Mark R. Hunter's Blog, page 32
June 23, 2020
Still Seeking Fire Photos, Despite Distractions
I mentioned in the last newsletter that I set my latest non-fiction project on the back burner several months ago. I was collecting photographs for a very picture-heavy history of our local fire department, which has the working title of Awesome Albion Fire Picture Book Insert Title Here.
I mean, the book has that title--not the fire department. That would be silly, and require us to letter all the trucks A.A.F.P.B.I.T.H.F.D.
Not fiscally responsible.
At the time I had a logical reason for putting it aside and working on some other writing projects, including the first draft of my favorite novel yet, We Love Trouble. (It's about a couple who, well, loves trouble.) I also wanted to get More Slightly Off the Mark published, which we have, although I've delayed promoting it until we have a chance to update the website.
I'm sure you're wondering why I decided to push back the fire photo book, which also has the proposed working title of Firefighting photo folio.
What? You're not wondering about the delay?
Well, I am. Because I have no idea.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, that's the best I can come up with. I really did have a plan, I swear. It's just that I didn't write the plan down. It doesn't help that I have a list of several dozen story ideas waiting to be addressed, from a Storm Chaser prequel to my own Oz book, not to mention the demand for my autobiography should be starting up any time now.
Now I'm back to collecting pictures--I've already got most of the framing text for the book done. You'll probably hear a fair amount in the future of me begging to borrow any photo anyone has involving the Albion Volunteer Fire Department, be it volunteers, firefighting action, the trucks, or the old firehouses. (For those of you not from around here, I'm talking Albion, Indiana, not one of the two dozen others around the USA.)
I'll have been a volunteer forty years this coming July, and I suppose to a certain extent this is my coda, as you music buffs might put it. My tribute to our people and our 130 odd year history, which sometimes could get very odd, indeed. I want to do it right.
So--and here's the part where I beg to borrow--if any of you have any photos involving the AFD you'd be willing to loan me for the project, I'd be greatly appreciative. I (by which I mean my wife) can scan prints into her computer, then return the original. I'd especially like to see our people in the book, past or present--this is about them, more than anything.
By the time I'm done, with any luck at all ... I'll have come up with a better title.
Oh, and of course you can contact me through our website:
http://markrhunter.com/
I mean, the book has that title--not the fire department. That would be silly, and require us to letter all the trucks A.A.F.P.B.I.T.H.F.D.
Not fiscally responsible.
At the time I had a logical reason for putting it aside and working on some other writing projects, including the first draft of my favorite novel yet, We Love Trouble. (It's about a couple who, well, loves trouble.) I also wanted to get More Slightly Off the Mark published, which we have, although I've delayed promoting it until we have a chance to update the website.
I'm sure you're wondering why I decided to push back the fire photo book, which also has the proposed working title of Firefighting photo folio.
What? You're not wondering about the delay?
Well, I am. Because I have no idea.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, that's the best I can come up with. I really did have a plan, I swear. It's just that I didn't write the plan down. It doesn't help that I have a list of several dozen story ideas waiting to be addressed, from a Storm Chaser prequel to my own Oz book, not to mention the demand for my autobiography should be starting up any time now.
Now I'm back to collecting pictures--I've already got most of the framing text for the book done. You'll probably hear a fair amount in the future of me begging to borrow any photo anyone has involving the Albion Volunteer Fire Department, be it volunteers, firefighting action, the trucks, or the old firehouses. (For those of you not from around here, I'm talking Albion, Indiana, not one of the two dozen others around the USA.)
I'll have been a volunteer forty years this coming July, and I suppose to a certain extent this is my coda, as you music buffs might put it. My tribute to our people and our 130 odd year history, which sometimes could get very odd, indeed. I want to do it right.
So--and here's the part where I beg to borrow--if any of you have any photos involving the AFD you'd be willing to loan me for the project, I'd be greatly appreciative. I (by which I mean my wife) can scan prints into her computer, then return the original. I'd especially like to see our people in the book, past or present--this is about them, more than anything.
By the time I'm done, with any luck at all ... I'll have come up with a better title.
Oh, and of course you can contact me through our website:
http://markrhunter.com/
June 17, 2020
Book review: Her Last Resort, by Fiona McGier
It's not often that a romance novel starts off with the female lead killing somebody.
It's just another day at the office for CIA spy Stella Taylor ... except it shouldn't be, because Stella is retired after thirty years, and there's no reason for her to be targeted by a series of frankly amateur assassins. She flees yet again, this time ending up at a Lake Superior-area Minnesota resort with her movie star daughter and the resort's owner, a hunky Russian who's moved permanently from one cold place to another.
Could the Russian guy also be a spy ...? Nah--what are the chances?
In Her Last Resort, by Fiona McGier, Stella has more than one reason to escape to the lake region: not only to avoid assassins, but to try to make up for the time she spent separated from her daughter--because of being an assassin. It's only after she arrives that sparks fly with the resort owner, Ivan. But boy, are those sparks sparky: Her Last Resort is definitely an adults only read.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Kudos to McGier for putting her lovers well into their fifties, although they're way more fit than I am! She obviously loves this area of Minnesota and knows her setting, and we get to know Stella and the surrounding characters well as Stella sets about wooing the willing Ivan, making things right with her daughter, and--oh, yeah--finding out who's sending killers after her. Although I knew this was the third in a series, I'd forgotten by the time I actually started reading, and didn't notice any holes--so this can be read as a standalone, or as part of the series.
If you like your romances with a heaping spoonful of action, both in and out of the sack, this one's for you. (Come to think of it, a lot of the sex is out of the sack, too.)
It's just another day at the office for CIA spy Stella Taylor ... except it shouldn't be, because Stella is retired after thirty years, and there's no reason for her to be targeted by a series of frankly amateur assassins. She flees yet again, this time ending up at a Lake Superior-area Minnesota resort with her movie star daughter and the resort's owner, a hunky Russian who's moved permanently from one cold place to another.
Could the Russian guy also be a spy ...? Nah--what are the chances?
In Her Last Resort, by Fiona McGier, Stella has more than one reason to escape to the lake region: not only to avoid assassins, but to try to make up for the time she spent separated from her daughter--because of being an assassin. It's only after she arrives that sparks fly with the resort owner, Ivan. But boy, are those sparks sparky: Her Last Resort is definitely an adults only read.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Kudos to McGier for putting her lovers well into their fifties, although they're way more fit than I am! She obviously loves this area of Minnesota and knows her setting, and we get to know Stella and the surrounding characters well as Stella sets about wooing the willing Ivan, making things right with her daughter, and--oh, yeah--finding out who's sending killers after her. Although I knew this was the third in a series, I'd forgotten by the time I actually started reading, and didn't notice any holes--so this can be read as a standalone, or as part of the series.
If you like your romances with a heaping spoonful of action, both in and out of the sack, this one's for you. (Come to think of it, a lot of the sex is out of the sack, too.)
June 8, 2020
Passing in review--again
I got another great book review, this one for Radio Red:
https://www.amazon.com/review/RHZ7LR0...
That's four reviews in less than two weeks! The only thing better would be if the doctor told me I was registering minus on the cholesterol scale, and needed to eat more chocolate. I know that won't happen, because the doc refused to change my test results, even after I offered him half the candy--stupid Hippocratic oath.
He doesn't even own a hippo.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
https://www.amazon.com/review/RHZ7LR0...
That's four reviews in less than two weeks! The only thing better would be if the doctor told me I was registering minus on the cholesterol scale, and needed to eat more chocolate. I know that won't happen, because the doc refused to change my test results, even after I offered him half the candy--stupid Hippocratic oath.
He doesn't even own a hippo.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
June 2, 2020
One Week Until the AFD Fish-Chicken Fry
Just a week to go until what might be the prime event of the summer, considering all the other events seem to be canceled. Well, no year is perfect, although 2020 must be going for a record.
The Albion Fire Department's annual fish fry is still on, and if you don't think that's an event, you've never seen my reaction when they serve mine up. But we've had to make some changes this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic--and it's the first time for the firefighters as well as the public, so please have patience as we work out the kinks.
Instead of fish or tenderloin, this year the meal will be fish or chicken due to supply shortages. Sides will be beans and chips, but no drinks this year--however, it should be pointed out that Albion has both a splash pad and a fully functional water fountain on the courthouse square. (Kidding! If you don't have your own drinks, I'd suggest getting some from a local business.)
Sadly, the Chain O' Lakes Festival that happens the same week has been canceled this year, for what I believe is the first time in at least fifty years. But the fish fry goes on, even if it is takeout only, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. (or until the food runs out) on Wednesday, June 10. The cost of $11.00 for adults and $7.00 for children goes toward the Albion Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary, and in the past has funded everything from emergency equipment to training resources.
Remember, the fish fry is takeout only. We'll do our best to make for safe and easy traffic flow in and out, and we ask in return for everyone to use care and watch for pedestrians--and for emergency vehicles, if a call should come in during the event.
Also as a fund raiser, the AFD's history book Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights is still on sale, with all proceeds going to AFD. Take a closer look here:
http://markrhunter.com/SmokyDays.html
The Albion Fire Department's annual fish fry is still on, and if you don't think that's an event, you've never seen my reaction when they serve mine up. But we've had to make some changes this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic--and it's the first time for the firefighters as well as the public, so please have patience as we work out the kinks.
Instead of fish or tenderloin, this year the meal will be fish or chicken due to supply shortages. Sides will be beans and chips, but no drinks this year--however, it should be pointed out that Albion has both a splash pad and a fully functional water fountain on the courthouse square. (Kidding! If you don't have your own drinks, I'd suggest getting some from a local business.)
Sadly, the Chain O' Lakes Festival that happens the same week has been canceled this year, for what I believe is the first time in at least fifty years. But the fish fry goes on, even if it is takeout only, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. (or until the food runs out) on Wednesday, June 10. The cost of $11.00 for adults and $7.00 for children goes toward the Albion Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary, and in the past has funded everything from emergency equipment to training resources.
Remember, the fish fry is takeout only. We'll do our best to make for safe and easy traffic flow in and out, and we ask in return for everyone to use care and watch for pedestrians--and for emergency vehicles, if a call should come in during the event.
Also as a fund raiser, the AFD's history book Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights is still on sale, with all proceeds going to AFD. Take a closer look here:
http://markrhunter.com/SmokyDays.html
May 31, 2020
50 Authors from 50 States goes to Maryland and Massachusetts
Hey, I spelled Massachusetts right the first try!
Okay, the second try.
This time on 50 Authors from 50 States, first we take a look at Maryland, with author Margaret L. Carter:
https://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/20...
Then author Carole Ann Moleti shows us around Massach ... um, Mass.
https://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/20...
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
Okay, the second try.
This time on 50 Authors from 50 States, first we take a look at Maryland, with author Margaret L. Carter:
https://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/20...
Then author Carole Ann Moleti shows us around Massach ... um, Mass.
https://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/20...
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
May 28, 2020
This month's newsletter: Furry Friends and Fire Photos
In this month's newsletter we discuss tired dogs, almost-horses, fire photos, summer, and the health risks of competitive clogging:
https://mailchi.mp/956dcca14183/summe...
Did I mention summer? I'd be so much happier with its arrival if it actually stuck around for more than a few days. Heck, I'm still waiting for Spring to arrive--apparently I blinked.
Still, any season with flowers is better than a season without them.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
https://mailchi.mp/956dcca14183/summe...
Did I mention summer? I'd be so much happier with its arrival if it actually stuck around for more than a few days. Heck, I'm still waiting for Spring to arrive--apparently I blinked.
Still, any season with flowers is better than a season without them.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
May 24, 2020
Three New Reviews Received! It's like Christmas, only with humidity
The way I want to celebrate the end of my vacation is another vacation, but the next best thing is to have three--count 'em, three--new book reviews! (That's more than twice as many as one.)
The two things authors need most to advance their careers are sales and reviews. Caffeine comes in a close third. From what I've been hearing, sales for most writers have been sluggish: Readers who've been quarantining at home are apparently making their way through the piles--or files--of books they already had.
That leaves reviews to stimulate sales, but reviews have been slow in coming, too. But in recent days my newest novel, Coming Attractions, has attracted two:
https://www.amazon.com/review/RK11GEC...
https://www.amazon.com/review/R38GWKW...
But wait--there's more!
Storm Chaser, my first novel, has also gained a new review:
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1N97KH...
It's a short, one, but it's very enthusiastic.
One of my Coming Attraction reviewers is also an author ... no, I didn't pay her, although I'm going to review one or two of her books as soon as I have a chance. If you'd like to read the review on her blog, it's over here:
http://www.fionamcgier.com/blog/book-...
Thanks for taking the time, everyone!
This is the part where I remind you that you, too, can write a review, or even buy a book--or better yet, both, in the opposite order. Find out all about it here:
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
The two things authors need most to advance their careers are sales and reviews. Caffeine comes in a close third. From what I've been hearing, sales for most writers have been sluggish: Readers who've been quarantining at home are apparently making their way through the piles--or files--of books they already had.
That leaves reviews to stimulate sales, but reviews have been slow in coming, too. But in recent days my newest novel, Coming Attractions, has attracted two:
https://www.amazon.com/review/RK11GEC...
https://www.amazon.com/review/R38GWKW...
But wait--there's more!
Storm Chaser, my first novel, has also gained a new review:
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1N97KH...
It's a short, one, but it's very enthusiastic.
One of my Coming Attraction reviewers is also an author ... no, I didn't pay her, although I'm going to review one or two of her books as soon as I have a chance. If you'd like to read the review on her blog, it's over here:
http://www.fionamcgier.com/blog/book-...
Thanks for taking the time, everyone!
This is the part where I remind you that you, too, can write a review, or even buy a book--or better yet, both, in the opposite order. Find out all about it here:
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
May 20, 2020
Vacation, We Can't Get Away
So, our regular late May vacation is mostly a staycation for us this year. Not our first time, and maybe for the best, considering long range weather forecast couldn't be described as perfect.
"Scattered COVID predicted, with a chance of coronavirus ..."
I can live with that. (I mean the staycation, not corona-storms.) In addition to ongoing back problems that would make camping rough, I've just started back to work on the Albion Fire Department photo book that I made so much noise about last year, then had to set aside for various reasons. So it's a "stay away from work to do other work" thing. I suspect my wife can take that for only so long before she starts measuring me for my burial suit.
"Mark, I made you a snack. Never mind the sour smell and the strange taste ... now, you still wear a 36 waist, right?"
Like I'm going to tell her.
Maybe it's an opportunity. The Catch-22 about writing is that it's hard to make enough money at it without writing full time, but writers can't afford to quit their jobs and work full time until they've made enough money at it.
I wonder what Catch-21 is? (I looked it up; apparently it's a game show.)
We do love to travel, and I suggested going down to Missouri to see Emily's family and friends. The problem is, that involves driving through three states, any one of which *coughIllinoiscough* could arrest you just for driving through. Could we get food along the way? Fuel? An open dog park?
Just our luck, we'd get put in jail with a bunch of people with allergies like ours. Talk about a sleepless night.
Personally, I'd like to go further afield than we have in the past. The furthest west we've ever been is the junction of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas, where there's ... a plaque, and a pile of stones.
I mean, it's a nice pile of stones, but still.
Some of our favorite trips were when we traveled around Indiana, especially while researching for our book Hoosier Hysterical. Did you know there are canyons in Indiana? I guess we couldn't see them through the corn.
Then there were the waterfalls we encountered in several Hoosier locations, with my favorite being Clifty Falls State Park. Climb the observation tower, see the Ohio River and Kentucky, and get a nose bleed.
But we camped on those trips, and the campgrounds are closed. Ah, well--we'll save up for further trips in the future, and stick to our own area this time around--especially since Emily's job is finally opening up on May 24. Meanwhile we've got my almost obsessive picture taking to remember all our journeys by.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
"Scattered COVID predicted, with a chance of coronavirus ..."
I can live with that. (I mean the staycation, not corona-storms.) In addition to ongoing back problems that would make camping rough, I've just started back to work on the Albion Fire Department photo book that I made so much noise about last year, then had to set aside for various reasons. So it's a "stay away from work to do other work" thing. I suspect my wife can take that for only so long before she starts measuring me for my burial suit.
"Mark, I made you a snack. Never mind the sour smell and the strange taste ... now, you still wear a 36 waist, right?"
Like I'm going to tell her.
Maybe it's an opportunity. The Catch-22 about writing is that it's hard to make enough money at it without writing full time, but writers can't afford to quit their jobs and work full time until they've made enough money at it.
I wonder what Catch-21 is? (I looked it up; apparently it's a game show.)
We do love to travel, and I suggested going down to Missouri to see Emily's family and friends. The problem is, that involves driving through three states, any one of which *coughIllinoiscough* could arrest you just for driving through. Could we get food along the way? Fuel? An open dog park?
Just our luck, we'd get put in jail with a bunch of people with allergies like ours. Talk about a sleepless night.
Personally, I'd like to go further afield than we have in the past. The furthest west we've ever been is the junction of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas, where there's ... a plaque, and a pile of stones.
I mean, it's a nice pile of stones, but still.
Some of our favorite trips were when we traveled around Indiana, especially while researching for our book Hoosier Hysterical. Did you know there are canyons in Indiana? I guess we couldn't see them through the corn.
Then there were the waterfalls we encountered in several Hoosier locations, with my favorite being Clifty Falls State Park. Climb the observation tower, see the Ohio River and Kentucky, and get a nose bleed.
But we camped on those trips, and the campgrounds are closed. Ah, well--we'll save up for further trips in the future, and stick to our own area this time around--especially since Emily's job is finally opening up on May 24. Meanwhile we've got my almost obsessive picture taking to remember all our journeys by.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
May 17, 2020
Your Shirt Buys a Hay Bale
Only four days left to help the Pokagon Saddle Barn pay their expenses in this year of coronavirus ... but, of course, it's always a good time to buy a t-shirt.
https://www.customink.com/fundraising...
Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the Saddle Barn is opening late this year--the mandated target is May 24th, and then they can only run at half capacity for an unknown period of time. As I explained in a previous blog, while it's inside Pokagon State Park, the Saddle Barn itself is an independent small business that could really use your support:
https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/2020...
The horses are around whether they're being ridden or not--and ask any horse person how much that costs! So buy yourself a t-shirt and support a good cause.
https://www.customink.com/fundraising...
Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the Saddle Barn is opening late this year--the mandated target is May 24th, and then they can only run at half capacity for an unknown period of time. As I explained in a previous blog, while it's inside Pokagon State Park, the Saddle Barn itself is an independent small business that could really use your support:
https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/2020...
The horses are around whether they're being ridden or not--and ask any horse person how much that costs! So buy yourself a t-shirt and support a good cause.
May 11, 2020
Indiana Gets April Prize on 50 Authors From 50 States
My post on Indiana was the monthly winner on 50 Authors From 50 States, and so one of my commenters has won April's grand prize! Mari C. (you know who you are!) will get a gift made in right here in the Hoosier State, by Homespun of Indiana. Here's my original post:
https://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/20...
Thanks to Mari and everyone else who commented, there's an Indiana sidebar post on the 50 Authors page this week. Oh, and here's the website of the company that's providing the prize:
https://shop.homespunindy.com/
Thanks again, everyone!
Meanwhile, this week's entry on 50 Authors From 50 States covers Maine:
https://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/20...
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
https://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/20...
Thanks to Mari and everyone else who commented, there's an Indiana sidebar post on the 50 Authors page this week. Oh, and here's the website of the company that's providing the prize:
https://shop.homespunindy.com/
Thanks again, everyone!
Meanwhile, this week's entry on 50 Authors From 50 States covers Maine:
https://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/20...
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
