It’s Haunted Noble County Season

Okay, so it's Halloween season, but what better time for spooky books?

 

Just a reminder to everyone that you’re safe to start talking about Halloween now, and that Emily and I wrote the best book about local hauntings in Indiana published in the last year, that I know of. Also, that photo of me with the courthouse and the bird? No AI, no Photoshop—it’s exactly how Emily took it.

You can find Haunted Noble County, Indiana in all the usual places. Well, most of them:

Arcadia Publishing: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/collections/vendors?q=Mark%20R.%20Hunter&contributorID=14550

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mark-R-Hunter/author/B0058CL6OO

Our website, of course: https://markrhunter.com/

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/search?attributes.contributorId=16683874

(Although I noticed to find our other books at B&N, you have to search for Mark R Hunter, without the period after R. Gotta look into that.

You can get it through Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter And if you do get it there, or on Amazon, please leave a review!

And … the Indianapolis Public LIbrary? https://indypl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S165C1975150

And also Walmart, although they’re saying it’s out of stock. Go figure.

If you happen to be in Noble County, The Noble County Historical Society (which runs the Old Jail Museum) has copies for sale: https://www.noblehistory.org/publications-of-noble-county-historical-society.html

So does Butterfly Alley Gifts, on Main Street here in Albion. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551021355135

Butterfly Alley Gifts has an Autumn vibe going on.

 

There might be other places that have physical copies that I’m not aware of.

Finally, Haunted Noble County, Indiana is being sold by a bookstore in Bahrain. That’s a country in the Middle East. The store is called Desertcart.

Googling Yourself Is Strange

Yeah, I Google myself ... what's your point? And I found out things I, the Googled, um, Google-ee, never knew.

 

 Okay, so, Haunted Noble County is available in the Netherlands. No, seriously:

https://www.bruna.nl/engelse-boeken/haunted-noble-county-indiana-9781467156066

 You can read it to yourself, if you can read it. Which I can't. 

 

If one of you can't afford the book, go Dutch.

 

 I haven't gotten around to contacting local libraries about getting copies of our newer books (I know, my fault), but somebody has. Somebody, specifically, in the Plainfield-Guilford Twp Public Library in Plainfield, where Haunted Noble County, Indiana, Images of America: Albion and Noble County, and Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights are shelved in new local history & genealogy. Or so I'm told. It turns out all of our books are evergreens, or more specifically available through the Evergreen library system:

https://catalog.evergreenindiana.org/Union/Search?view=list&lookfor=Mark+R.+Hunter&searchIndex=Author&searchSource=local 

 

I found our 21Alive TV interview on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdh8YfU6JiU 

Which makes us a YouTube sensation? No? But we're there, anyway.

"Missed it by THAT much."

 

 Our publisher posted about us on Twitter ... I mean X ... nah, it's Twitter:

https://x.com/HistoryBoooks/status/1957025429329514775

Which, I guess there's really no reason for me to know.

 

 This is also how I discovered I'm now a top 10 Amazon author. Well, sort of: I did make it to number 8, but it was in a subcategory. But the good news is, I can just leave out that small detail.

 

 

None of this really bothers me--they're just fun surprises. It reminds me of when I did an interview at the WAWK studio in Kendallville, and right after we stopped at the nearby Walgreens to discover Images of America: Albion and Noble County on a book display. I knew the publisher was going to try to get the word out: I just didn't know when or where.

The Netherlands thing was a shock, though. 

 

 

It’s really not hard to find us, even without Google:

·        Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

·        Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

·        Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter

·        Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/

·        Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914

·        Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/

·        Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter

·        Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter

·        Substack:  https://substack.com/@markrhunter

·        Tumblr:  https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914

·        Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

·        Audible:  https://www.audible.com/search?searchAuthor=Mark+R.+Hunter&ref_pageloadid=4C1TS2KZGoOjloaJ&pf

 

Remember: Other than sales, an author’s favorite things are reviews and library reads.

 

Stars of Stage, Radio, and Podcast

 We're hitting the media hard--not literally, because that would be bad.

On Wednesday morning Emily and I are traveling down to Fort Wayne to have an on-air visit with Jack Hammer, host of the morning show on WXKE 96.3. It's a classic rock station that hangs out here: https://963xke.com/ 

The brothers from the TV show Supernatural listened to a lot of classic rock, so there's your connection between WXKE and Haunted Noble County, Indiana. This is the hill I'll haunt on.

Supernatural is a very serious TV show.

 It should be around 7:30 a.m. or so. You can check out all-around Fort Wayne guy Jack Hammer here:

https://www.facebook.com/FortWayneGuy/

 

Plus, the "Easily Distracted by Cemeteries" podcasts we're in--two of them!--are up:

https://rss.com/podcasts/easilydistractedbycemeteries/2252321/

Emily and I in the middle of the easily distracted podcast gang. We had fun!

 So check that out, and let us know what you think. Maybe we'll start our own podcast. Maybe not.

 

Meanwhile we still have the October 30th thing at the CLC in Kendallville, which I'm contractually obligated to mention every post between now and then. Of course, that's only nine days.

https://commevents.eventcalendarapp.com/haunted-noble-county 

 As I've mentioned before, there's an entry fee, which makes me deathly afraid no one will show up at all. But if you do, there'll be snacks and a slide show, or whatever the kids are calling slide shows these days, and since it's on a Thursday I'll stick in at least a few jokes*.

 

*Most comedians will tell you that, for reasons unknown to science, jokes are funnier on a Thursday**.

 

**I'm totally making that up. 

 

 

Of course, just because we step into the limelight once in awhile doesn't mean you can't just read our books:

·        Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

·        Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

·        Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter

·        Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/

·        Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914

·        Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/

·        Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter

·        Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter

·        Substack:  https://substack.com/@markrhunter

·        Tumblr:  https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914

·        Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

·        Audible:  https://www.audible.com/search?searchAuthor=Mark+R.+Hunter&ref_pageloadid=4C1TS2KZGoOjloaJ&pf

 

Remember: Various forms of media come and go, but books go on forever.

 

What a Month--Welcome To Our Newsletter

 Don't panic! You're not signed up for the newsletter, unless you did it yourself. I'm just posting the link here:

https://mailchi.mp/6a8b29fa7a15/what-a-month-and-more-to-come?e=2b1e842057 

And then, because I'm nothing if not too repetitive, I'm also pasting some of the contents here. It would be great if you all signed up for the newsletter, or possibly my substack at https://substack.com/@markrhunter, which is where all the kids are going these days.

 

 

But what I really want is for you to come to one of our two author talks this month, if you live within a reasonable distance, or have a personal airplane, or you're a superhero who can fly. One of them, you'll notice, is this coming Saturday. So, while the newsletter covers other things, like how our book sales are doing, and a scary photo of our late dog Beowulf, it also contains what you hopefully are about to read. We'll bring plenty of books, and also be entertaining. Try to be entertaining.

I can hope to sell out and get a standing ovation, but I'm trying to be more reasonable in my older age.

 

 

Emily and I are making two author appearances in October: One is at the Ligonier Public Library, a place actually mentioned in the book.

The other--on Halloween Eve Eve!--is at the Community Service Center in Kendallville. The former Kendallville High School, it's also in the book. Read all about it here: https://commevents.eventcalendarapp.com/haunted-noble-county It will be on October 30 from 6-7:30 p.m. at 401 E. Diamond Street, and, to my surprise ... there will be a $15 cost to attend. This came as something of a shock to me because, like many writers, I suffer from imposter syndrome. I have a hard time believing a lot of people will pay to see Emily and I speak, but we'll see. I'll do my best to entertain everyone, and if they happen to buy a book on the way out, so much the better. Also like many writers, Emily and I are what today they call introverts, and those appearances will probably use up all our outgoing energy for the month. Still, we'll see what we can come up with for November. Meanwhile, don't forget to look us up at all the usual places:   ·        Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO ·        Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter" ·        Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter ·        Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/ ·        Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/ ·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914 ·        Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/ ·        Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter ·        Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter ·        Substack:  https://substack.com/@markrhunter ·        Audible:  https://www.audible.com/search?searchAuthor=Mark+R.+Hunter&ref_pageloadid=4C1TS2KZGoOjloaJ&pf

 

A Haunted, but Official, Book Press Release

I promise to post something not related to the new book next week! 

 

 Yes, it's true: News releases still exist, and authors still release them. Where they fly after that--it's hard to tell. Some authors might find this useful; If anyone wants to, feel free to send this off to the media/social media/internet thingy/newsletter/skywriting airplane of your choice.

 

NEWS RELEASE

Albion Authors Write the Haunted History of Noble County

 

An Albion couple steps into the supernatural with their new book, Haunted Noble County, Indiana.

Published by The History Press, the book is part of its Haunted America series, and comes out on August 12^th. Mark R. Hunter and Emily Hunter spent over a year researching the book, and collected stories from many sources, including eyewitnesses.

“Every area has ghost stories,” Mark explains. “We just put them together and added pictures.”

 

Some of the stories are well known to locals, including the legend of Spook Hill, which inspired a famous poem by Indiana’s former State Poet Laureate. Others stem from events from Noble County’s history, such as the hanging of a horse thief and accused murderer at Diamond Hill, near Ligonier. Still others were told directly to the Hunters, including their favorite: “The Thing In the Basement”.

Do the authors believe?

“I’ve seen a few things,” Mark admits, “and I keep an open mind. But most of the people we talked to directly are absolutely convinced they saw something supernatural, and we respect that.”

They were also able to dispel some rumored hauntings, and in a few cases were disappointed to find no stories at all. “Look at the Noble County Old Jail Museum,” Mark says. “How could a place that atmospheric not be haunted? But we found no ghost stories there.”

Photo by Mark R. Hunter, who had a lucky lighting day.

Many of the stories they did find were from normal homes, but historical hauntings include places such as the former Kneipp Springs Sanitarium in Rome City, The Strand Theater in Kendallville, and the former Noble County Asylum near Albion.

The resulting book, Haunted Noble County, Indiana, is available on the Arcadia Publishing website, the Hunters’ social media sites, their website at www.markrhunter.com, and various retail locations around Noble County.

It’s not the Hunters’ first foray into local history. Together they produced the books Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century or So with the Albion Fire Department; Images of America: Albion and Noble County; and Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving at All.

Mark R. Hunter is also the author, with Emily’s help, of two humor books: Slightly Off the Mark: The Unpublished Columns, and More Slightly Off the Mark: Why I Hate Cats, and Other Lies. He also has three published books set in Noble County: the novels Coming Attractions, Storm Chaser and its sequel, The Notorious Ian Grant, as well as a related short story collection, Storm Squalls. His young adult adventure, The No-Campfire Girls, is set in southern Indiana. Another novel, Radio Red, is set in Michigan.

Mark is a 911 dispatcher and volunteer firefighter in Albion, and Emily is a trail guide at the Pokagon State Park Saddle Barn. He blogs at https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/ or https://substack.com/@markrhunter, and can be found hanging out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter/.

 

Note to Media: Mark and Emily are available for questions and interviews, and can be contacted through the website at www.markrhunter.com.