Slightly Off the Mark: Six Authors, Two Appearances, One Day

Six Authors, Two Appearances, One Day

I usually post press releases for upcoming author events, so everyone can see how dull my press releases are. This one was sent out last week, so I hope you’ve seen it—it’s very different from our previous book signings in two ways:

First, it’s our first gathering of multiple authors (unless you county Emily and me as two authors, which you should). Six—count ‘em, six—authors will be at one of the two gatherings Saturday.

Which brings us to the second way: Being gluttons for punishment, we’re doing two separate author appearances in one day. All the details are below, and I hope you can make at least one of them. Maybe both, it would be like having … author groupies.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six local authors will have a busy day, organizing for two book signings in two cities Saturday, October 10^th. The authors will have plenty of opportunities for caffeine to keep them going, though: Both appearances are at coffee shops.

The first, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., will be at Joanna’s Dealicious Treats, a book store, coffee shop, and restaurant at 201 S. Main Street in Kendallville. After just an hour’s pause the second will be at the Cupbearer Café in Auburn, at 138 East 7^th Street, from 3-7 p.m.

All the authors will have copies of their books for sale, and will be happy to sign them and discuss their writing with visitors. Authors include:

Dawn Crandall is a graduate of Taylor University with a degree in Christian Education, and a former bookseller at Barnes & Noble. Her books are published by Whitaker House, a leading publisher of Christian living and leadership books, as well as Inspirational Fiction. Dawn's debut novel, The Hesitant Heiress, is the 2015 winner of the Hearts Through History Romancing the Novel RWA reader’s choice award, the WISRWA Write Touch Reader’s choice award and the RWA Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, all in the inspirational categories. The Hesitant Heiress was also a finalist in the 2015 Carol Awards—the American Christian Fiction Writer’s recognition for the best Christian fiction published by traditional publishing houses in the previous calendar year. Her second novel, The Bound Heart, is the 2015 winner of the Clash of the Titles Laurel Award. Her website is http://dawncrandall.blogspot.com.

Nick Hayden is the author of the fantasy novels Trouble on the Horizon and The Remnant of Dreams. He has penned a number of short story collections, including Dreams & Visions, and the novella The Isle of Gold. He co-hosts a story-telling podcast, "Derailed Trains of Thought," about once a month, and also helps run the Children of the Wells web serial.

Hayden describes himself as a mild-mannered bookkeeper by day, a mild-mannered (albeit tortured) writer by night, a writing teacher three times a week, a youth leader on weekends, and a podcaster every month or so. He has a wife and two kids, who do a fine job of putting up with him. You can find out more about Nick at his website, www.worksofnick.com, his podcast, his blog, or on his Facebook page. His books include the fantasy The Unremarkable Squire, a flash fiction collection, Another World, and the fantasy Bron & Calea Volume 1, with Laura Fischer

Mark and Emily Hunter of Albion have a match made in literature: They met on a writing website.

Mark R. Hunter is an emergency dispatcher for the Noble County Sheriff Department and a volunteer for the Albion Fire Department, and served two terms on the Albion Town Council. His humor column, “Slightly Off the Mark”, ran for twenty-five years in local newspapers. His books include the romantic comedies Storm Chaser and The Notorious Ian Grant, and a related story collection, Storm Chaser Shorts.

Emily Hunter graduated from Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne University with a degree in English with writing concentration, and is indulging her love of horses by working at the Pokagon State Park saddle barn. In addition to their collaboration on the book Images of America: Albion and Noble County, Emily did editing, setup, and cover design for their other history book, Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century Or So With the Albion Fire Department. She did similar work for the humor collection of Slightly Off the Mark, and the young adult adventure novel The No-Campfire Girls. More information about their writing can be found at www.markrhunter.com.

Nathan Marchand is from northeastern Indiana. Homeschooled from an early age, he discovered his talent for writing in sixth grade English, and has loved speculative fiction since his dad introduced him to the original Star Trek at age three. He attended Taylor University Fort Wayne, earning a B.A. in professional writing. Nathan worked as a reporter in a small town, a feature writer for www.Examiner.com, and as a freelance writer, among other things. His first novel, Pandora’s Box, was published in 2010 by Absolute XPress. He’s also the co-creator of the ongoing fantasy serial, Children of the Wells (www.ChildrenoftheWells.com), and the host of his own YouTube show, “But I Digress….” When not writing, he enjoys other creative endeavors like photography, acting, ballroom dancing, and occasionally saving the world. His website is www.NathanJSMarchand.com.

Nathan’s books include Pandora’s Box (military SF); Destroyer (giant monster/SF, with Natasha Hayden and Timothy Deal; The Day After (short story anthology); Children of the Wells: Jaysynn, Vol.1 (post-apocalyptic fantasy, with John Bahler and Timothy Deal); Ninjas and Talking Tress (fantasy/comedy, Book 1 of The (Mis)Adventures of George Francis); 42: Discovering Faith Through Fandom (devotional, with Eric Anderson)

R. A. Slone writes Young Adult & New Adult Horror/Paranormal. Her love for telling stories goes way back: She remembers taking pieces of paper, cutting them into squares, and stapling them together to form small books. When she was a teenager, her parents bought her a Smith Corona typewriter for Christmas, and she would stay up late at night writing about horses galloping into the sunset. Later, after she grew up and had some life experience, she tried her hand at writing again. This time she started with short stories and eventually worked her way into writing full-length novels, and now writes short stories for the Kendallville Mall under Rita Robbins. She lives in northeast Indiana with her husband and cats. Her website is www.raslone.com.

R.A. Slone’s work includes Ghost in the Blue Dress – Young Adult Horror.