Slightly Off the Mark

 As you've almost certainly already heard, we have a "new" book out, plus a really new book up for preorder. Considering what a crappy year it's been so far, I'd say that's reason to celebrate.

At least a little "yahoo!" and a chocolate cake.

After getting the rights back from the original publisher, we've been trying to independently publish The Notorious Ian Grant for ... well, the first thing that stopped it was COVID. No, that was late 2023 for Emily and me, wasn't it? I don't remember what the first thing was, but the theme continued: illness, injury, death--generally, the 2020s.

So when I got this preview copy in the mail, it felt like reaching the peak of Mount Everest:

https://www.amazon.com/Notorious-Grant-Storm-Chaser-Book-ebook/dp/B0F3KWHWK8

Meanwhile its "parent" book, Storm Chaser, is getting a price reduction in both ebook and print, as part of my cunning plan to get people hooked on the first book so they have to get the rest. You can find Storm Chaser here:

https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Chaser-Mark-R-Hunter-ebook/dp/B0C7MB95NH

And from there you can click on the author's name (me, I'm the author) for the related books in the Storm Chaser series, Storm Squalls and The No-Campfire Girls, and our other books.

Another meanwhile, a few weeks ago I was surfing the internet and stumbled across ...

Okay, fine, I was Googling myself. And no, I don't have a Wikipedia page. Anyway, I discovered Haunted Noble County, Indiana, which I talked about a lot last year, is up for preorder on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Other places, too. This being traditional publishing, the official cover isn't up yet, although last week I finally got a look at it.

A week after that I got an email from my publisher, letting us know Haunted Noble County, Indiana, would be officially published on August 12th of this year. They still haven't told us it's up for preorder. I mentioned it's traditionally published, right?

You can preorder it on our Amazon page, or here:

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

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

Haunted Noble County, Indiana by Mark R. Hunter; Emily Jane Hunter

(Where the heck is Books a Million?)

https://bookshop.org/p/books/haunted-noble-county-indiana/cd5ef7fd35523035

I think it all boils down to Arcadia Publishing, which History Press is part of, having a very good distribution system.

More information--naturally--as the year goes on, assuming there are no illnesses, injuries, or accidents.

 

 

 You can track down us or, more importantly, our books, 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: You can't judge a book by its cover until it gets a cover.

 I didn't think I'd get a blog out this weekend, between all the sleeping and the complaining. (That would be me complaining: Covid sucks.)

Still, there are those times when the coughing wakes us up (Emily has it too), so I figured I should do something. I won't be able to get back to work until Friday, and honestly I'm a little concerned about my ability to make it through a 12 hour shift even then. But enough about Covid for now; I've collected enough material to do a whole blog on the subject, although I question whether I can make it funny.

On a brighter note, Coming Attractions is once again free until December 31st, thanks to the Smashwords 2023 End Of Year Sale:

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

 

Now for the bad publishing news: Due to the Covid and various other horrible stuff that's happened this year, we've had to push back the publication of our Haunted History: Noble County book. My plan was to have most of it done by now, and I've hardly even started on the interviews; nor am I going to interview anyone face to face, until I'm sure we're done with this crud. So at this point the book I promised in 2024 is probably going to be released by History Press in 2025 (which is not an outrageous delay in traditional publishing).

• 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

Remember, no one ever went broke buying free books. Reading them, maybe.

 A few thoughts on our upcoming book project, which is tentatively titled Spooky Noble County, or: Hoosier Ya' Gonna Call?

(Kidding! I'm just calling it Haunted Noble County, although History Press may have something to say about that.)

I'll probably cut down to posting one blog a week, for now. I post based on my work schedule, which amounted to one on the weekend, one the next Wednesday or so, one the next Monday or so; repeat. Luckily I have some good blogs already written and waiting, along with some bad blogs. That'll give me more time for research and writing, plus in September I'll be on vacation, which will make things complicated.

I just realized I'm doing vacations wrong: They're supposed to be less complicated.

This is what a less complicated vacation looks like.

Emily and I want to tour around Noble County, looking for spooky/haunted things/places to take pictures of. If a ghost shows up, that's just gravy.

By the way, I knew about Spook Hill, although I haven't been there for many years; I also knew about Sand Hill, which is the second highest hill in Indiana. What I didn't know is that the Spook Hill Cemetery (that's not its real name) is actually ON Sand Hill.

Emily wanted to know who determined these things. Did they count the Indiana Dunes? How about Brown County? I assured her surveyors have pretty good rulers, although climbing up three feet at a time can be a pain.

Anyway, we'll use two cameras: The newer one, called the Blue Camera, has better pixel thingies, for photos so sharp you'll need bandages. The older one, called the Black Camera, can switch from automatic to manual for more creative photography.

The black camera looks something like this one. You know: black.

Sadly, I had neither with me when I spotted what I thought would be perfect for a book cover:

Isn't it cool? I KNOW! But it was an off the cuff picture snapped with my cell phone, and cuff photos often don't cut it. So every time there's a storm forecast I'm going to stand in the same spot with the blue camera (it's waterproof) and wait for my chance. Or maybe I'll get lucky and someone will donate an historical photo that's better.

Meanwhile I have a list of people to talk to now, and tales of haunted places around the county I didn't know about. I intend to do the bulk of the interviewing and researching in September ... we'll see. But I have deadlines now, so I can't slack off.

I mean, I can ... but Emily recently bought a whip, and the more she practices, the more nervous I get.

By the way, while this process is going on you're all welcome to check out our previous historical books, or humor books, or fiction, or, by gosh, anything else you want, 'cause this is America! Remember, writers live on reviews, purchases, and coffee ... and I don't drink coffee, so don't let me metaphorically starve.

• 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

 April has sucked royally thus far, and I haven't felt very funny (as opposed to not being funny and thinking I am). So I'm celebrating National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week the way they used to do summer television: With a re-run.)
 

 Unknown to me, way back in 1981 Patricia Anderson, of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office in California, came up with this idea to give tribute to, um, NPST, or as I'm going to call them, dispatchers. Yes, I know "dispatchers" doesn't tell the whole story, but my typing fingers are tired.

I've been here--let me update--about 32 years, and dispatched for most of those. So long that when I started we had only one computer, to get information such as license plate and driver's license returns, using DOS.

Get your grandparents to explain DOS to you.

My wife points out that back then we received 911 calls by smoke signal, while carving notes onto stone tablets. I'm fairly sure she was kidding.

I've been here so long I could retire. Full retirement pay! Sadly, I haven't figured out how to make up  for insurance and the difference in income, but I'm hoping my book sales will pick up. (Note: They have, but not enough.) Also, it would be tough learning to sleep through the night.

Things really were easier back then, when it comes to learning the job. Our computer systems do make it easier to help people these days, but astronauts don't train as much as our rookies do. Spaceship vehicle pursuits are faster, though. The truth is, I'm not sure I could make it through training, if I started today.

Instead of one small computer screen,  I'm looking at seven flat screen monitors, not including the security and weather screens. Our report was written (in pen) on a piece of paper about half the size of a standard sheet. Today we have a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), radio screen, phone screen, mapping screen, recorder screen, 911 texting screen, and a screen to keep track of everyone's duty status. We also have a screen to keep track of screens. Those are just the ones we use regularly.

I found this waiting for me when I got into work Monday. They get me.

Wait, am I seriously the only male who works here? Anyway, thank you to the Town of Albion for the thank you.

http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

 Hey, I almost forgot: December 13th marked my thirtieth anniversary working in Noble County Government!

It's complicated, because I spent the first few years working in the Noble County Jail, and thus can honestly say I spent time in jail. After that I moved to dispatch, which is now it's own department: Noble County Communications.

I was disappointed that there was no cake ... but then, I'm always disappointed when there's no cake.

Sometimes the job gets ... rough. I used to go home and scream into a pillow from time to time, but it upsets the dog. And I'll be the first to admit that I thought all along I'd be writing full time by now. But we have an important job, and I work with good people, and we have heat and air conditioning. Also my vacation days have reset, and there's something comforting about knowing if things get really stressful, I can take some time off to eat ... well, chocolate cake. Or brownies. With chocolate frosting.

Anyway, while I could have retired last year, I can only afford it if I supplement my retirement pay by selling, according to my estimation, a thousand books a week. Right now a good week is double digits.

But I'm working on it.

And, hey--dispatch gets a tree.

I've been taking 911 calls for so long that they were originally 91 calls.

Well, it seems that way, anyway. It turns out National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week predates my full-time employment in the emergency services by ten years, and can we possibly shorten that name down a bit? By the time I finish saying National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, the week is over. I'm going to call it ... NPSTW. I know somebody who got their Bachelor Degree at NPSTW, although they've since married. Go Bulldogs!

Anyway, I started with the Noble County EMS as a seventeen year old trainee in late 1979, and joined our volunteer fire department in 1980. But it wasn't until December, 1991, that I took an actual paying job in the area of emergency services, as a jail officer with the Noble County Sheriff Department.

Within a few years I got tired of getting sick all the time. Seriously: Those inmates breathed so many germs on me while getting booked in, I thought I was in a sequel to The Andromeda Strain. So I went into dispatch, trading physical ailments for mental ones.

Unknown to me, way back in 1981 Patricia Anderson, of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office in California, came up with this idea to give tribute to, um, NPST, or as I'm going to call them, dispatchers. Yes, I know "dispatchers" doesn't tell the whole story, but my typing fingers are tired.

Oh, who am I kidding? All of me is tired.

Isn't it something? I've been here for almost twenty-eight years, and dispatching for about twenty-five of those. I've been here so long that when I started we had only one computer, to get information such as license plate and driver's license returns, using DOS.

Get your grandparents to explain DOS to you.

My wife points out that taking information was difficult back then, because we had to received 911 calls by smoke signal, while carving words onto stone tablets. I'm fairly sure she was kidding.

I've been here so long I could take full retirement at the end of this year. Full retirement pay! Sadly, I haven't figured out how to make up the difference in income, but I'm hoping my book sales will pick up. The good news is we don't make all that much to begin with, so the loss of income wouldn't be so much of a shock ... but it would be tough learning to sleep through the night.

While I joke about it--mostly to keep from crying--things really were easier back then, when it comes to learning the job. Our computer systems do make it easier to help people these days, but astronauts don't train as much as our rookies do. Spaceship vehicle pursuits are faster, though. The point is, I'm not sure I could make it through training, if I started today.

We had one the one small computer screen when I started. Now I'm looking at seven flat screen monitors, not including the security and weather screens. Our report was written (in pen) on a single piece of paper about half the size of a standard sheet. Today we have a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), radio screen, phone screen, mapping screen, recorder screen, 911 texting screen, and a screen to keep track of everyone's duty status. We also have a screen to keep track of screens. Those are just the ones we use regularly.

Me, I'm pretty burned out at this point, and some of our calls can get rough. I have all the symptoms of PTSD; some of them include:

Experiencing a life-threatening event, like when the dispatch pop machine ran out of Mountain Dew;

Flashbacks and nightmares, such as reliving the night we ran out of Mountain Dew;

Avoidance, such as staying away from places that don't have ... well, you know.

Depression or irritability, which I just now realized might be related to consuming too much caffeine;

Chronic pain ... wow, that one hit me like a pulled back muscle.

You know, looking down that list you have to wonder, as I check off each and every box: avoidance, numbing, flashbacks, being on edge, overeating ... HEY! Who the HECK took my meatball sub out of the break room fridge! I'm HUNGRY!

Where was I? Oh, yeah. You have to wonder:

Why the heck am I still here?

Here's the thing. I've worked in retail; in factories; as a security guard and jail officer; as a radio DJ; I once made two bucks an hour growing worms for fishing lure. And for all the emotional turmoil, all the mental stress, all the physical ailments, all the days when I wanted to scream, and so desperately wanted to NOT go back into work the next shift ...

Dispatching is still the best full time job I've ever had.

Of course, I'm not a full time writer, yet. And for that I'd only have to deal with one computer screen.

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/ ...)

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.

I made a mistake that I need to correct: I assumed the flowers we got after my mother-in-law's death (see my last post) were from both the Sheriff Department and the Fire Department, mostly because we have employees of one that are members of the other, and vice-versa. But the day after I posted about the flowers from the Noble County Sheriff Department, we got this beautiful plant from the Albion Fire Department:

My wife told me mum's the word, so we had an hour of silence before she explained that she thinks these flowers are mums. I know what you're thinking: How will I keep them alive? I dunno. Luck? Miracle?