About Me
My writing roots
Misty Warner has always had one toe stirring in the literary. In elementary school, she toted around large books she longed to get through, but never would. Still, she checked out those mammoth library blocks, their allure more in the weight, words, and smell than in the yarns of black and white they contained. In middle school, she could be seen pushing a lawn mower, her lips moving as she told stories only she could hear. College would introduce her to the shore of journaling.
But the real odyssey wouldn’t begin until later in life when a company policy banning all reading egged Misty into purchasing some spiral notebooks. Seated on a forklift with wood dust coating the inside of her nose and formaldehyde seeping into her pores, she proceeded to write her first novel. And when that went well, two more. And when that still didn’t cage the creatures scratching at her door, she whittled out a few more.
After leaving the mill, she continued to hone her craft by joining a 9 Bridges critique group in 2014. And in 2021, when her fellow writers began to yearn for in-person meetings again, she started a motley crew called Writers Helping Writers, which, to this day, remain an invaluable source of knowledge and support. She is currently working on her 16th novel and 17th novel at the same time because that seems like a sane thing to do.
My style
Each of Misty’s books is like an old man sitting on a red cracked bar stool. Elbows in the stickiness of his spilled drink, he refuses to let the listener go until the dank mud of his tale rubs like Vaseline. Only then does he feel like he can drop his loose quarters down next to his empty beer can and go home.
My background
Misty Warner was born in Plains, Montana in November 1975. In 1981 her family of five (all women sharing one bathroom) moved to Hamilton, Montana. After graduating from high school, she attended college for a year and a half before dropping out to join the army. From there, she fell into the blue collar work field where, in Missoula, Montana, Watkins and Shepard would take her on as the youngest female driver. Later she would become the first female to be hired as a driver at SACS and USF Reddaway, and become the first female to earn a boiler’s license at the Roseburg Forest Products plant.
Currently, Misty Warner still drives a semi-truck where she revels in breaking any stereotypical molds and swearing like a grumpy grandpa. Off the clock, she enjoys riding her street bike, reading, and photography. She also lives with her cat. Her cat hates her. Cats are jerks.