Celebrating Word Counts

 There's a lot more to writing than just putting words on a page, although you might not know it by the way some writers talk. Me, for instance.

I hit 34,000 words on my rough draft of Hoosier Hysterical 2: Subtitle Goes Here. (Still working on that subtitle.) Well worth celebrating, but there's a problem: It's just not funny enough. Oh, it has humor, but the original Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving at All had a lot of humor. Some people might not recognize it, but that subtitle was supposed to be humorous.

We did stumble across amusing places, now and then.

 

But last time I covered the history of Indiana, and this time I decided to dive into the people who've come and gone, and left their mark on the Hoosier state. Some of those stories are amazing, inspiring, and too often, sad. Once I started following them, I dove down that author's rabbit whole and ended up with whole chapters about one person.

 There's James Dean's breakneck career--okay, bad way to put it, considering how he died. There were black people and women who made it big one way or another, even though at the time their "kind" weren't expected to make anything at all. There were inventors and entertainers who came to a sad end.

It was fascinating stuff, but in some cases the best I could do, for instance, was make fun of Sarah Breedlove's name. It's a cheap shot, but I'm a cheap writer. However, Sarah Breedlove was the first person in her family not to be born into slavery, then had a hard early life, then her hair started falling out. As *ahem* I say, "It's just like a country song, except her dog didn't die and there's no pickup truck".

Although ... how do I know she didn't have a dog that died?

A stop on the Underground Railroad. Cool, not funny.

 

Anyway, C.J. Walker of Indianapolis ended up employing thousands of people to make and sell her hair care products, became the wealthiest black woman in America, and had a freaking Barbie doll modeled after her.

That's not funny. That's awesome.

So, I'm going to work on that. I have a feeling a lot of the already-written words will have to go away, or maybe I'll use them in blogs. Or maybe I'll write a companion book: "Hoosier Not-Hysterical: Really Cool People, and How They Got There".

At least I have my subtitle. 

 

We passed through Rural, Indiana in rural Indiana. That's good for a smile.

 

You can count the words in our books by following these links; but why bother counting?

 

·        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: It’s not the words so much as how they’re arranged.

 

Haunted Video From Coast to Coast, Almost

So, is anyone thinking of buying a copy of Haunted Noble County, Indiana directly from us?  I was just wondering how many author copies to order; it can get a little expensive on the front end.

 

I did an interview with a Fort Wayne news station a few years ago, and just discovered that, without my knowledge, it went all over the country. It appears to be from a syndicated news source, and I gave up keeping track after finding them everywhere from Vermont to West Virginia to Missouri.

It starts with a little segment about Halloween then goes to me, which is pretty cool. Here are some examples, but no need to click on more than one: They're all the same video. I thought it would be fun to list them, then stopped after I realized how many there were.

 

https://www.wave3.com/video/2023/10/26/21country-haunted-noble-county/

https://www.wvva.com/video/2023/10/26/21country-haunted-noble-county/

https://www.wlbt.com/video/2023/10/26/21country-haunted-noble-county/

https://www.ky3.com/video/2023/10/26/21country-haunted-noble-county/

https://www.kctv5.com/video/2023/10/26/21country-haunted-noble-county/

https://www.wsmv.com/video/2023/10/26/21country-haunted-noble-county/

https://www.fox8live.com/video/2023/10/26/21country-haunted-noble-county/

https://www.fox19.com/video/2023/10/26/21country-haunted-noble-county/

https://www.wcax.com/video/2023/10/26/21country-haunted-noble-county/

 

I didn't realize at first that the screen shot I took of of the video looks almost exactly the same as one I took of the original last year.

I know what you're thinking: How much attention did that bring to your books, Mark? None, that I know of. The thing about promotion and publicity is that only 5% of it actually works, and no one knows which 5%. So authors have to continue to give it their all in the hopes of keeping the balance sheet in the black, and that's pretty much the same for all small businesses.

It's one reason why so many authors still submit to traditional publishers. They don't do all the work, but they do a lot of it--in return to taking a much higher percentage of the sales. Meanwhile, the author still has to do a lot of promotion.

This is why many good writers choose not to publish at all.

 

You can preorder, order, and generally make contact here:

·        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: Ghosts can’t read, so you might have to read for them.

 

You CAN Judge a Book When It's Covered

History Press finally matched our upcoming book with its cover! It might not seem like a big deal, but it was a bit unnerving to see Haunted Noble County, Indiana up for preorder everywhere, but without a cover to ... well, cover it.

 But wait--there's more. I decided to Google the book so I could give you all the links to it, and discovered Google is now giving AI overviews to anything you search. I can't say I'm thrilled. I'd much rather dig the info up by myself, but I bow to our future computer overlords so, just for fun, here's what artificial intelligence had to say about the book:

 

AI Overview

 

"Noble County, Indiana, has its share of ghost stories and haunted locations, including Albion's Rose Hill Cemetery, the Cromwell Library, and the Strand Theatre in Kendallville, according to a local author. A book titled "Haunted Noble County, Indiana" by Mark R. Hunter and Emily Jane Hunter details these and other spooky tales. 

 

Specific Haunted Locations:

• Rose Hill Cemetery (Albion): Known for the restless spirit of Adam Hoffman, who was robbed and murdered in 1897. 

Cromwell Library: Some believe a friendly ghost greets patrons. 

Strand Theatre (Kendallville): Reportedly haunted by a figure seen in the old projection room. 

Sand Hill: One of the highest points in Indiana, rumored to be haunted, according to a book about the area.

  

Another High Hill: Said to be haunted due to a hanging or a murder immortalized by a poet. 

 

Additional Information:

• Mark R. Hunter, a local author, has extensively researched and documented Noble County's haunted history. 

The book "Haunted Noble County, Indiana" is part of the "Haunted America" series. 

 

A Haunted Noble County Facebook group exists for sharing information and stories.

 

Limberlost Souls, a haunted trail in Noble County, is a popular attraction during the Halloween season, according to Visit Noble County."     

 

 Okay, so a couple of notes. First of all, there is no Haunted Noble County Facebook group. I already have three FB pages: My main one, my author page, and the one for Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights that I never merged into the Mark R. Hunter author page. Plus the page I run for the Albion Fire Department. I never even considered creating a group.

Hm. Maybe a group for all our books?

Second, "theatre"? Is the AI British? That's where "1984" came from, after all.

 Third, "another high hill"? It found all those other details, but couldn't be bothered to identify Diamond Lake Hill? Also, the poem takes place on Sand Hill.

Diamond Lake hill, also known as Diamond Hill. See? I found it.

 

Well, any publicity is good publicity, I suppose. Anyway, you can now see the cover and preorder the book at places including:

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/9781467156066

https://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Noble-County-Indiana-America/dp/146715606X

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/haunted-noble-county-indiana-mark-r-hunter/1146986091

https://www.target.com/p/haunted-noble-county-indiana-haunted-america-by-mark-r-hunter-emily-jane-hunter-paperback/-/A-1003560620

https://www.kulturkaufhaus.de/en/detail/ISBN-9781467156066/Hunter-Mark-R/Haunted-Noble-County-Indiana  (Is this ... German?)

https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/haunted-noble-county-indiana/9781467156066.html  (Wait, the cover's not on this one yet.)

https://portbooknews.com/book/9781467156066

https://www.adlibris.com/se/bok/haunted-noble-county-indiana-9781467156066

https://bookmarksnc.org/search?q=Haunted%2BNoble%2BCounty%252C%2BIndiana

https://www.najlacnejsie-knihy.sk/kniha/haunted-noble-county-indiana_48112352.html (I have no idea where this one's located, but they've decided Emily wrote the book solo.)

https://www.sanmin.com.tw/product/index/014337159  (Um ....?)

https://www.eslite.com/product/1001294888483751 (More um ...?)

Haunted Noble County, Indiana book by Emily Jane Hunter

Haunted Noble County, Indiana (Haunted America) (Paperback) | Forever Books

 

I kept finding more and it was getting ridiculous, so I gave up. Sometimes I found some of our other books, including some of our self-published ones in places they should never have gotten to, but who am I to complain? 

I assume that, like our book Images of America: Albion and Noble County, the new one will be available in e-book and hardcover. At the moment an audio book isn't in the cards, but don't you want to see the photos? Sure you do.