Mark R. Hunter's Blog, page 82
September 10, 2015
Oh, and We Renewed Our Library Cards
We had a great time at the Kendallville Library last night, although I suspect my speech rambled a bit (and I may have talked too fast once or twice). Many thanks to Mindy Patterson and the rest of the library staff, and I’m grateful to those who came to hear about history and our writing—and everyone who came bought at least one book!
Now, across Noble County to the Stone’s Trace Pioneer Festival, where we’ll spend all day Saturday. It’s safe to say we’ll run into some history buffs there.
Now, across Noble County to the Stone’s Trace Pioneer Festival, where we’ll spend all day Saturday. It’s safe to say we’ll run into some history buffs there.
September 8, 2015
Don't forget tomorrow night!
Don’t forget, our appearance at the Kendallville Public Library tomorrow night isn’t just a book signing: We’ll give a short talk starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A, and then a pop quiz. (Kidding, no pop quiz.) Sure, we’ll sign and sell books too, but when a person appears in front of a fireplace in the adult department of a library, they should dish out some information!
A fireplace, how cool is that? I mean, not literally.
So, please pass the word on to all your friends. If you don’t have friends, pass the word on to all your enemies. If you don’t have enemies, you really should get out more. We’d like to have so many people there that we could whip a crowd into a frenzy, maybe by having prizes taped under their seats or something. I could stand there like Oprah: “You get a toaster! You get a toaster! You all get a toaster!
But I don’t think I could sign a toaster. At least, not without some kind of metal engraving tool, and Emily won’t let me use power equipment.
Of course, everyone knows the Kendallville Library is at 221 S Park Avenue … if you have any questions for them, they’re at 260-343-2011. You already know where to find the authors.
A fireplace, how cool is that? I mean, not literally.
So, please pass the word on to all your friends. If you don’t have friends, pass the word on to all your enemies. If you don’t have enemies, you really should get out more. We’d like to have so many people there that we could whip a crowd into a frenzy, maybe by having prizes taped under their seats or something. I could stand there like Oprah: “You get a toaster! You get a toaster! You all get a toaster!
But I don’t think I could sign a toaster. At least, not without some kind of metal engraving tool, and Emily won’t let me use power equipment.
Of course, everyone knows the Kendallville Library is at 221 S Park Avenue … if you have any questions for them, they’re at 260-343-2011. You already know where to find the authors.
September 5, 2015
Old Clothes and Corn Liquor
It occurs to me that the Stone’s Trace Pioneer Festival starts a week from today, which means Emily and I have until next Saturday to find outfits that make us look more or less like pioneers. On a limited budget, just like the actual pioneers. We have it covered, as long as we don’t have to wear hats, and if people don’t look too closely at our footwear.
I think it’s neat, the way they go to such lengths to give people a taste of what things were like a century and a half ago. It can’t be perfect, of course, especially in our case. This is the first time Stone’s Trace has hosted a book signing, but I don’t think they’ll ask me to use a quill pen, or only sell leather-bound books. On the other hand, I’m almost positive they won’t let me bring a jug of corn liquor, so it’ll all even out.
Hm … what did Hoosier pioneers drink? Paging Google …
It seems locally distilled whiskey was popular. I don’t drink much: A jigger of that stuff, and I’ll be signing my name “Mfcks Hinknickle”.
It’ll all work out. And preparing takes my mind off something much scarier: three days earlier, on September 9th, I have to give a talk at the Kendallville Public Library. Well, I don’t have to, but if somebody asks me to talk about my writing, I’m going to do it.
What happens after that is what they get for asking.
Now that I think on it, do you suppose people will show up hoping to witness a train wreck? Well, that’s fine—maybe they’ll feel so bad for me they’ll buy a book. But I’m actually not terrible at public speaking, as long as I have something of a script to go by. I’m a writer—so I write what I’m going to say, and it should work out fine. Guess I should get started on that.
We’ll be fine as long as I stay away from the moonshine.
I think it’s neat, the way they go to such lengths to give people a taste of what things were like a century and a half ago. It can’t be perfect, of course, especially in our case. This is the first time Stone’s Trace has hosted a book signing, but I don’t think they’ll ask me to use a quill pen, or only sell leather-bound books. On the other hand, I’m almost positive they won’t let me bring a jug of corn liquor, so it’ll all even out.
Hm … what did Hoosier pioneers drink? Paging Google …
It seems locally distilled whiskey was popular. I don’t drink much: A jigger of that stuff, and I’ll be signing my name “Mfcks Hinknickle”.
It’ll all work out. And preparing takes my mind off something much scarier: three days earlier, on September 9th, I have to give a talk at the Kendallville Public Library. Well, I don’t have to, but if somebody asks me to talk about my writing, I’m going to do it.
What happens after that is what they get for asking.
Now that I think on it, do you suppose people will show up hoping to witness a train wreck? Well, that’s fine—maybe they’ll feel so bad for me they’ll buy a book. But I’m actually not terrible at public speaking, as long as I have something of a script to go by. I’m a writer—so I write what I’m going to say, and it should work out fine. Guess I should get started on that.
We’ll be fine as long as I stay away from the moonshine.
September 4, 2015
Location, Location, Location …
Sales Specialist Sarah at Arcadia Publishing updated me on which local retailers are carrying Images of America: Albion and Noble County:
Albion Village Foods, 605 S. Orange Street in Albion
Black Pine Animal Sanctuary, 1426 W 300 N (west of Albion)
Doc’s Hardware, 122 N Orange Street on Albion’s courthouse square
The Noble County Historical Society, which operates the Old Jail Museum just west of the courthouse square
While my two book signings next week are onetime events, you can pick up a copy of Albion and Noble County at those locations during any normal business hours. Not after normal business hours.
The Old Jail Museum has limited hours, but I’m told the Historical Society will be selling the book at the Albion Harvest Fest, September 19-20 at the Saddle Club. Meanwhile, we’re hoping to get it into more retail establishments across Noble County, and it can be found at the usual online places and at least one Fort Wayne Barnes & Noble.
Remember, when you don’t buy history books, time travelers get stranded with their great grand-mothers-in-law. Don’t strand time travelers.
Albion Village Foods, 605 S. Orange Street in Albion
Black Pine Animal Sanctuary, 1426 W 300 N (west of Albion)
Doc’s Hardware, 122 N Orange Street on Albion’s courthouse square
The Noble County Historical Society, which operates the Old Jail Museum just west of the courthouse square
While my two book signings next week are onetime events, you can pick up a copy of Albion and Noble County at those locations during any normal business hours. Not after normal business hours.
The Old Jail Museum has limited hours, but I’m told the Historical Society will be selling the book at the Albion Harvest Fest, September 19-20 at the Saddle Club. Meanwhile, we’re hoping to get it into more retail establishments across Noble County, and it can be found at the usual online places and at least one Fort Wayne Barnes & Noble.
Remember, when you don’t buy history books, time travelers get stranded with their great grand-mothers-in-law. Don’t strand time travelers.
September 3, 2015
Buy a Book, Save a Pigeon
Two book signings next week—see you there!
http://www.kpcnews.com/community/kend...
If you can’t make it that’s fine, but remember: Every time you don’t buy one of my books, Donald Trump’s hair strangles a pigeon. Think of the pigeons.
http://www.kpcnews.com/community/kend...
If you can’t make it that’s fine, but remember: Every time you don’t buy one of my books, Donald Trump’s hair strangles a pigeon. Think of the pigeons.
August 29, 2015
Upcoming Book Signings (and Q&A)
I realize Hoosiers don’t pay as much attention to book signing season as they do to high school football (and who blames them? Signings don’t have cheerleaders.) Still, I’ve got some upcoming dates to let you know about:
Sept. 9, 6:30 p.m. (Wed): Emily and I will be at the Kendallville Public Library, which happens to be in Kendallville, at 221 S. Park Avenue.
I’ll give a short talk about history, and writing, and stuff. Afterward, if you want more sensible conversation, Emily will also be available to answer questions. I’m talking professional questions, not “what did you ever see in him?” questions.
There will be books. Well, obviously there’ll be books—we’ll be in a library. But we’ll have copies of all of our books, too, not to mention you’re welcome to bring books you already have for us to sign. I mean, books we wrote.
The KPL event calendar is here: https://in.evanced.info/kendallville/...
Sept. 12, 9 a.m.—5 p.m. (Sat): We’ll make the trip to just south of Ligonier for the annual Stone’s Trace Pioneer Festival, which does indeed take place … well, you know. Stone’s Trace is rich in history and is mentioned more than once in our newest book, Images of America: Albion and Noble County. Located near the junction of US 33 and Indiana SR 5, the Pioneer Festival goes on all weekend.
We’ll be there all day Saturday—initial information was 1-5 p.m., but that was my fault for thinking too small. I understand that on Sunday, September 13th, Margaret Hobson will be there with her books, The Iron Men of Indiana 44th Regiment.
Now, we’ll have all of our books available there, but the non-historical ones will be low profile, as the Pioneer Festival concentrates on immersing visitors in the historical experience. This is also a good chance to pick up a copy of Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century or So with the Albion Fire Department.
Learn all about the Stone’s Trace Historical Society here: http://www.stonestrace.com/
October 10th, 10 a.m.—2 p.m. (Sat): Six authors will gather for two book signings: The first starts at 10 a.m. at Joanna’s Dealicious Treats, 201 S. Main Street in Kendallville.
(They have great cookies … but never mind that, I’m anxious to try the moosetracks ice cream.)
Really, can you get a better place than a book store/coffee shop/restaurant? I think not. And they’ve got those cool rolling ladders to use when searching for books, so it’s worth stopping in to see your local authors … even if we talk with our mouths full.
More info on the other authors later (one is Emily and another is my fellow Kendallville Mall writer, Rita Robbins), but for now here’s the Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/dealicioustr...
October 10th, 3 p.m.—7 p.m.: Emily and I haven’t confirmed for this one yet due to scheduling stuff, but as of this writing the other authors plan to head from Joanna’s over to the Cupbearer Café, at 138 E. 7th Street in Auburn.
Imagine how caffeinated everyone will be by the end of that day! More importantly, the Cupbearer also is an ice cream parlor, so maybe I’ll take that night off work and loosen my belt.
We haven’t visited yet ourselves, but from the photos the place looks inviting and comfortable. Their website is here:
http://www.cupbearercafe.com/
More info to come … and more signings? Remember, if you pick up one of our books elsewhere, you can drop by any time to have it signed. Whether it adds or subtracts from the book’s value is the chance you take.
Sept. 9, 6:30 p.m. (Wed): Emily and I will be at the Kendallville Public Library, which happens to be in Kendallville, at 221 S. Park Avenue.
I’ll give a short talk about history, and writing, and stuff. Afterward, if you want more sensible conversation, Emily will also be available to answer questions. I’m talking professional questions, not “what did you ever see in him?” questions.
There will be books. Well, obviously there’ll be books—we’ll be in a library. But we’ll have copies of all of our books, too, not to mention you’re welcome to bring books you already have for us to sign. I mean, books we wrote.
The KPL event calendar is here: https://in.evanced.info/kendallville/...
Sept. 12, 9 a.m.—5 p.m. (Sat): We’ll make the trip to just south of Ligonier for the annual Stone’s Trace Pioneer Festival, which does indeed take place … well, you know. Stone’s Trace is rich in history and is mentioned more than once in our newest book, Images of America: Albion and Noble County. Located near the junction of US 33 and Indiana SR 5, the Pioneer Festival goes on all weekend.
We’ll be there all day Saturday—initial information was 1-5 p.m., but that was my fault for thinking too small. I understand that on Sunday, September 13th, Margaret Hobson will be there with her books, The Iron Men of Indiana 44th Regiment.
Now, we’ll have all of our books available there, but the non-historical ones will be low profile, as the Pioneer Festival concentrates on immersing visitors in the historical experience. This is also a good chance to pick up a copy of Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century or So with the Albion Fire Department.
Learn all about the Stone’s Trace Historical Society here: http://www.stonestrace.com/
October 10th, 10 a.m.—2 p.m. (Sat): Six authors will gather for two book signings: The first starts at 10 a.m. at Joanna’s Dealicious Treats, 201 S. Main Street in Kendallville.
(They have great cookies … but never mind that, I’m anxious to try the moosetracks ice cream.)
Really, can you get a better place than a book store/coffee shop/restaurant? I think not. And they’ve got those cool rolling ladders to use when searching for books, so it’s worth stopping in to see your local authors … even if we talk with our mouths full.
More info on the other authors later (one is Emily and another is my fellow Kendallville Mall writer, Rita Robbins), but for now here’s the Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/dealicioustr...
October 10th, 3 p.m.—7 p.m.: Emily and I haven’t confirmed for this one yet due to scheduling stuff, but as of this writing the other authors plan to head from Joanna’s over to the Cupbearer Café, at 138 E. 7th Street in Auburn.
Imagine how caffeinated everyone will be by the end of that day! More importantly, the Cupbearer also is an ice cream parlor, so maybe I’ll take that night off work and loosen my belt.
We haven’t visited yet ourselves, but from the photos the place looks inviting and comfortable. Their website is here:
http://www.cupbearercafe.com/
More info to come … and more signings? Remember, if you pick up one of our books elsewhere, you can drop by any time to have it signed. Whether it adds or subtracts from the book’s value is the chance you take.
August 27, 2015
Our New Website Is History
As part of the book release for Images of America: Albion and Noble County, we’ve decided to include some extras—bonus materials, especially for people who like history and/or local people. I mean for local people, not for people who like local people. This is going to be a separate website from www.markrhunter.com, although each has a link to the other. This is because the regular website can be a little challenging to update, and the male half of this writing team is a notorious Luddite.
There were three things we wanted to bring you:
More photos: historical ones that wouldn’t fit or that weren’t quite good enough quality, and modern pictures of historic localities. There are places with historical significance that aren’t represented in the book, and we hope to fix that. Also, you might see photos here of events at historical locations.
More information about historical places mentioned in the book. It’s so photo heavy, and the only place to write was chapter openings and captions—and you all know how wordy Mark can be.
Additions and corrections pointed out by readers. For instance, we’ve already learned more about one photo in the book, information that didn’t come until after it went to press.
So we now have a website called, to avoid confusion, Images of America: Albion and Noble County. It can be found here:
http://markrichardhunter.wix.com/albi...
We’ve already put up a few photos, with more to come. Word will go out via blog whenever there’s an update—let us know what you think.
There were three things we wanted to bring you:
More photos: historical ones that wouldn’t fit or that weren’t quite good enough quality, and modern pictures of historic localities. There are places with historical significance that aren’t represented in the book, and we hope to fix that. Also, you might see photos here of events at historical locations.
More information about historical places mentioned in the book. It’s so photo heavy, and the only place to write was chapter openings and captions—and you all know how wordy Mark can be.
Additions and corrections pointed out by readers. For instance, we’ve already learned more about one photo in the book, information that didn’t come until after it went to press.
So we now have a website called, to avoid confusion, Images of America: Albion and Noble County. It can be found here:
http://markrichardhunter.wix.com/albi...
We’ve already put up a few photos, with more to come. Word will go out via blog whenever there’s an update—let us know what you think.
August 26, 2015
August 24, 2015
A Celebratory Snooze
It’s a big day today, a day worthy of celebration. I decided that on this particular Monday, I’ll do whatever the heck I want.
I want sleep.
This says less about me than about the fact that I worked overtime this weekend, and events left me with about half my normal snooze time. I wish I could say I was one of those people who could go on for days without sleep. In truth, I’m jealous of those people—I could sure get a lot more done, getting by on three hours a night. But I can barely go hours without sleep.
Today (early Monday, as I write this) is book launch day. It’s my seventh book, or ninth if you count the anthologies I’ve been in, but it’s as exciting as the first one. Maybe more: This is the first time I’ve had a solid, definite book release date. Whiskey Creek Press only gave me an approximate date for my three works with them, and in those cases the books went up for sale before I expected them to. With our self-published works I could just announce the launch whenever the order was ready, which cut down on the anticipation. Just the same, having a new book come out never gets old.
You know what gets old? Sleep apnea. Insomnia. Twelve hour shifts.
(Not insomnia during twelve hour shifts, mind you.)
Anyway, Arcadia gave me a concrete launch date: It says in my contract that any book in a customer’s hands before then will spontaneously combust. Customers hate that.
But thanks to preorders, early Monday Amazon rankings had me at #215 in state and local history books, which is really good, right? Right? So I think I deserve a solid nine hour sleep, followed by maybe a five hour nap.
What?
Let’s face it, I was never a party animal. The music that gets my heart beating was composed by John Williams. My best-ever all-nighter was when I read Arthur C. Clark’s Rendezvous with Rama in one sitting. I get a hangover after drinking cough syrup.
Don’t get me wrong: I might still run uptown for a celebratory pizza. Sure, it could put me into a food coma—but that’s exactly what I’m going for.
I'm not wearing the sleep test stuff this time. Why? Because I want to actually sleep.
I want sleep.
This says less about me than about the fact that I worked overtime this weekend, and events left me with about half my normal snooze time. I wish I could say I was one of those people who could go on for days without sleep. In truth, I’m jealous of those people—I could sure get a lot more done, getting by on three hours a night. But I can barely go hours without sleep.
Today (early Monday, as I write this) is book launch day. It’s my seventh book, or ninth if you count the anthologies I’ve been in, but it’s as exciting as the first one. Maybe more: This is the first time I’ve had a solid, definite book release date. Whiskey Creek Press only gave me an approximate date for my three works with them, and in those cases the books went up for sale before I expected them to. With our self-published works I could just announce the launch whenever the order was ready, which cut down on the anticipation. Just the same, having a new book come out never gets old.
You know what gets old? Sleep apnea. Insomnia. Twelve hour shifts.
(Not insomnia during twelve hour shifts, mind you.)
Anyway, Arcadia gave me a concrete launch date: It says in my contract that any book in a customer’s hands before then will spontaneously combust. Customers hate that.
But thanks to preorders, early Monday Amazon rankings had me at #215 in state and local history books, which is really good, right? Right? So I think I deserve a solid nine hour sleep, followed by maybe a five hour nap.
What?
Let’s face it, I was never a party animal. The music that gets my heart beating was composed by John Williams. My best-ever all-nighter was when I read Arthur C. Clark’s Rendezvous with Rama in one sitting. I get a hangover after drinking cough syrup.
Don’t get me wrong: I might still run uptown for a celebratory pizza. Sure, it could put me into a food coma—but that’s exactly what I’m going for.
I'm not wearing the sleep test stuff this time. Why? Because I want to actually sleep.
August 23, 2015
Order Today and I Won't Bug You Tomorrow
The books are here! 50 copies of Images of America: Albion and Noble County came in the mail Saturday, in time for the official release date tomorrow.
I did some checking, and the pre-order price at Barnes and Noble and Amazon look good through the end of the release day—so you should be able to get it at 46-47% off the list price until midnight Monday. If you want an autographed copy, I’ll be happy to add my John Hancock later.
After all, the deal is worth close to half off, and the signature is worth nothing!
http://www.amazon.com/Albion-Noble-Co...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/albio...
I did some checking, and the pre-order price at Barnes and Noble and Amazon look good through the end of the release day—so you should be able to get it at 46-47% off the list price until midnight Monday. If you want an autographed copy, I’ll be happy to add my John Hancock later.
After all, the deal is worth close to half off, and the signature is worth nothing!
http://www.amazon.com/Albion-Noble-Co...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/albio...
