ozma914 | Entries tagged with storm damage

So ... tornadoes.

I don't need to say "possible" tornadoes, because several people got videos and photos of the funnels and their damage. I headed up to dispatch, and so the photos I'm showing were taken from the dispatch window a short time after the fact.

It got pretty funky for awhile, but by the time I got to work the twisters were just crossing into LaGrange County, heading northeast. (If you're not from Indiana, LaGrange County is directly north of us in Noble County, and borders the Michigan state line.) We got a fair amount of rain, which is good for our drought, but I never noticed any thunder from here. I believe the closest the confirmed funnels got to us was five or six miles, and heading away.

It's a little hard to see through the window, but we got a rainbow, and a little later a double rainbow. This is looking northeast toward where the storms were going.

And this is looking pretty much straight east. The lighted rectangle is ... well, a rectangular light, behind me.

This is looking toward the east also, as the storms moved away from us. Those clouds are close to, or over, Ohio, which I believe also had a tornado warning. We were paying more attention at the time to the tornado cutting a swath through LaGrange County. There wasn't much warning, because the storm basically formed and dropped its funnels right over us. The damage was largely in the Ligonier area, northwest of Albion. It could have been worse: Many funnels that didn't reach the ground were also spotted.

It's a little hard to see, but that's a large flock of birds that took off shortly after the storm passed. Maybe headed south, or maybe "anywhere but here".

And a final photo of the courthouse as the clouds clear, with the birds above. I've noticed that building has "moods" based on the lighting conditions, and this time around it was kind of spooky.

From what I'm hearing at this point it sounds like two tornadoes actually touched down, one in Noble County and one that caused damage all the way through LaGrange County. In Noble County some buildings were damaged, including a residence that lost its roof. The Ligonier area lost power, and we had to call out firefighters and the Noble County Highway Department to clear trees from roadways. Stop lights were out, power lines down--the usual.

For awhile we had six dispatchers in here, where normally we'd have two or three. All the emergency services were pretty busy, as you might imagine, and we stayed busy for awhile. Still, we had no reported injuries here in Noble, so there's that--but two people were injured in LaGrange County when the Amish buggy they were in was hit. (No, I haven't heard anything about the horse's condition.)

This weekend the hurricane is reaching us, but only with gusty winds and some rain.

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Remember: If you have enough books, they can cushion you from strong winds.

Current Mood: stressed

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You can read a slightly different version of this blog on the newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/0baf142adc82/our-new-book-is-out?e=2b1e842057

Or, you may gotten the newsletter three days ago, in which case ... never mind. But don't forget our author appearance this coming Saturday at the Art and Author Fair, which you can read all about here:

https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/2022/04/were-coming-to-kendallvilles-art-and.html

And now, back to our regularly scheduled blog.

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Okay, this might get complicated.

As all fourteen of my regular readers know, my first published novel was Storm Chaser. When my publisher, Whiskey Creek Press, heard I was writing some short stories to promote the book, they offered to print them as a separate collection. That was the unfortunately titled Storm Chaser Shorts. I'm explaining that because chances are you haven't read it.

Storm Chaser sold so well Whiskey Creek Press published a sequel, The Notorious Ian Grant, which I personally think is even better. Later we self published The No-Campground Girls, which is set in the same universe and includes some of the same characters.

Then Whiskey Creek Press was bought out by a larger publisher. They continued to offer the books for sale, but otherwise forgot them and never reduced the prices even years later--prices I thought were too high for an unknown author to begin with.

In addition, Storm Chaser Shorts suffered from being too short for my publisher to do a print version, and many of my readers prefer print. Sales were poor, like me.

Eventually I got the rights back for all three works, which is why you can no longer find the e-book versions for sale. The new publisher still offers the print versions, despite the signed paperwork reverting the rights to me.

I told you it was complicated.

Our plan: to reissue all three books independently, with new covers and a lower price. We got delayed by COVID and other issues, but ....

Wait for it ....

This is also going to take some explaining.

The original title for the short story collection was no good, and I now refer to it as "The short story collection title that must not be named". I can see some browsing customer now:

"Wait ... Storm Chaser Shorts? Is that, like, padded underwear for storm chasers? Is it for protection, or scared bladders? Do they make them in boxers?"

So for our reissue we changed the name, and Emily designed a new cover, but wait--there's more!

We wanted a print version, and, if the original was too short for that ... let's make it longer! So we did. And now you can order either the print or electronic versions on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YGJ1XR6

In fact, the new version, Storm Squalls, is almost twice as long as the Shorts. Of the sixteen stories, six are original to this new edition (they tend to run longer than the originals, too). Seven of the stories take place before the events of the original Storm Chaser, while three aren't set in the timeline, so if you haven't read any of the Storm Chaser books you can still check those out. Sadly, it looks like we won't have the books available in time for the April 30 author appearance, but we'll have a pre-order sheet for anyone who stops by.

This is getting lengthy, so I'll talk more about it in a later blog. But just so you know, later this year we'll reissue Storm Chaser and The Notorious Ian Grant, also at a lower price. Hope you'll check them out!

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

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A little writing update: While we were in Missouri I made it a point to work an hour or two each day on my Storm Chaser sequel, which was original called Storm Damage but now has the working title of The Notorious Ian Grant. (Partially because there’s already at least one book named Storm Damage.) I’ve now finished the second draft (third, depending on how you define it), and Emily is going to be my first reader – we’ll see what she has to say about it.

I’m also working on a series of what I’m calling “space opera” stories, and a possibly novella length story that’s going to be part of a Girl Scout related project that I’m helping with (no, seriously). And of course Harlequin Special Edition still has my full manuscript of Coming Attractions; I don’t expect to hear from them for at least a couple of months.

( We've sold, so far, just under a hundred copies of Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights, On a related note, here’s the story I did for the 125th anniversary of the Albion Fire Department, along with some photos of the event: )

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In all the fuss lately I forgot to mention that I hit 50,000 words on the first draft of the Storm Chaser sequel. Cue party!

Unfortunately, I may have to put it aside for a little while, because I need to finish up the fire history book in time for the Albion Fire Department's 125th anniversary in just over a year -- the perfect time for a book launch.

Remember, though, that the Storm Chaser short story collection, Storm Chaser Shorts, comes out this May!

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I’m 36,000 words into the Storm Chaser sequel, and maybe ¾ of the way into the story. It’s a little sketchy at the moment: I need to add more description, internal thoughts and other things, which means at this point I’ll probably be close to 50,000 words in the second draft. Right now I’m enjoying the characters and blazing through the plot.

Meanwhile, time’s running out! For the rest of February, the e-book version of Storm Chaser is half off at my publisher's website:

http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=899

It’s been a bad month for getting much writing done, but I’m plugging away at it.

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A little something about how (and whether) to outline when you're writing a novel -- with some examples about character creation from the under construction Storm Chaser sequel.

http://writersofmassdistraction.com/2012/01/29/preplanning-your-novel/

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25,000 words done on the first draft of my Storm Chaser sequel! There's still much work to do, but I'm ahead of my 5,000 words a week goal, for now. Still mulling over the title; Storm Damage isn't terrible, but it's been done. Now that I've gotten to know his character better, I'm considering "The Notorious Ian Grant".

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‎14,000 words done! New ideas to incorporate in are popping up every minute, so I'm taking a lot of notes for the second draft. Oddly enough, there's not a whole lot of romance so far (odd considering it's the sequel to a romantic comedy). The two main characters are together in almost every scene and have good chemistry, but it's almost more like a buddy comedy. Maybe that blonde teenager who keeps tagging along (and who you're all familiar with from "Storm Chaser"), is cramping their style.

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storm damage

Hit the 10,000 words on the sequel! Of course, this is just the rough draft: There’s nothing to say I won’t decide half those words are junk and throw them out later. On the other hand, some areas are a little sparse on detail: I wrote half a page of just dialogue during … well, I won’t say during what. I’ll go back to fill more in later, and also to cut out some, so it’s likely to be a wash.

The horse stays. I’m second guessing the title, though …

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storm damage

I hit 5,000 words on Storm Damage ... among other things a horse has appeared and a fight broke out, neither of them planned. The horse was a last minute idea, but the fight just -- happened. No one was more surprised than me. However, it's exactly what the characters would do under the circumstances, now that I've realized what a nasty piece of work one of them is.

Don't worry -- the horse escaped uninjured.

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storm damage

I’m 2,011 words into the rough draft of “Storm Damage” – wait, let me type in one – yay, 2,012 for 2012! The plan is to shoot for 5,000 words a week, in the hopes of having the rough draft done by the end of March. We’ll see … things happen.

            Much as I try to plan ahead, I’m sometimes slowed at the beginning by little unanticipated research jobs: So far in Chapter One I’ve looked up how a horse rider helps a second person on (on the horse, I mean), what kind of vehicle a Congressman might drive, how many half-brothers Allie Craine has (you’d think I’d remember that), and the drive time between California and Indiana. But researching is part of the fun (although it’s perfectly okay to put it off until later, if you’re on a roll).

            I’ll keep everyone updated on my status and post a line from time to time … meanwhile, if you want to see the sequel make sure to tell all your friends the original is still available! Oh, and if I seem like I’m in another world for the next few months … it’s because I am.

            www.markrhunter.com

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My final polishing of "Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century or so With the Albon Fire Department" is DONE. So, it's finished, right? Nah. It still needs to be line edited by someone else -- someone who hasn't gone over the manuscript fifty times like I have -- and I still face sorting through piles of photos to find the right ones to go into it.

Still, it's a huge milestone that releases some time for me to work on other things. The "Storm Chaser" Christmas story I'm giving away at the book signings on Dec 3rd and Dec 9th still needs a little polishing, but I'm ready to start the outline for my "Storm Chaser" sequel. If all goes well, I'll start on the first draft by the beginning of next month.

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I've been promising this new story for awhile: a bridge between Storm Chaser and its sequel, which has the working title of Storm Damage, this tale introduces us to a new character who'll have a major role in the new book. Believe me, Ian Grant doesn't know what he's getting into ...

Warning! Spoilers for some general details about the end of Storm Chaser. If you haven't read (or finished) the novel yet, you might want to skip this until later. As a shout-out to my fans, for the first week the link was posted only on my Mark R. Hunter Facebook fan page, and on Twitter at @StormChaserBook

http://markrhunter.blogspot.com/2011/10/storm-damage-prequel-short-story-out-of.html

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I've finally had a chance to catch up on my DW and LJ friends lists a little, and I noticed a lot of my friends are planning to participate in the National Novel Writing Month this November -- or are at least considering it. It's a big committment, to write 50,000 words in 30 days! Good luck to those of you who go for it; I've tried it only once, but I do think it's a worthwhile project.

I considered starting work on Storm Damage over that month, but due to getting tied up with my home refinancing, maintenance tasks, winter preparation and various RL stuff, I still don't have the fire history book ready to go out the door yet. I have to finish that (I'm close), and I also need to do some columns up in advance, so that if I get too into my first draft I can skip writing a new one for a week or three.

I wouldn't have officially participated in NaNoWriMo this year, anyway. While it works well for many people as a kick in the pants to get that first draft finished, I found it didn't match my writing style. My long stories work best if I go back over the previous day's work every writing session, cleaning it up a bit and adjusting my plot and other details along the way. I've found that if my first draft is too rough when finished, I tend to put off going back to put the work into it, which is part of the reason why Red is For Ick (my only NaNo novel) is languishing on the back burner now, needing some work to its middle.

Just the same, I still think NaNo's a brilliant concept, and good luck to everyone who's participating. Keep writing!

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Slightly Off the Mark

Storm Report: Noble County Tornadoes, September 24

Storm Squalls: Partially New and Improved!

Writing Update and AFD 125th Story

50,000 words!

Finishing a novel is a marathon, not a sprint

Preplanning Your Novel

25,000 words -- time for a car chase

14 -- my lucky number

10,000 writing updates

5,000 word mark

Storm Damage ... begun.

fire history book is polished -- on to Storm Chaser sequel!

a new character jumps "Into the Fire

NaNoWriMo

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