Slightly Off the Mark

 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.

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!

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.

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 template 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.”

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 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.

Yes, today is the release date for Haunted Noble County, Indiana. It's hit the bookseller websites (although not as an ebook yet), and I just received a box of what may or may not be copies of the book, although I've been too busy to actually open it. In my defense I was going to take a video of me opening it, and Emily and I haven't been in one place long enough to do it.

Things started going right immediately, starting with a flood of people wanting a signed copy straight from us. That was also something that went wrong because--despite me constantly talking about it online--the date sneaked up on us. As of when I write this, I haven't made arrangements for a local author appearance where I can distribute copies before late September, and there are way more people wanting them than I have time to deliver to.

Which is good, if you think about it. I always worry about whether anyone will want our newest book. This is the twelfth published, and I still have imposter syndrome.

On a related note, I should have gotten another book out earlier, so the book about ghosts and hauntings would be our 13th.

So, what went wrong? There were some personal and family related things that I can't talk about here. I can talk about the prep for my upcoming hand surgery, which will happen on August 18th, and I just realized the joke: I really can't hand deliver the copies.

It's minor surgery, but starting last week I had to stop taking any form of certain pain medicines. Due to the wording on the pre-op papers I was led to believe that meant all pain medicines, including acetomenoph ... aceta ... ac ... Tylenol. Specifically the paper said I couldn't take paracetamol, which is another word for, yes, acetaminophen.

As all fourteen of my regular readers now, I have chronic pain issues. I stopped all meds on the 8th, and the following weekend was really, really rough. On Monday I called the ortho doctor, because all our internet overlords said taking Tylenol was just fine. He said, "taking Tylenol is just fine!"

So I took six, then crushed a bottle full and spread them over my body, then emptied a case full into the bathtub and soaked in it for six hours.

Where were we? Oh, yeah, the book.

Long before all this started, Emily set about updating our https://www.markrhunter.com/ website, so the new book would be there along with links to buy it. You people who want it mailed to you, that's where you can go to make the order and give me your mailing address.

Except Emily realized the entire website had to be completely redone. At exactly the same time her seasonal job is at its busiest. After working on it every spare hour, she punched the domain name transfer request with one day to spare.

Except the domain name transfer doesn't happen in one day. It may, in fact, take several days, and there's no way to rush it. So I don't know when you'll be able to order it, I don't know where I'll be passing copies out, and I have to work this weekend ahead of the surgery.

And there you have it. Both an apology and a sob story, and an epic fail. Whoever knows where I live is welcome to stop by, of course, if you don't mind the clutter, and I'll update things as we go along. But in the end I can only blame myself and my hand, and my back, and sometimes my head.
 

I WILL keep you updated! 

If you can't find it on one of these sites now, you will soon:

·        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 may have to read for them.

• Cromell Library: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&cs=1&sca_esv=b0a6a50bf49897c6&q=Cromwell+Library Some believe a friendly ghost greets patrons. 
• 
  
• Strand Theatre (Kendallville) https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&cs=1&sca_esv=b0a6a50bf49897c6&q=Strand+Theatre: 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"  Haunted Noble County, Indiana – Arcadia Publishing 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 events-item limberlost-souls-annual-haunted-trail - visitnoblecounty is a popular attraction during the Halloween season, according to Visit Noble County:  Boo! Looking to be Spooked in Noble? 👻     

 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:

Haunted Noble County, Indiana – Arcadia Publishing

Haunted Noble County, Indiana (Haunted America): Hunter, Mark R., Hunter, Emily Jane: 9781467156066: Amazon.com: Books

Haunted Noble County, Indiana by Mark R. Hunter, Emily Jane Hunter, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®

Haunted Noble County, Indiana - (Haunted America) by Mark R Hunter & Emily Jane Hunter (Paperback) : Target

Haunted Noble County, Indiana - Hunter, Mark R; Hunter, Emily Jane - Dussmann - Das Kulturkaufhaus  (Is this ... German?)

Haunted Noble County, Indiana Book By Mark R Hunter,emily Jane Hunter, (Paperback) | Indigo  (Wait, the cover's not on this one yet.)

Haunted Noble County, Indiana (Haunted America) | Port Book and News

Haunted Noble County, Indiana - Mark R. Hunter, Emily Jane Hunter - häftad (9781467156066) | Adlibris Bokhandel

Results for "Haunted Noble County, Indiana" | Bookmarks | Non-Profit and Independent Bookstore

Haunted Noble County, Indiana / Najlacnejšie knihy (I have no idea where this one's located, but they've decided Emily wrote the book solo.)

Haunted Noble County, Indiana - 三民網路書店  (Um ....?)

Haunted Noble County, Indiana │ 誠品線上 - 閱讀與生活的無盡想像  (More um ...?)

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/haunted-noble-county-indiana_mark-r-hunter_emily-jane-hunter/54876559

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.