An Active Author's Autumn

 Happy no-longer Halloween, everyone!

We had a successful talk at the Community Learning Center in Kendallville Thursday, once I got over being intimidated by the size of the room.

I mean, they put us on an actual stage, and handed us microphones. Two dozen people were there; we sold eleven books, and signed two others that had been previously purchased. That's pretty good, when you consider they had to pay $15 to get in.

That makes two live presentations, a book signing, a radio station interview, a TV interview, and a podcast, and we're exhausted. Emily and I are what people now call introverts: When we're out in public, especially when attention is on us, it drains our batteries. It didn't help that we had to fight off a cold during this period.

And yet it's good for us to get out, and we've made sales. We even got a sale from out of the area after our radio interview with Jack Hammer, at WXKE.

 I'm not that good at public speaking, but I think I held my own.

I expect sales of Haunted Noble County, Indiana to drop now that the spooky season is over. Sadly, I don't have books named Thanksgiving In Indiana or A Hoosier Christmas, but it is that time of year when I try to push book sales for gift giving season. The number of authors who never have to worry about promotion is probably in the low three digits, these days.

 On a related note, if you've ever bought any of our books, please leave a review! Amazon only allows reviews from people with an account who've spent $50 in the last year, but the book does not have to be purchased there. Goodreads is good, too. It's in the name.

You can't imagine how important reviews are to the success of a book. It doesn't have to be something long and complicated.

 

 So, what's next? I mean after recovery, because being out in the cold and various allergens has left us sniffling and exhausted. Next step for me is to start working again on the Hoosier Hysterical sequel. We want it to come out early next year in honor of America's Semiquincentennial, which is a real word, I think. I should probably just call it our 250th birthday.

Meanwhile, Emily is going to reformat and make a new cover for Radio Red, which we're re-releasing after getting the rights back from the original publisher. It's a fun romantic comedy set in Michigan, and I think people will like it. Sadly, very little was done to promote it earlier.

Then we have to finish the Albion Fire Department photo book (send pictures!), publish a Storm Chaser prequel, continue submitting half a dozen finished manuscripts to publishers and agents, and write more. Granted, writing is not a spectator sport, but for us it's an exciting time coming up.

 

Even introverts can be extroverted on the internet:

·        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: Book sales are how we afford caffeinated beverages, and we’d be no fun without them.

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.