I noticed a little uptick in sales for Hoosier Hysterical last month, so in the service of shameless self-promotion I decided to throw you a little excerpt from Chapter Three of the book. (Actually, I do feel a little ashamed when I self-promote, but I'm trying to get over it.)

Why Chapter Three? Well, you probably haven't seen that part unless you've actually bought the book yourself. And even then you may not have seen it. My idea is to build sales uptick on sales uptick, and before you know it: an interview on "Good Morning, America".

Is "Good Morning, America" still running?

Also, I went to all that trouble to learn how to spell "excerpt", not to mention double checking the definition, so I figured I should make it worth something.

(Also because we've officially started another history related book project, but more about that later.)

As all fourteen of my regular readers know, Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving at All is an illustrated humor book about Indiana history and trivia. The book is illustrated, not the humor.

Chapter Three:

You Say You Want a Revolution?

So our story of Indiana in the American Revolution starts in Kentucky, and goes to Virginia.

Haven’t you ever gotten lost on a long trip?

Not That Clark—The Other One

George Rogers Clark was a surveyor, and one of the first people to venture into what would be Kentucky. When war broke out, Clark went to Virginia, which claimed most of the lower Midwest at the time, and met with a governor by the name of Patrick Henry.

“Hey Gov, can you help me raise an army and kick Henry Hamilton’s hairy hind end?”

“Oh, sure, I’ll just hand over money to a surveyor with no military service, so you can leave the real fighting and wander around an Indian infested wilderness nobody cares about.”

“Exactly! Thanks, Governor!”

“Okay, let’s work on your sense of sarcasm.”

Clark gathered up about two hundred farmers, who brought their own rifles and knives but no uniforms—just buckskin clothes. They reached Indiana at the Falls of the Ohio, which means I’ve mentioned almost all the future states along the Ohio except Illinois. Then they went to Illinois.

Specifically, this untrained rabble of farmers and trappers decided to attack a fort at Kaskaskia, which at the time was on the east bank of the Mississippi River. (Now it’s on the west bank, surrounded by Missouri—long story.) It would, clearly, be a disaster.

They took Kaskaskia without firing a shot.

French settlers remained in the area, and they promised to support Clark if he, in turn, promised to guarantee them freedom of religion. He said “Sure—we’ll work it into a constitution”, and together they marched through frozen swamps back into Indiana, where they found the fort at Vincennes unoccupied.

Clark renamed it Fort Patrick Henry, possibly to guarantee the Virginia governor would keep the supplies coming. But up in Detroit Henry Hamilton heard about it, and led an army that took Vincennes-Patrick Henry back—again, without firing a shot. Hamilton renamed it yet again, so it became Fort Vincennes-Patrick Henry-Sackville.

Clark didn’t like that. Patrick Henry probably wasn’t thrilled, either.

It goes without saying that Hoosier Hysterical and all our books can be found at http://markrhunter.com/, and on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Mark-R.-Hunter/e/B0058CL6OO, and other fun places including the trunk of my car, and yet I said it anyway.

Emily and I previously conspired on--ahem--co-wrote two other history related books and a collection of my humor columns, so I'm calling us semi-pros.

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I have something in common with J.K. Rowling! We used to have a lot in common, in that she was once dirt poor and unknown as an author. Now the only thing we have in common is that there are hardcover versions of our books.

Well, one book, in my case.

I mentioned previously seeing it on Amazon and thinking, “WTH?” (It stands for what the heck, let it go.) The book is Images of America: Albion and Noble County, which I’ve talked about a lot lately, mostly because I want people to read it. A lot of people have, which is very cool, and some might be upset that I didn’t tell them there was a hardcover version available.

But in my defense, I didn’t know there was a hardcover version.

It just showed up on Amazon one day, along with the e-book and paperback versions. Oddly enough, the hardcover isn’t advertised on the website of my publisher, Arcadia Publishing. Being the suspicious sort, I took the easy route and just ordered a copy from Amazon myself. Hey, I support this author.

And sure enough, there it was.

One of our books. In hardcover.

I’m very proud. Unfortunately, the book came out a couple of years ago, and most of the people who might have bought it in hardcover probably have it in paperback. But still. It’s cool. And it makes me wonder, if we did a hardcover edition of our next photo book, how many people might choose that one.

Here's the Instagram post I made about this, because ... I don't know ... somebody might want to see me talk?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqanJrAFjjf/

Tags:

albion,
arcadia publishing,
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images of america: albion and noble coun,
non-fiction,
publishing

It's been kind of a rough year, and especially a rough last month or so. But as an author I have to get back on the horse, because gift giving season is coming (I don't use an actual holiday name until November), and it turns out promotion is part of an author's job.

It's helpful for that effort that Arcadia Publishing has our Images Of America book priced at $21.22 for print, a drop from the original price. It's one of three history-related books Emily and I put together ... together. Or will that be four by this time next year? Stay tuned ... news to come.

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467114516

You can get it on all those various electronic formats too, of course--even the Nook. Anybody still have a Nook?

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/albion-and-noble-county-indiana-mark-r-hunter/1121998890

Personally, for a photo-heavy book like this, I think it's better in paperback. But then there's the surprise I got when I checked our Amazon page. Take a look, and see if you can figure out what shocked me:

https://www.amazon.com/Albion-Noble-County-Images-America-ebook/dp/B014I412XW

See that there, in the middle? They have it listed at $28.99, with a price drop to $20.78. Why $20.78? Why not $20.80, or $20.99? I don't know, but it still seems like a pretty good buy for a hardcover version. The only copies of the book I have are paperback.

That's because I didn't know there was a hardcover version.

If any of you happen to have ordered the hardcover, please let me know if this is a real thing or not; I've never had one of my books turned into the version that can be used in home defense. I realize that if you don't have a connection to Noble County you probably don't have any version, and in that case check out the Arcadia Publishing website: If you live in America, they're likely to have a book out covering something in your general area.

(And, as usual, check out all our books at http://markrhunter.com/ ...)

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writing

If you're in northeast Indiana, you probably heard of the fire at the old McCray factory in Kendallville, which took half a day to control and came closer than most people realize to taking out part of the city's historic downtown. The fire burned so hot that it was actually visible on local weather radars, and eighteen fire departments were called in to fight it. (For you big city folk, that would be about five alarms.) Over the course of the night, they extinguished two other roof fires and patrolled downwind as sparks and flying brands dropped over the whole city.

I guess what I'm saying is, it was a big fire. Here's the Noble County Sheriff Department drone video from the day after:

https://www.facebook.com/171131589596429/videos/1771163106259928

And here's a report on the fire from the Fort Wayne TV station, WPTA21 (That's the same station that interviewed me twice after book releases).

http://www.wpta21.com/story/38338863/fire-crews-battle-fire-in-downtown-kendallville

And here's the Kendallville News-Sun article on it:

http://www.kpcnews.com/newssun/article_6473bad0-9bce-5059-be37-398991d7ff7a.html

The building was huge--much bigger than you could tell from driving down Main street--and mostly out of use for some years. That's too bad, too, because it was once a large part of the Kendallville economy, and manufactured refrigerators that went out across the world. Donations from the McCray family led to, among many other things, the local Lakeside Hospital being named after them, until it eventually became Parkview Noble Hospital. So, the company was obviously successful and influential for many years. All because of ... meat.

I got to thinking about it after the fire, and remembered the building was represented in our book Images of America: Albion and Noble County. Just for fun, instead of finding the photo I actually took a picture of the book page itself:

You can buy this book at www.markrhunter.com, or on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Albion-Noble-County-Images-America-ebook/dp/B014I412XW, because: always be selling.

As you can see from the caption, the McCrays were simply selling their meat and poultry products, and got so successful at it that they were having trouble keeping their products fresh. So ... why not just invent a refrigerator of their own? They did that, getting a patent in 1882, and in 1890 founded the McCray Refrigeration Co. The result was over 300,000 square feet of manufacturing space.

McCray was for decades the biggest manufacturer of commercial refrigerators, anywhere, and its jobs supported a third of Kendallville's population. Founder Elmer McCray's daughter married an heir to the Coca-Cola fortune, and when Elmer McCray died in 1938 his body had a police escort, with thousands attending his funeral.

All gone, now. Although ... not quite. To this day, you can still buy a Howard-McCray commercial refrigerator.

Tags:

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firefighting,
fires,
history,
images of america: albion and noble coun,
kendallville,
mccray,
noble county,
non-fiction,
writing

The Albion Fire Department's annual fish fry -- which happens annually -- will be Wednesday, June 7th, during the Chain O' Lakes Festival. We're also having tenderloin again this year, for those of you inclined, although I can't imagine why you'd want to pass on the breaded fish. It's all you can eat, and you can't beat that unless you're a diet doctor.

I can't be there (I'll be helping to bread the fish earlier in the day, and it's one of those scheduling things where I can't do both). However, they tell me copies of Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century Or So With The Albion Fire Department will be on sale at the fish fry, for $9.95. That's our book about the history of the fire department: Proceeds from book sales, as with the fish fry itself, go to the Albion Fire Department's equipment and training fund.

So come and support your local emergency volunteers! It's from 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Albion Fire Station, 210 Fire Station Drive, on the east end of town. (It's traditional, when a town has a Fire Station Drive, to build the fire station there.) Price for adults is $10, for children $6, with children 5 and under eating free.

Emily and I selling pre-orders of Smoky Days at the fish fry just before its publication.

Why we do it: Albion firefighters attack a training fire. I'm particularly proud of this photo, because I didn't die taking it.

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I just learned that Arcadia Publishing has discounted all their Central U.S. books until Sunday. It turns out Indiana's in the Central U.S., so my and Emily's book, Images of America: Albion and Noble County, is also discounted--by 35%, which is no slouch by discount standards. Check it out here:

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467114516

It's the one with all the cool historical pictures about, you guessed it, Albion and Noble County. And it gives you a break from hearing me talk about Radio Red! I mean, for now.

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In all the fuss about car crashes I haven’t taken much time to sell the soap in the last few weeks, which is ironic because now we have to pay for a new car. Luckily I don’t have to pedal my own Dial this time: Just before we left on vacation Kay Kauffman did a review of Hoosier Hysterical.

I shared this review in a few places when it first came out, but you can’t blow your own horn too much, especially if you’re Muhammed Ali. (This is totally untrue—lots of people blow their own horns too much. That’s why election season now lasts three years.)

https://suddenlytheyalldied.com/2016/09/12/hysterically-historical/

Kay lives in the midst of an Iowa cornfield that was probably just harvested; follow her blog so she has something to talk about in coming months other than walls of wind-driven snow blowing in from the north. (I’ve never been to Iowa, but I loved The Music Man.)

The only problem is, Kay suggests I write histories of the other 49 states. I spent a whole year researching Hoosier Hysterical: running all over the state, seeing parks and historic places, taking photos …

Actually, it sounds like fun.

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This week I'm guest posting on author DM Yates' blog, where I talk about an author's confidence ... or lack of it.

https://dmyatesmusings.blogspot.com/2016/08/guest-post-author-and-humorist-mark-r.html

"Your writing is worthless, and your feet stink. I know, I was just down there polishing my pitchfork.”

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Emily has finished her edits on Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest, Without Moving At All. (Dennis Miller once made a joke about the increasing length of book subtitles. Don’t worry, I won’t try to call it HS:HtWBtWWMAA.)

She left so many notes. So many notes.

But it gets us one step closer to publication. Now I’ll work my way through the notes and make changes, while Emily goes through our photos and designs a cover. We’re far behind where I intended to be at this point, but a May publication date is still doable—in fact, in the near future I’ll put Hoosier Hysterical up for preorders, assuming I can figure out how to do that.

In theory we can set whatever publication date we want, but this is the Indiana Bicentennial year, after all—the whole reason I came up with this book idea to begin with. We also want to be on track to release two books this year, although I haven’t decided on what to put out for the second one, yet.

It’ll be a work of fiction, though—for now I’m done with the heavy research. Maybe I’ll call Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights, Albion and Noble County, and Hoosier Hysterical my history trilogy … it sounds so much fancier, that way.

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I’m working the third draft of what I’m still calling the Indiana History Humor book, because it’s my book and I can call it whatever I want. Obviously that’s not going to be the final title. I haven’t worried much because there’s plenty of time to get it titled, polished, and photo’d in time for Indiana’s bicentennial. Right?

And that’s true, if we self-publish it. If we decide to try for a traditional publisher—and there are some publishers who deal in historical humor—then time is definitely wasting. It’s only two months before 2016, so either way I’d better kick it into gear.

But what to title? In my mind, a humor book about Indiana history should have a title that touches on Indiana, and humor, and maybe history. I’ve been compiling a list for some time now, and a few of the possibilities include:

Back to Indiana (as in, I’m goin’ back to Indiana)

From La Salle to Lincoln (Personally, I think this one’s descriptive, but lame.)

More than Corn, but Proudly Corny (See above.)

Indiana Wants Me (Not very descriptive, but I’ve thought of adding a subtitle: But So Far I’ve Managed to Avoid Extradition.

Banks of the Wabash: Drowning In History (Meh.)

Removed to Indiana (This is from a quote by Abe Lincoln. It only makes sense if you’re familiar with that quote, which didn’t make it into the Gettysburg Address.)

A Humorous Treatise On Indiana History, Mores and Events, Illustrated (Kidding!)

Hoosier Hysterical (This is my favorite, but it’s only effective if you know the term “Hoosier Hysteria”. My wife, an avowed sports non-fan, had never heard of it.)

Hoosier Daddy (This is the very first title I thought of, and I really like it, especially if it can be paired with a good subtitle. Others don’t like it. At all.)

Speaking of subtitles, I was entertaining such possibilities as:

“A fractured look at Indiana history”

“How we became us, and why it’s silly”

“How the west became the Midwest without moving at all”

“Funny dressed people conquer the territory”

Now that I think about it, if those last two main titles don’t work out I’m leaning toward Indiana Wants Me, but so far I’ve avoided extradition. Maybe with a sub-sub title. Or maybe not. What do you think? And do you other writers have as much trouble muddling toward good titles as I do?

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Our first time at Barnes and Noble:

http://markrhunter.blogspot.com/2015/08/first-time-at-barnes-and-noble.html

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It didn’t work out, thanks partially to the chiropractor … but wasn’t it a great idea?

It’s a big day today, a day worthy of celebration. I decided that on this particular Monday, I’ll do whatever the heck I want.

I want sleep.

This says less about me than about the fact that I worked overtime this weekend, and events left me with about half my normal snooze time. I wish I could say I was one of those people who could go on for days without sleep. In truth, I’m jealous of those people—I could sure get a lot more done, getting by on three hours a night. But I can barely go hours without sleep.

Today (early Monday, as I write this) is book launch day. It’s my seventh book, or ninth if you count the anthologies I’ve been in, but it’s as exciting as the first one. Maybe more: This is the first time I’ve had a solid, definite book release date. Whiskey Creek Press only gave me an approximate date for my three works with them, and in those cases the books went up for sale before I expected them to. With our self-published works I could just announce the launch whenever the order was ready, which cut down on the anticipation. Just the same, having a new book come out never gets old.

You know what gets old? Sleep apnea. Insomnia. Twelve hour shifts.

(Not insomnia during twelve hour shifts, mind you.)

Anyway, Arcadia gave me a concrete launch date: It says in my contract that any book in a customer’s hands before then will spontaneously combust. Customers hate that.

But thanks to preorders, early Monday Amazon rankings had me at #215 in state and local history books, which is really good, right? Right? So I think I deserve a solid nine hour sleep, followed by maybe a five hour nap.

What?

Let’s face it, I was never a party animal. The music that gets my heart beating was composed by John Williams. My best-ever all-nighter was when I read Arthur C. Clark’s Rendezvous with Rama in one sitting. I get a hangover after drinking cough syrup.

Don’t get me wrong: I might still run uptown for a celebratory pizza. Sure, it could put me into a food coma—but that’s exactly what I’m going for.

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The books are here! 50 copies of Images of America: Albion and Noble County came in the mail Saturday, in time for the official release date tomorrow.

I did some checking, and the pre-order price at Barnes and Noble and Amazon look good through the end of the release day—so you should be able to get it at 46-47% off the list price until midnight Monday. If you want an autographed copy, I’ll be happy to add my John Hancock later.

After all, the deal is worth close to half off, and the signature is worth nothing!

http://www.amazon.com/Albion-Noble-County-Images-America/dp/1467114510

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/albion-and-noble-county-indiana-mark-r-hunter/1121998890

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Images of America: Albion and Noble County is officially for sale—and on sale. The release date remains August 24^th, but it can be ordered on your usual online suspects—and it appears those usual suspects are giving a pre-release price guarantee of close to 50%.

(I’d have announced this earlier, but I didn’t know!)

Here are ways you can order Albion and Noble County at a discount—if you act fast:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/albion-and-noble-county-indiana-mark-r-hunter/1121998890

http://www.amazon.com/Albion-Noble-County-Images-America/dp/1467114510

I’ve ordered 50 copies from Arcadia Publishing (ahem—I get an author’s discount), which should arrive Monday … which happens to be the release date. (I also ordered 20 more copies of The No-Campfire Girls, so we should have enough of all our books on hand.)

Emily is setting up a special website for the book, where we’ll have extra photos and related historical information—more about that toward the end of the weekend. We’ll also be talking more about upcoming book signings soon … but meanwhile, take advantage of this deal!

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I normally send out a press announcement ahead of each book release. This one might not show up in newspapers, because Arcadia Publishing has a publicist, and I haven’t heard back yet on whether it fits with what they’re doing.

(I know, right? We have a publicist!)

A husband and wife writing team have produced a book that will give Noble County area residents a photo-filled walk through local history.

Images of America: Albion and Noble County will be released on August 24^th by Arcadia Publishing, a South Carolina based publishing house with a catalog of more than 9,000 local history titles. The books are heavily illustrated with historical photos, which challenged authors Mark R. Hunter and Emily Hunter.

The Hunters spent months gathering old photos from numerous sources, including historical organizations, collectors, and residents with scrapbooks or boxes of black and white pictures. But that was only the beginning of the job: They picked out and organized the photos to best represent various Noble County communities and the county seat, Albion; researched local history; then wrote chapter openings and captions for all the photos.

The result is well over 200 images of towns, locations, and people in Albion and Noble County, the latest in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America line. The book retails for $21.99, and is available for preorder on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com. More information can be found on the publisher’s website at http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9781467114516/Albion-and-Noble-County, or at the author’s website at www.markrhunter.com.

As part of the book launch, Mark and Emily will give a presentation at 6:30 p.m. September 9^th at the Kendallville Public Library, and will also have a book signing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. September 12^th at the Stone’s Trace Pioneer Festival, near Ligonier.

The Hunters previously collaborated on another history book, Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century or so With the Albion Fire Department, along with a humor book, Slightly off the Mark, and a young adult novel, The No-Campfire Girls. Mark R. Hunter’s other books include the romantic comedies Storm Chaser and The Notorious Ian Grant, and the story collection Storm Chaser Shorts.

Mark and Emily live a few blocks from the historical Noble County Courthouse in Albion along with their loving but scary dog, Beowulf, and a cowardly ball python named Lucius.

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I’ve just realized it’s only 19 days before the release date! Images of America: Albion and Noble County comes out August 24^th, months ahead of when I originally thought it would. Emily and I worked hard on this book, a photo heavy look at local history that’s part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America line … I guess the title hinted at that, didn’t it?

You can see the book description at the publisher’s website:

http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9781467114516/Albion-and-Noble-County,

and don’t forget to check out all their other great history books. It’s already listed for preorder on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites.

Save the date for some upcoming appearances: Look for us in the fireplace room of the Kendallville Public Library main branch, on September 9^th at 6:30 p.m. I’ll give a brief presentation on the book, and also have copies available for sale.

We’ll also be at the Stone’s Trace Pioneer Festival near Ligonier, where we’ve been invited to do a book signing between 1-5 p.m. Saturday, September 12^th. It’s a great historical site that gets mentioned more than once in the book.

Look for more events coming up—and thanks to everyone for your support!

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I know what you want: You want to know what other people have to think about Slightly Off the Mark: The Unpublished Columns. And who can blame you?

What, you don’t want that? You want … brownies? Well, okay, go get a snack and then come back.

Here’s a review by author DM Yates, who’s more than just a trophy wife:
https://dmyatesjournalings.wordpress.com/2015/05/03/book-review-slightly-off-the-mark-by-mark-r-hunter/

She compares me to Mark Twain, despite the fact that I’ve never piloted a riverboat, and I look terrible in white. We’re both Marked, though.

Here’s a review by Kay Kauffman, who has a signed affidavit that we’re related by neither blood nor bank account:
http://suddenlytheyalldied.com/2015/04/21/review-time-4/

Kay insists the book is chock full of laughs, as opposed to initial reports that she laughed ‘till she choked, and a three day investigation by the Wapello County Sheriff Department has confirmed this.

Those and two other reviews can be found on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25393086-slightly-off-the-mark

The other two reviews are by Barry Parham, who himself is a humor writer and thus should know better, and Joleen Naylor, whose horror stories about vampires make her an expert on politics.

By Federal statute Goodreads can only list books that are good reads, as determined through a review by the Mount Airy, North Carolina, Police Department. Writers who violate this statute can be thrown into a weekend drunk tank with Otis, a long-term convict rumored to have both body odor and severe halitosis. These reviews can, then, be viewed with a high degree of accuracy.

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The print run of Slightly Off the Mark: The Unpublished Columns is here, but we could run out quickly! (Not really, we’ll just order more.)

You can get a signed copy on my website at http://www.markrhunter.com/ using PayPal, or do that whole credit card thing. Or, you can get a print copy on Amazon and pair it with the Kindle version at half price. Or, just shoot me a line and we’ll make arrangements.

On that same website page, sign up for our mailing list and get notifications, information, humor, and stuff. (Stuff to be announced.) I’ll endeavor to be entertaining.

Needless to say, order any of my other books there, too! I’m not all about the funny. Some people feel very strongly about that.

It still looks like this.

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This is what I was going to post to get the ball rolling on the release of Slightly Off the Mark: The Unpublished Columns (which are now the published columns). But now it’s up on Amazon, and on the website, and … we just got our delivery of print copies!

“I turned around a few minutes later, walked into the Albion New Era office with the aura of confidence and skill, and said ‘I changed my mind. Pleasssseeeee!!!!!!’”

--Slightly Off the Mark, from “Why I write, or: I hate needles”.

Thus began my career as a humor columnist, which resulted in some 1,150,000 words over the next quarter of a century. Now, although my column has moved to the monthly Kendallville Mall, I’ve collected all my unpublished earlier columns into one volume.

Because “volume” sounds somehow more official than “book”.

It’s a short book, but my fourteen regular readers have short attention spans, so it’s all good. Now I’m asking you, my other hundred or so readers, to purchase Slightly off the Mark and then actually read it, and then tell all their friends. It’s a lot to ask, but I have no shame.

You can find links to all the ways you can get the Slightly Off the Mark on my website, www.markrhunter.com, or at regular internet places, and soon I hope to have news on such things as book signings and other places where you can get a copy. Or, knock on my door, or stop me in the street. Not in the middle of the street … maybe wait for me on the sidewalk.

To show you what you’ll be treated to—I hope that’s the right word—the book is divided into sections including:

Part One: because someone has to go first

Part Deux: the final second

Part Three: medical stuff, and things

Part Four: the writer’s life for me, or: Brother, can you spare a dime?

Part Five: how do you spell miscellaneous?

Part Six: part two of the writer’s life, or: Six into two makes … something

Part Seven: politics, or: Maybe you shouldn’t read this section—(my editor didn’t)

Part Eight: What’s the sundry word for miscellaneous?

If that’s not enough for you to part with your Starbucks money, at the end of the book you’ll find the first chapter of my upcoming space opera novel, Beowulf: In Harm’s Way. There’s humor there, too. Really, there is. I would recommend you pay particular attention to that part if you’re, say, a publisher, or an agent.

Hope you like it!

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My sinus headache seems to be morphing into a rare migraine, so just a quick update: I’ve finished the third draft of my space opera story (working title Beowulf: In Harm’s Way), and Emily’s about half finished checking the first Slightly Off the Mark book, which we’re hoping to have out in April.

The space opera story is only about 55,500 words, and the humor book around 40,000. I think shorter is better with non-fiction humor, but what do you think of that length for science fiction? My novels tend to be short (and my short stories tend to run long!)

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Slightly Off the Mark

A new excerpt from "Hoosier Hysterical"

Chapter Three:

We're in hardcover, and I'm on Instagram

Price reduction on my book, and hardcover ... or so I hear

McCray Manufacturing Fire Reveals History

Albion Fire Department's fish fry, Chain O' Lakes Festival

Central USA discounted--and my book too

Another 49 State Histories?

Writing Confidence, or Lack Thereof

Phase—What, Eight? —Done

More Entitled History

First Time at Barnes and Noble

A Celebratory Snooze

Order Today and I Won't Bug You tomorrow

Great pre-order deal on Images of America: Albion and Noble County

I'll Alert the Media

It's Images of America Month

Passing On Review

Print books are in. With words, and everything!

The Official Announcement, Now That You Already Know

Space Opera, Humor, and Headaches

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