Still selling the No-Campfire soap

On Sunday the 18th The No-Campfire Girls is going up for the day on The Fussy Librarian, an e-book website that can be found here:

https://www.thefussylibrarian.com/

Like many small businesses (I'm a writer, but let's face it--I'm also a small business), I do more advertising this time of year because people are shopping for the holidays. Also, if you're anything like me, you're looking for something to do that involves not being outside. So, hey--books.

The No-Campfire Girls is listed as YA adventure, although I think it can be a lot of fun for adult readers too. Also, it's got firefighters, so there's that. It's just 99 cents on Kindle and $5 in paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/No-Campfire-Girls-Mark-Hunter-ebook/dp/B00K3OS35C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535180005

And of course it's on our website at www.markrhunter.com, just like all of our other books. Unless they're sold out, print copies are at the Noble Art Gallery in downtown Albion. I hope you'll consider supporting local businesses--and local authors--in your shopping this year. Unless you don't live near here, in which case I hope you support another locale's authors.

Fifteen year old Beth Hamlin is horrified to discover her beloved summer camp must go without campfires this year, due to the fire hazard from a drought. But Beth isn't one to just sit (or swim, or boat, or horseback) around. When her new cabinmate, Cassidy, claims a local Cherokee can do a rain dance, she jumps into action.

All they have to do is trick the Camp Director into letting Running Creek do the dance, avoid the local bully and a flying arrow or two, and keep from getting caught plotting with Cassidy’s firefighter father on a forbidden cell phone. With luck southern Indiana will get a nice, soaking rain, and Camp Inipi can have proper campfires again.

But when things go horribly wrong, the whole area is endangered by a double disaster. Now Beth and her unit may be the only people who can save not only their camp, but everyone in it.


*A portion of the proceeds of this book benefits Friends of Latonka, an organization made to save the Girl Scout summer camp at Wappapello, Missouri.

www.markrhunter.com

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Photos of art … gallery

I can't say we did all that well at our most recent author appearance ... in fact, we took a loss, because I bought some stuff myself. My theory is that we went to the well too often: All three of this year's book signings happened within six months, and within less than a mile of each other. In addition, it was our third trip to the Noble Art Gallery, which is still the only business that sells signed copies of all our print books. (Including Hoosier Hysterical.)

But that's the way it goes, and sometimes the connections and promotion work has more down-the-road benefits than the appearances themselves. Besides, now I can use this to guilt people into buying our books, which (by the way) make great Christmas gifts.

Besides, Dan Gagen had some Albion related books out on display, and a collection of old issues from The Noble County American, the Albion newspaper his father ran for something like a billion years, so I spent my time in historical hog heaven. I even found a thirty-five year old photo of myself, which I may or may not someday show people. And the view from his front window is something else:

If you look closely, you'll see members of the Albion Lions Club selling citrus on the Noble County Courthouse Square. I sneaked over and got my orange/grapefruit mix box.

The view looking inside ain't so bad, either. See anything you're interested in?

You want art? 100 E. Main Street, Albion. You're welcome.

Note the table made of books. I have several towers of books stacked around my house, but they weren't intended as furniture.

An orange, frosty appearance

It’s the last book signing of the year! And a cover reveal! And the day before the snowstorm, so don’t you want to get out for awhile?

Okay, with only a few weeks left in the year that first part’s not so remarkable—but still. Hope to see you all between 1-5 p.m. today at the Noble Art Gallery in downtown Albion—and while you’re there, head across to the courthouse square and get some oranges and grapefruit from the Lions Club. Pick me up a mix box, would you?

Remember, every time you miss an author appearance a snowman melts. Save Frosty.

Save the Mimes; Buy a Book

Just as a reminder, the Noble Art Gallery in Albion is the only place where you can go in person to buy all the books we have out in print, whether we’re there or not. Well, the only one I know of. Add that to all the other artists who have their work up for sale there, and you can see why it’s an important business to support—just like we should be supporting all local businesses.

Snow willing, Emily and I will be there tomorrow from 1-5 p.m., to sign books, say hello, and show off the new book cover. Please stop by and see us at the old Black Building, 100 E. Main Street. Remember, every time you skip an author appearance, an artist paints a mime. If you think white mimes are scary, wait until you see a painted one.

Long lines, police barricades … a writer’s dream

In this photo, police block main roads and crowds begin to line up days in advance of Mark R Hunter’s author appearance at the Noble Art Gallery. The first person in line told reporters, “I’m actually just here to ask his wife Emily how she puts up with his genius eccentricities.” Several thousand people were expected …

Okay, not really; the photo is from the Albion Christmas parade. But that is where we’ll be this coming Saturday, from 1-5 p.m.—the old Black Building at 100 E. Main Street, now the Noble Art Gallery.

We’ll have all our books, including the latest one, Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving At All. Also, we just finished printing out the front and back covers of our newest book, so you can get a look at it far ahead of the scheduled March 7^th release date. No police line required.

There is too such a thing as bad publicity … but not today

Apparently the interview with me ran on 93.1 WIBC: Early yesterday I received a small flurry of book orders through the website, and at the same time my Amazon author ranking suddenly jumped to higher than it’s been since February, 2014. (And no, I have no idea what happened in February, 2014.)

It just goes to show: You never know when your promotion efforts are going to pay off. And I still don’t know. When a media outlet receives a press release, is it picked up, as in this case, by someone with an interest in history, humor, and trivia? Or does my e-mail get opened the next day by someone whose girlfriend just broke up with them? Who saw the title Hoosier Hysterical just after being called “hysterical” by that very same girlfriend? Who finds subtitles offensive? Holy cow—all my non-fiction works have a subtitle! I might as well call my next book Kiss of Death: How Subtitles Ruined My Writing Career.

I can always find a way to turn good news into paralyzing fear.

That’s why I do book signings, even though the time put into planning and promotion doesn’t usually match the income: You never know what it will lead to. One person hears about it even if they don’t attend; they tell a friend who’s into that kind of writing; they buy a book, then another that they give to their friend, who just happens to be the cousin of a New York book editor; and bam! Six figure contract.

It could happen.

Plus, it’s fun to meet people, even if it’s people you already know. But that brings me full circle, because if people don’t know about the book signing … well, there you go. That’s why I say things like “Come to the Noble Art Gallery in Albion, this Saturday between 1-5 p.m.!” It’s not because I want to annoy you. It’s to open up the possibilities.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1024817860997691/