Mark R. Hunter's Blog, page 34
April 2, 2020
Home In The Time of Corona, or: at least it's not disco
Someone commented the other day that the coronavirus pandemic will turn out to be the worst worldwide disaster since World War 2. I'm not sure I agree with that--apparently this particular person was too young to have experienced the disco era.
Listen to "Disco Duck", then tell me Covid-19 is all that bad.
But it is bad, of course, and it's likely to hang on every bit as long as disco did. In fact, now that it's here the virus is likely to come around again on occasion, just as its cousin, the flu, does. It's the Uncle Eddie of disasters. It's the equivalent of me going through old boxes a few years ago, and stumbling across the "Thank God It's Friday" soundtrack. On vinyl.
Yes, in some corner of a storage unit disco still crouches, waiting to strike again.
Buy hey, I liked some disco songs, even as I despised the disco craze itself. Similarly, for an introvert like me there are some good things about being driven indoors by a pandemic.
"Stay home, read and watch TV, play some games--the life you save may be anyone's."
Oh. Okay, then.
Luckily my wife is as much of an introvert as I am. The other day I wrote 3,000 words on my new novel, and when I got tired watched "The Walking Dead" while she went to her computer and killed 3,000 Orcs and trolls. Who says modern entertainment doesn't prepare you for real life?
I can't work my full time job from home. I mean, I could, but it would be expensive to run 911 lines and emergency radio service into my living room. (By the way, coming downstairs to find our dispatch center has been moved to my living room is a common nightmare I already had--I didn't need the help.)
But we already have a home office for our part time job, writing. It's a working office, which is code for "cluttered". The irony is that over my last days off I never went in there, because I pulled a back muscle and redefined the concept of uncomfortable office chairs. The couch, an ice pack, and the laptop with Pandora's John Williams channel in the background, and I was set to write until the muscle relaxer kicked in. Then I had to stop, or I'd drool on the keyboard.
I can only imagine how badly this is going for extroverts.
We do have to go out from time to time, to buy food and to harvest leaves for toilet paper replacement. Don't use the three-leaf plants. Experience. But then came a new twist, when authorities went from saying masks don't help unless you're infected to, "Kidding! Go ahead and use them--couldn't hurt."
Which we all know isn't true.
Being in the police business, my first thought was, "How many reports of armed robberies in progress are we going to get? Especially since some people (um, me) planned to take advantage of it by dressing up as cowboys?
"Give me all the cash, or I remove this bandana!"
But I don't own a bandana, or a handkerchief, or ... well, I have a ski mask, but since there's a hole in it for the mouth that's not very useful. Finally, when I had to go out, I settled on wrapping toilet paper around my face. I was kidding about the leaves: I'm one of the few people in the world who had stocked up on TP before the virus came around. Why? So I don't run out, duh.
I figured my worst problem would be if it started raining. But no: My worst problem is that I didn't make it fifty feet from the house before someone mugged me.
For the toilet paper.
But at least they had a mask on.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
Listen to "Disco Duck", then tell me Covid-19 is all that bad.
But it is bad, of course, and it's likely to hang on every bit as long as disco did. In fact, now that it's here the virus is likely to come around again on occasion, just as its cousin, the flu, does. It's the Uncle Eddie of disasters. It's the equivalent of me going through old boxes a few years ago, and stumbling across the "Thank God It's Friday" soundtrack. On vinyl.
Yes, in some corner of a storage unit disco still crouches, waiting to strike again.
Buy hey, I liked some disco songs, even as I despised the disco craze itself. Similarly, for an introvert like me there are some good things about being driven indoors by a pandemic.
"Stay home, read and watch TV, play some games--the life you save may be anyone's."
Oh. Okay, then.
Luckily my wife is as much of an introvert as I am. The other day I wrote 3,000 words on my new novel, and when I got tired watched "The Walking Dead" while she went to her computer and killed 3,000 Orcs and trolls. Who says modern entertainment doesn't prepare you for real life?
I can't work my full time job from home. I mean, I could, but it would be expensive to run 911 lines and emergency radio service into my living room. (By the way, coming downstairs to find our dispatch center has been moved to my living room is a common nightmare I already had--I didn't need the help.)
But we already have a home office for our part time job, writing. It's a working office, which is code for "cluttered". The irony is that over my last days off I never went in there, because I pulled a back muscle and redefined the concept of uncomfortable office chairs. The couch, an ice pack, and the laptop with Pandora's John Williams channel in the background, and I was set to write until the muscle relaxer kicked in. Then I had to stop, or I'd drool on the keyboard.
I can only imagine how badly this is going for extroverts.
We do have to go out from time to time, to buy food and to harvest leaves for toilet paper replacement. Don't use the three-leaf plants. Experience. But then came a new twist, when authorities went from saying masks don't help unless you're infected to, "Kidding! Go ahead and use them--couldn't hurt."
Which we all know isn't true.
Being in the police business, my first thought was, "How many reports of armed robberies in progress are we going to get? Especially since some people (um, me) planned to take advantage of it by dressing up as cowboys?
"Give me all the cash, or I remove this bandana!"
But I don't own a bandana, or a handkerchief, or ... well, I have a ski mask, but since there's a hole in it for the mouth that's not very useful. Finally, when I had to go out, I settled on wrapping toilet paper around my face. I was kidding about the leaves: I'm one of the few people in the world who had stocked up on TP before the virus came around. Why? So I don't run out, duh.
I figured my worst problem would be if it started raining. But no: My worst problem is that I didn't make it fifty feet from the house before someone mugged me.
For the toilet paper.
But at least they had a mask on.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
March 27, 2020
Don't Sneeze So Close to Me
The coronavirus outbreak is a serious, deadly thing, and it should be taken seriously. All the more reason to have fun with it ... because if you can't laugh, the virus has already won.
So this is sung to the tune, naturally, of Don't Stand So Close to Me, by the Police. Fire up your karaoke machine:
They're sneezing, in public
People stay clear of me
They're coughing so badly
Know where I want to be
Inside there's no virus
Feels like I'm in a cage
Book reading, show watching
My kids here make me age
Don't stand so, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
That virus ain't stopping
I'm social distancing
Get calls from the fellas
They haven't got it yet
They think it won't get them
I wouldn't make that bet
Outside is, temptation
But it could make us die
I'm out of crap paper
Newsprint won't get me dry
Don't stand so, don't stand so
Don't cough so close to me
Don't sneeze so, don't breath so
Don't be so close to me
Washing for so long now
Perfecting elbow bumps
Don't blow your crap on me
Stay home and take your lumps
It's no use, this virus
Will make me sweat and cough
You might be infected
I'm begging you, back off
Don't sweat so close to me
Please ... don't spread so close to me ...
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
So this is sung to the tune, naturally, of Don't Stand So Close to Me, by the Police. Fire up your karaoke machine:
They're sneezing, in public
People stay clear of me
They're coughing so badly
Know where I want to be
Inside there's no virus
Feels like I'm in a cage
Book reading, show watching
My kids here make me age
Don't stand so, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
That virus ain't stopping
I'm social distancing
Get calls from the fellas
They haven't got it yet
They think it won't get them
I wouldn't make that bet
Outside is, temptation
But it could make us die
I'm out of crap paper
Newsprint won't get me dry
Don't stand so, don't stand so
Don't cough so close to me
Don't sneeze so, don't breath so
Don't be so close to me
Washing for so long now
Perfecting elbow bumps
Don't blow your crap on me
Stay home and take your lumps
It's no use, this virus
Will make me sweat and cough
You might be infected
I'm begging you, back off
Don't sweat so close to me
Please ... don't spread so close to me ...
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
March 23, 2020
Giveaway sample of More Slightly Off the Mark, certified virus free
A free sample of More Slightly Off the Mark: Why I Hate Cats, and Other Lies:
https://mailchi.mp/ff8ffdfa2652/in-wh...
The latest newsletter is out, in which I talk only a little about the coronavirus, and you still get your image of the faithful Beowulf, who’s very photogenic.
And—a free sample of our newest book, which you may have already guessed is titled More Slightly Off the Mark: Why I Hate Cats, and Other Lies. NOT the same sample you can already get on Amazon!
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
https://mailchi.mp/ff8ffdfa2652/in-wh...
The latest newsletter is out, in which I talk only a little about the coronavirus, and you still get your image of the faithful Beowulf, who’s very photogenic.
And—a free sample of our newest book, which you may have already guessed is titled More Slightly Off the Mark: Why I Hate Cats, and Other Lies. NOT the same sample you can already get on Amazon!
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
March 20, 2020
Book Review: The Last Good Man, by Linda Nagata
Military pilot True Brighton was forced out of her job when robotic flying machines made human pilots obsolete. Now she's a member of Requisite Operations, a private military company; as The Last Good man opens, her team is plotting an operation to rescue hostages in the lawless Mideast.
But during the operation, True learns one of the terrorists may have a connection to her son--who was tortured and murdered for all the world to see, after a failed military operation several years before.
Linda Nagata is one of the masters of near-future science fiction, and in The Last Good Man she shows us a world so close to ours that in a few more years it might not be fiction at all. Dominated by robotics, paranoia becomes real when flying machines or spies the size of bugs can be watching your every move. It's the future of war, and the warriors are beginning to wonder if their future is to be overwhelmed by mechanized weapons.
The Last Good Man starts slowly, as the characters meticulously plan out their opening operation. In that way it's much like a John Grisham or Michael Crichton novel, rich in details that set your firmly into the story's universe. Some readers might not like that, and the first few chapters did drag a little, a few times. But no detail is unimportant, and once the mission starts the book barrels forward like a runaway train.
True Brighton makes discoveries that bring the horror of her son's death back to her, and soon she finds herself at odds with her own team and family, as she investigates a crime that might be much more than anyone thought. All the time she navigates through a paranoid world of constant surveillance, from machines that were once in the roll of spies, but are being weaponized--sometimes without human supervision.
In the end it's a complex and powerful tale. Why Linda Nagata (who was my instructor in a science fiction writing course, back when that stuff was done by U.S. Mail) isn't a bigger name in the writing world is beyond me.
But during the operation, True learns one of the terrorists may have a connection to her son--who was tortured and murdered for all the world to see, after a failed military operation several years before.
Linda Nagata is one of the masters of near-future science fiction, and in The Last Good Man she shows us a world so close to ours that in a few more years it might not be fiction at all. Dominated by robotics, paranoia becomes real when flying machines or spies the size of bugs can be watching your every move. It's the future of war, and the warriors are beginning to wonder if their future is to be overwhelmed by mechanized weapons.
The Last Good Man starts slowly, as the characters meticulously plan out their opening operation. In that way it's much like a John Grisham or Michael Crichton novel, rich in details that set your firmly into the story's universe. Some readers might not like that, and the first few chapters did drag a little, a few times. But no detail is unimportant, and once the mission starts the book barrels forward like a runaway train.
True Brighton makes discoveries that bring the horror of her son's death back to her, and soon she finds herself at odds with her own team and family, as she investigates a crime that might be much more than anyone thought. All the time she navigates through a paranoid world of constant surveillance, from machines that were once in the roll of spies, but are being weaponized--sometimes without human supervision.
In the end it's a complex and powerful tale. Why Linda Nagata (who was my instructor in a science fiction writing course, back when that stuff was done by U.S. Mail) isn't a bigger name in the writing world is beyond me.
March 15, 2020
No, Wiping Doesn't Stop a Virus
Let's get to what seems to be the important question, first:
No, I don't know why people are hoarding toilet paper. It's not that kind of virus.
There's so much misinformation about the coronavirus, and it's such an actual threat, that's it's hard to write humor about it. The good news is that a large number of people think it's not as much of a danger as it is, so it's not hard for them at all.
There certainly are surreal details surrounding the pandemic. For instance, the number of people who think that, because fewer people have been tested for the virus in America, it must not be as widespread here. Connected: the number of people who think the reported number of cases is the total number of people actually exposed. Also, the number of people who think the medical system can handle anything that gets thrown at it.
And the toilet paper thing.
We got lucky, making our routine shopping trip just as the usual suspects started to panic. We actually picked up TP, along with important stuff like books, dog food, the stuff Emily makes me eat because of my cholesterol (which took up most of the cart, darn it), and chocolate.
It was only a few days later when I stopped at the store for some perishable stuff, and saw the empty TP aisle. Why? Enough for a couple of weeks, that I get, but enough to line every room in the house seems a bit much ... although granted, it also works as insulation.
It appears people have been hording stuff like hand sanitizer, soap, and TP not to have enough for themselves, but to resell it and gouge everyone. That's a tar and feather offense, assuming any tar and feathers are available..
I hope there's been a run on condoms, though. Many people who don't have much imagination are going to be looking for things, or people, to do in the immediate future.
Ironically, I didn't have much trouble finding my usual staples at the local store: eggs, milk, bread, all plentiful. What was short? Chicken.
No, I don't get it. We eat a lot of chicken, mostly because it's better for you than donuts, not to mention donuts don't work well in a stew. In addition, baked chocolate doesn't work nearly as well as you'd think, except in Alaska. So, oddly, the first coronavirus problem to hit my home was a chicken shortage.
As for TP, we have it locked up and guarded by the dog. We trust him not to steal it.
Look, it's really not difficult to, um, stretch your TP. Don't replace it with Kleenex--you might need that--but there are always paper towels and napkins. But, as a friend pointed out to me, you shouldn't flush material that thick, so you'll have to bag it up like the astronauts did.
Barring that, if you're anything like me you have a whole basket full of mismatched socks. Why did you keep them? Well, now you know.
The only other choice is to have the National Guard break into homes and arrest hoarders. Do we have enough National Guard troops for that? I don't think so.
But I've given you some options, and it's almost spring, which means there'll be plenty of leaves and plants to go around. Stay away from anything that has the word "Poison" in its name. The hospital might not have time to deal with you.
And, of course, wash your hands, early and often, whether they need it or not. They say you should wash for the length of time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice.
The other day I got that song mixed up with "Staying Alive", which is used to time CPR, and accidentally brought a sink to life. The heart attack victim was still dead, but at least he was clean.
No, I don't know why people are hoarding toilet paper. It's not that kind of virus.
There's so much misinformation about the coronavirus, and it's such an actual threat, that's it's hard to write humor about it. The good news is that a large number of people think it's not as much of a danger as it is, so it's not hard for them at all.
There certainly are surreal details surrounding the pandemic. For instance, the number of people who think that, because fewer people have been tested for the virus in America, it must not be as widespread here. Connected: the number of people who think the reported number of cases is the total number of people actually exposed. Also, the number of people who think the medical system can handle anything that gets thrown at it.
And the toilet paper thing.
We got lucky, making our routine shopping trip just as the usual suspects started to panic. We actually picked up TP, along with important stuff like books, dog food, the stuff Emily makes me eat because of my cholesterol (which took up most of the cart, darn it), and chocolate.
It was only a few days later when I stopped at the store for some perishable stuff, and saw the empty TP aisle. Why? Enough for a couple of weeks, that I get, but enough to line every room in the house seems a bit much ... although granted, it also works as insulation.
It appears people have been hording stuff like hand sanitizer, soap, and TP not to have enough for themselves, but to resell it and gouge everyone. That's a tar and feather offense, assuming any tar and feathers are available..
I hope there's been a run on condoms, though. Many people who don't have much imagination are going to be looking for things, or people, to do in the immediate future.
Ironically, I didn't have much trouble finding my usual staples at the local store: eggs, milk, bread, all plentiful. What was short? Chicken.
No, I don't get it. We eat a lot of chicken, mostly because it's better for you than donuts, not to mention donuts don't work well in a stew. In addition, baked chocolate doesn't work nearly as well as you'd think, except in Alaska. So, oddly, the first coronavirus problem to hit my home was a chicken shortage.
As for TP, we have it locked up and guarded by the dog. We trust him not to steal it.
Look, it's really not difficult to, um, stretch your TP. Don't replace it with Kleenex--you might need that--but there are always paper towels and napkins. But, as a friend pointed out to me, you shouldn't flush material that thick, so you'll have to bag it up like the astronauts did.
Barring that, if you're anything like me you have a whole basket full of mismatched socks. Why did you keep them? Well, now you know.
The only other choice is to have the National Guard break into homes and arrest hoarders. Do we have enough National Guard troops for that? I don't think so.
But I've given you some options, and it's almost spring, which means there'll be plenty of leaves and plants to go around. Stay away from anything that has the word "Poison" in its name. The hospital might not have time to deal with you.
And, of course, wash your hands, early and often, whether they need it or not. They say you should wash for the length of time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice.
The other day I got that song mixed up with "Staying Alive", which is used to time CPR, and accidentally brought a sink to life. The heart attack victim was still dead, but at least he was clean.
March 7, 2020
That Was a Rough Draft
It took almost exactly seven months to write the rough draft of We Love Trouble, which totals just over 80,000 words. That's writing part time, of course--plus I took a break to get More Slightly Off the Mark ready for publishing as an e-book. (The print version just came out--you'll be hearing about it.)
Not bad. It's about 15,000 words longer than any rough draft I've ever written, so I'm patting myself on the back ... especially considering how sick we've been this winter. And while there will be, of course, a second, third, fourth, and so on draft, overall I'm very happy with what I have.
In fact, I love the story so much--I'm worried other people won't.
This is the writer's life. I won't give it any more thought until the final draft is finished, and it's read by other people ... or at least, I'll try not to give it any more thought. Another good reason to keep busy.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
Not bad. It's about 15,000 words longer than any rough draft I've ever written, so I'm patting myself on the back ... especially considering how sick we've been this winter. And while there will be, of course, a second, third, fourth, and so on draft, overall I'm very happy with what I have.
In fact, I love the story so much--I'm worried other people won't.
This is the writer's life. I won't give it any more thought until the final draft is finished, and it's read by other people ... or at least, I'll try not to give it any more thought. Another good reason to keep busy.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
March 4, 2020
It's Our Sheets and Pottery Anniversary
I can't tell you what I got my wife for our eighth wedding anniversary, because it hasn't arrived yet, and she sometimes reads my blog.
And by "it hasn't arrived yet" I mean as I write this our anniversary's two days from now, and it hasn't frakking arrived yet!.
Luckily, my wife has low expectations of anything that happens during wintertime, including her birthday and Christmas. Here in Indiana, no matter how much The Weather Channel goes on about "meteorological winter", early March is still winter. And how.
Sometimes the best I can do during winter is make the bed, then get back in it again.
She knows I appreciate her, I think. I mean, I drove five hundred miles to propose. I gave in to the idea of getting a dog. I've slept in my car for her. (Long story.) Still, it never hurts to be sure, so Emily, if you're reading this: I appreciate you.
She might not have time to read this, because she's been busy editing one of my novel manuscripts, and in a few weeks I'll be throwing pictures at her. Not literally. (Another long story.)
I should have checked ahead on traditional wedding gifts, because I discovered bronze and pottery are traditional for an eighth anniversary, which I think this is, and I might even be right. Guys, if you want advice, pottery is a no-go. It seems too much like ... dishes. You don't want to go that way.
Bronze isn't easy either--I think she'd have liked bookends, since we have lots of books and it could be a way to say we go together, or at least that we go together with books between us. But what if I somehow get her angry? Have you ever been hit by a bronze bookend? Me neither, but it would probably hurt.
Sure, she'd like a horse ... but you'd be surprised how expensive it is to bronze a horse.
What I'd really have liked to get her, if I'd gotten off my butt and researched in time, is a Bronze Age sword. Yeah. She likes swords, and it would have been really cool, although it does bring back the question of her getting mad at me.
The more modern eighth anniversary gift is linen and lace. So ... lace lingerie? That's really more a gift for the guys, guys ... think carefully. As for linen, there's clothing, sheets, and paper. Linen shirts. Linen sheets. No.
Well, if she doesn't like what I did get her, I could always have myself bronzed, then have the statue draped with lace. I'll let you know.
And by "it hasn't arrived yet" I mean as I write this our anniversary's two days from now, and it hasn't frakking arrived yet!.
Luckily, my wife has low expectations of anything that happens during wintertime, including her birthday and Christmas. Here in Indiana, no matter how much The Weather Channel goes on about "meteorological winter", early March is still winter. And how.
Sometimes the best I can do during winter is make the bed, then get back in it again.
She knows I appreciate her, I think. I mean, I drove five hundred miles to propose. I gave in to the idea of getting a dog. I've slept in my car for her. (Long story.) Still, it never hurts to be sure, so Emily, if you're reading this: I appreciate you.
She might not have time to read this, because she's been busy editing one of my novel manuscripts, and in a few weeks I'll be throwing pictures at her. Not literally. (Another long story.)
I should have checked ahead on traditional wedding gifts, because I discovered bronze and pottery are traditional for an eighth anniversary, which I think this is, and I might even be right. Guys, if you want advice, pottery is a no-go. It seems too much like ... dishes. You don't want to go that way.
Bronze isn't easy either--I think she'd have liked bookends, since we have lots of books and it could be a way to say we go together, or at least that we go together with books between us. But what if I somehow get her angry? Have you ever been hit by a bronze bookend? Me neither, but it would probably hurt.
Sure, she'd like a horse ... but you'd be surprised how expensive it is to bronze a horse.
What I'd really have liked to get her, if I'd gotten off my butt and researched in time, is a Bronze Age sword. Yeah. She likes swords, and it would have been really cool, although it does bring back the question of her getting mad at me.
The more modern eighth anniversary gift is linen and lace. So ... lace lingerie? That's really more a gift for the guys, guys ... think carefully. As for linen, there's clothing, sheets, and paper. Linen shirts. Linen sheets. No.
Well, if she doesn't like what I did get her, I could always have myself bronzed, then have the statue draped with lace. I'll let you know.
February 28, 2020
Indiana Beach ... Gone For Good?
Here's the interesting history of the "Riviera of the Middle West":
https://ndsmcobserver.com/2020/02/ind...
For several years I got Indiana Beach tickets through my work, and would take my kids, and sometimes their friends, there. Later Emily and I went, once taking the grandkids. Like the local drive-in theater I've talked about before, it seemed like it was becoming a multi-generational thing.
Now, although there are efforts to keep it going, the almost century old Indiana Beach Amusement Park seems gone for good.
The last time we visited was in rainy, dreary weather, which maybe I should have taken for a sign.
I took the news personally, because I just finished changing the title and doing a few corrections to my so-far unpublished young adult mystery, Summer Jobs Are Murder (formerly Red Is For Ick, but I'd rather we all forget that.)
The story's protagonist is a teenager who investigates a murder while also working her first job--at an Indiana amusement park. Since Indiana Beach is the only amusement park of its size within easy driving distance, I used it as an inspiration and model for my fictional park. Details were changed, of course, to protect ... well, me. I'm getting ready to send that manuscript back out on the agent hunt, so I'll let you know.
This isn't my first time stealing, as the basic layout of the town of Hopewell, in my published novel Coming Attractions, is based on Kendallville, Indiana. In the immortal words of Thomas Edison, "Why invent, when you can steal?" (Kidding!)
So I'm taking this loss a bit hard, and I hope against hope someone will step in to get the park running again. Meanwhile, I'll continue my efforts to show non-Hoosiers that there is still more than corn in Indiana.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
https://ndsmcobserver.com/2020/02/ind...
For several years I got Indiana Beach tickets through my work, and would take my kids, and sometimes their friends, there. Later Emily and I went, once taking the grandkids. Like the local drive-in theater I've talked about before, it seemed like it was becoming a multi-generational thing.
Now, although there are efforts to keep it going, the almost century old Indiana Beach Amusement Park seems gone for good.
The last time we visited was in rainy, dreary weather, which maybe I should have taken for a sign.
I took the news personally, because I just finished changing the title and doing a few corrections to my so-far unpublished young adult mystery, Summer Jobs Are Murder (formerly Red Is For Ick, but I'd rather we all forget that.)
The story's protagonist is a teenager who investigates a murder while also working her first job--at an Indiana amusement park. Since Indiana Beach is the only amusement park of its size within easy driving distance, I used it as an inspiration and model for my fictional park. Details were changed, of course, to protect ... well, me. I'm getting ready to send that manuscript back out on the agent hunt, so I'll let you know.
This isn't my first time stealing, as the basic layout of the town of Hopewell, in my published novel Coming Attractions, is based on Kendallville, Indiana. In the immortal words of Thomas Edison, "Why invent, when you can steal?" (Kidding!)
So I'm taking this loss a bit hard, and I hope against hope someone will step in to get the park running again. Meanwhile, I'll continue my efforts to show non-Hoosiers that there is still more than corn in Indiana.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
February 22, 2020
Stupid Is As Facebook Does
(This may seem like I just need to vent. I do. Been a rough week.)
Facebook won't let me post a link to a BOOK REVIEW. How is that possibly against community standards? How have they actually lasted this long? Why aren't they being replaced? MeWe isn't getting any traction--maybe we should all go back to LiveJournal.
Lately I've been getting only a handful of contacts on my FB posts, anyway. They must have changed the algorithm to make it even less possible to stay in contact without handing over money. For those of you who actually want to stay in touch with what I'm doing, hopefully you'll have more luck at my author page over at https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter/, but maybe it's just a matter of time before they won't connect anyone with that, either. Hook up with my newsletter at the website, http://markrhunter.com/, or the blog at https://markrhunter.blogspot.com, before I vanish entirely.
(Or Twitter, which thus far doesn't seem to have a problem with linking to the blog.)
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
Facebook won't let me post a link to a BOOK REVIEW. How is that possibly against community standards? How have they actually lasted this long? Why aren't they being replaced? MeWe isn't getting any traction--maybe we should all go back to LiveJournal.
Lately I've been getting only a handful of contacts on my FB posts, anyway. They must have changed the algorithm to make it even less possible to stay in contact without handing over money. For those of you who actually want to stay in touch with what I'm doing, hopefully you'll have more luck at my author page over at https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter/, but maybe it's just a matter of time before they won't connect anyone with that, either. Hook up with my newsletter at the website, http://markrhunter.com/, or the blog at https://markrhunter.blogspot.com, before I vanish entirely.
(Or Twitter, which thus far doesn't seem to have a problem with linking to the blog.)
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
February 20, 2020
book review: The World War 1 Triva Book, by Bill O'Neill
I wanted to get away from all the anger and destruction going on in the world today, so I went looking for some light, fun reading.
I chose World War 1.
Nobody ever claimed I make all the best choices.
My only defense is that the book was a lot more fun than the actual war. In The World War 1 Trivia Book, Bill O'Neil takes us through some interesting stories and random facts from the war, and I know because that's the book's subtitle. It's a quick read (and would be useful, I suspect, for high school students looking for an overview), and O'Neil doesn't go into detail about every battle, or in depth about personalities involved.
He does give us an overview of related subjects, including the new technologies developed during the war. He explains clearly the political and ideological causes that led to the war, including the nations that came and went, before and after. More detail is put into the after-effects, and how they led to World War II and then beyond to linger into present times.
No blood and guts, but O'Neil also doesn't pull any punches about the effects of developing technology on the individual soldiers, and on their difficulty recovering from the conflict.
If you're already soaked in the history of the era this probably won't tell you anything new, but it's a good overview of a bad time, easily understood, and if you want you can ignore the quizzes at the end of chapters. (I got about a 90%, so yay me.)
The only real complaint I have is that the cover shows a World War II era tank, but what the heck.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
I chose World War 1.
Nobody ever claimed I make all the best choices.
My only defense is that the book was a lot more fun than the actual war. In The World War 1 Trivia Book, Bill O'Neil takes us through some interesting stories and random facts from the war, and I know because that's the book's subtitle. It's a quick read (and would be useful, I suspect, for high school students looking for an overview), and O'Neil doesn't go into detail about every battle, or in depth about personalities involved.
He does give us an overview of related subjects, including the new technologies developed during the war. He explains clearly the political and ideological causes that led to the war, including the nations that came and went, before and after. More detail is put into the after-effects, and how they led to World War II and then beyond to linger into present times.
No blood and guts, but O'Neil also doesn't pull any punches about the effects of developing technology on the individual soldiers, and on their difficulty recovering from the conflict.
If you're already soaked in the history of the era this probably won't tell you anything new, but it's a good overview of a bad time, easily understood, and if you want you can ignore the quizzes at the end of chapters. (I got about a 90%, so yay me.)
The only real complaint I have is that the cover shows a World War II era tank, but what the heck.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/&quo... R Hunter"
