding no significant changes were made between the edition I read and this one.
  
• Think Like a Publisher on May 30, 2012
  
  Well worth the lunch money, even though it's also getting posted free on the author's blog. (And you'll probably want to check out the blog anyway for the discussions in the comments.) The book provides handy advice on how to set up a sane publishing company that makes sense, makes money, and can hold its own in the business. Highly recommended for self-publishers and small press startups alike.
  
• Think Like a Publisher on May 30, 2012
  
  Well worth the lunch money, even though it's also getting posted free on the author's blog. (And you'll probably want to check out the blog anyway for the discussions in the comments.) The book provides handy advice on how to set up a sane publishing company that makes sense, makes money, and can hold its own in the business. Highly recommended for self-publishers and small press startups alike.
  
• Elements of Rebellion on Nov. 05, 2012
  
  NOT A LIGHT READ. This is dark fantasy for adults. In fact, it gets dark and disturbing to the point that I sometimes found myself disturbed by wanting to keep reading. But I bought and read it anyway. I've even reread it. And I've found myself hoping that the author writes in that world again. "Elements of Rebellion" is a strong story about two people, damaged by a cruel culture that's so cruel for the purpose of keeping everyone subjugated—two damaged people who put themselves through worse to get the chance to make things better for the following generation. I feel like some transitions were missing, because some of the characters' actions/attitudes/mindsets struck me as a bit…odd, for some of the characters who only knew that cruel culture. But some of the missing details were discretion. The book was far less graphic and gruesome than it easily could have been, given the material, and I think that's part of why I liked it. I've tried reading some dark books wherein the way it was written gave me the impression that the author wrote out of pity, indignation, or titillation (that last type gets creepy). Not the impression I got from this book, though I do have one major complaint: The good guys' senses of morality shifted too readily, in my opinion. At the end, it was understandable, but in the middle, I sometimes found myself wondering, "Uh, when did that guy start respecting her? Because I last remember her humiliating him." Guys tend to take humiliation very badly when a girl's the cause, particularly when they've been raised to have no respect whatsoever for women. But I enjoyed the story anyway—enough to reread it. ^_^
  
• Beneath the Surface (an Emperor's Edge novella) on Jan. 30, 2013
  
  Don't let the "novella" descriptor fool you—the 56k words puts it into "novel" territory, per SFWA definitions. The "novella" is only comparative; the main entries in the series are twice that or more. Even so, Beneath the Surface isn't some filler or spin-off story to tide the fan over between books. It's a transition between book 5 and book 6, and must be read as such— And for that, it's as witty and enjoyable as the rest of the series. ^_^
  
• The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression on Feb. 19, 2013
  
  Fantastic resource; highly recommended. Even if characters and emotions are a strong point in your writing, this book is still useful for those times when you're searching your brain for some ideas for how to illustrate a character. It's also useful for making sure you're at least familiar with a variety of options, even ones that you yourself don't experience. The one thing that would make it better? If they provided a hyperlinked PDF file. I'd find that a lot easier to use on my computer. But it's handy anyway.