Happy 80th, Great-Grandpa Delbert


Delbert, otherwise known as my Dad! We had a surprise 80th birthday party for him earlier this month at one of my favorite places, the Noble County Public Library main facility in Albion. The gifts, at his request: Pepsi and Snickers candy bars. Hey, he's 80, he should get whatever he wants.


That's Dad on the left, Aunt Dorothy, and Uncle Rodney.


It's very important, during a birthday celebration, to have a birthday cake. Them's the rules.

Santa! I know him! Oh, wait ... that's my brother Jeff, in one of those very few occasions I could get a pic without him making a face. His wife Cathy is beside him, and across is Cousin Vickie.

And now for my favorite table! Daughter Charis on the left, then Cathy, Emily, Lillianna, and  daughter Jillian.

Just a small part of the group as they arrive from every state of the Union, or at least three of them.

Kids! SO many kids! This is all that would stand still at one time.

Back Home Again: Writing in Indiana, and a Radio Red giveaway

I’m featured again on 50 Authors From 50 States, a blog about ... well, that's pretty self explanatory, isn't it? Commenters on the blog get a chance to win a copy of my newest novel, “Radio Red”.

 Okay, I know ... "Radio Red" is my first book that's not set in or about Indiana. But I still wrote it here (even though I researched and outlined it in Michigan, but never mind), so ... there. Don't miss out, before it's no longer my latest novel!


Indiana, specifically Chain O' Lakes State Park

50 Authors from 50 States: Author-Mark Hunter Shares His Indiana

50 Authors from 50 States: Author-Mark Hunter Shares His Indiana: An Indiana author writing about Indiana? What are the odds? And yet, defying those odds (1 in 5,423—I looked it up), my first eight publish...



Hey—that’s me!

Fire On Mist Creek: after edit report

I finished the second draft of Fire On Mist Creek, and didn't have to make as many major changes as expected. This was surprising, considering it was a NaNoWriMo novel, and the first draft was completed in about thirty-five days. (But I had an extensive outline going in.)

I added about a thousand words, fleshed out a character who didn't exist in my original outline, added one new scene, and completely rewrote another scene. Also, I gave the dog a bigger part. You can never go wrong putting a Dalmatian in your book.



And now: another round of edits. It's time to seek out and destroy adverbs, gerunds, passive voice, and weasel words. Weasel words are okay, if the character saying them is a weasel.

A Great Day For a Grass Fire

Sunday was a great day for a grass fire.

No, not that kind of grass, although wildland fires can make your day go to pot.

It's that time of year. People get cabin fever, and at the drop of a match they're using any excuse to get outside, and fire is cool. (It's not really cool, it's hot. Just wanted to clarify.) Fence rows, weedy hills, brush piles, trash, unruly lawns, meth labs, unwanted relatives, whatever. And they inevitably say, if only to themselves, one of three things:

1. "What could possibly go wrong?"
     (A phrase that has become such a cliche that anyone who thinks it should automatically be horsewhipped. Do they still make horsewhips? Maybe in Amish country.)

2. "I'll be right back--this will only take a minute."
     (See above comment.)

3. "I've got it under control."

We once pulled up to a field fire that was burning around three sides of a house. When we knocked on the door to alert the occupants, this guy opened up and told us it was a controlled burn, and the fire department wasn't needed. He was wearing a towel.

     Yes, he'd been in the bathtub.

 This is not the definition of a controlled burn.

In northern Indiana, things don't get nearly as bad as out west--just bad enough. Wildland fire season (it's usually ground fires: fields or woods) lasts for a couple of months, from the time the snow melts until all the foliage greens up enough so it won't burn. We sometimes have another fire season in the fall, and if a drought strikes all bets are off. But the problem in the spring is that the ground is often still saturated from snow melt, so much so that even four wheel drive fire trucks can't go off road, which is fine if there's nothing off road that can be damaged or is, say, in the path of the fire. At the same time, people think "Hey--if the ground's so wet, the fire won't spread. I've got it under control!"

Meanwhile, one inch above that wet ground, anything that's been dead since last fall dries out after about an hour of sun and breeze. I've seen six foot flames burning over standing water in swamps. That's me on the other side, waiting on the shore for it to get to me ... I've seen all those SyFy movies with mutated alligators.

I'll be over here.

So I looked at the weather forecast last week and realized the next day would be perfect for what we call grass fires. (At least until they get to other stuff; then we call them house fires, barn fires, car fires, unwanted relative fires, whatever.) It would be a Sunday, sunny, with a temperature in the low fifties. There would be just enough of a breeze to spread fire, but not enough to make people worry about it. We're a small town volunteer fire department, and we still once made 17 calls in one day under those conditions.

Grass fires spreading to cars are pretty common. Boats, not so much ... but as you can see, it happens.


 So, instead of the pajama pants I usually wear around the house (days off equal writing time on the couch), I put on jeans--and socks, and since it was only in the low fifties, a sweatshirt. I put my shoes right in front of the couch. The keys were on the ledge by the front door, the car backed in to allow for a quick entrance, my pager on my belt. As busy as my life's been lately, it's probably the most prepared I've been for a call in ten years.

Then I listened, as surrounding departments started getting called out. Kendallville FD, grass fire; Cromwell FD, grass fire; Noble Township FD, grass fire; Avilla FD, grass fire; Ligonier FD, car-pedestrian accident.

Ah, the unexpected.

Also unexpected: The Albion Fire Department, with is 96 square mile, mostly rural response area, didn't get called out at all that day.

I'm thinking of renting myself out as a fire prevention tool. You pay me ahead of time, and I'll show up at your firehouse fully dressed, with my fire gear beside me, ready to accompany you to a fire at an instant's notice. Then, there will be no fire. I'll get money, your community will remain safe, and if nothing else I'll get some quality reading time. (I'm reading American Gods at the moment.)

What could possibly go wrong?

Just a grass fire? When crops like wheat catch on fire it does honest to goodness financial harm.


The aftermath. It was totally under control, then came the running and the panic and the 911 calls.

Tornado Siren Testing to Begin March 20


Tornado sirens around central Noble County will be tested next week as part of Indiana’s Severe Weather Preparedness Week, which runs from March 18-24.

In Albion the sirens will go off on Tuesday, March 20, to make sure they’ll work properly in case of severe weather. This will be part of a statewide test, which is done twice on the 20th: usually between 10-11 a.m., and between 6-10 p.m.

For the rest of the season the Albion Fire Department will test the sirens at around 6 p.m. the second and fourth Mondays of every month, unless threatening weather conditions exist at the time.

There are five tornado sirens positioned around Albion, plus one at Skinner Lake, and another at the campground at Chain O’ Lakes State Park. They provide one of several ways to alert citizens to unfavorable weather conditions. Everyone should be prepared to monitor conditions and seek shelter in the event of severe weather.

The sirens can be activated by Noble County Communications dispatchers, and also from the Albion fire station.

More information about Indiana Severe Weather and Flood Preparedness Week 2018 can be found here:

https://www.weather.gov/ind/SvrWxWeek2018



A few photos I've taken over the last several years:




Book Review: Shadow of Oz

BOOK REVIEW:
Shadow of Oz
by Nick Damon

We all know Dorothy Gale of Kansas, although you probably imagine her as a teenage Judy Garland, while I picture her as a blonde eleven year old. (There were all these books, you see, and ... oh, never mind.)

In Shadow of Oz Dorothy is all grown up, and now a drone office worker in New York City (apparently in modern times, which would make her something like 125 years old, but never mind again). She's miserable and pretty much a zombie, and not in a fun way, when one day she gets attacked--by a tree. Then by a murder of crows bent on ... well, murder. Then she's rescued by a man of horseback ... who's made out of clay. The man, not the horse.


Dorothy Gale of Kansas, as illustrated by John R. Neil. I don't make this crap up.


Then things get exciting. It seems Dorothy, despite being an outsider, was once ruler of the land of Oz. In her absence the country has been conquered by an old enemy, and to save it she must find her way back, regain her memory, beat the bad guys, and recover a gem called the Ozma that's the heart of Oz, pretty much literally. She'll meet old friends along the way, but boy, do they have their work cut out for them.

Shadow of Oz benefits from a breakneck pace, Indiana Jones style, although it can also be exhausting. While I would have preferred to see more of the book characters I'm fond of, Damon wisely sticks to supporting characters from Baum's first three Oz books, all familiar to those who've watched the MGM version of The Wizard of Oz and Disney's Return to Oz. Many of the later characters have been forgotten by anyone who isn't familiar with the books, and would confuse the casual reader. But I'm going to put them in my own Oz book, anyway! (Baum's fourteen Oz books are in the public domain.)

It's nicely plotted and has some fantastic twists. (Shadow of Oz, not my Oz book--that's not written yet.) It can also be read as a standalone book, which is important to some readers, although there are sequels. Some of the fight scenes seem a little long, but you aren't likely to get bored. Overall the characterization is good, but a romance develops that's totally unreasonable considering the time factor involved. (Although, hey--these things happen in stressful situations.) There's a substantial amount of PG violence, and some stuff might be disturbing to the kiddies. Damon, I suspect, is trying to write for an adult audience while maintaining the wonder of the originals, but it comes off more gritty than wondrous.

Now, as a writer there are a few things that bothered me more than they're likely to bother the casual reader.  The story is very active, but there's a lot of passive voice--avoiding that has been drilled into me so much that it stood out. There was a bit too much more telling than showing. But there have been bestsellers that I have the same complaint about, so who am I to say? Overall, I think it's worth a read.

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Oz-Nick-Damon-ebook/dp/B008FVC7PC