Slightly Off the Mark

 I promised some time ago (or was it a threat?) that I'd share more info about our kinda-sorta new short story collection, Storm Squalls.

Formerly known as Storm Chaser Shorts, that title will now be used only when I'm dressing for a tornado watch. It's still a prequel/sequel/epilogue to our Storm Chaser series, something that arose organically because, when I originally wrote it, Storm Chaser was the only other book. You can take a look at it here:

www.amazon.com/dp/B09YGJ1XR6

If you don't like e-books and don't want to go through Amazon, you can order a copy (or two) direct from us. I'm sure we can arrange a deal if you want more than one of our books, to complete your Mark R. Hunter collection. Does anyone have one of those? I mean, besides me?

It's selling for $1.99 on Kindle and just six bucks in print, and usually you can't get a steal like that without committing a felony. That's two dollars less than the first Kindle edition.

But wait--there's more!

There were ten stories in the original collection, but we increased it to sixteen to give you more bang for your buck, or possibly you're gluttons for punishment.

But it complicates things, because only seven of the stories are set before the original Storm Chaser. Six more take place in the time period between Storm Chaser and its sequel, The Notorious Ian Grant, also a romantic comedy. The final three short stories more or less exists outside the timeline (as does the related young adult novel, The No-Campfire Girls). So you don't have to read the novels before you read half the short stories. You don't for any of them, really--but you'll be spoiled, as the kids say these days.

Of the new stories in this volume, three are brand new, including my personal favorite, "High Horse--Or, a Horse Tail". I had the most fun writing that one and "Chaos At the Con", which like the last two stories were available on social media some time back.

Whew.

Where were we? Oh, yeah. I hope you enjoy it, and did (or will) enjoy the other books in the series--and yes, arrangements can be made for a bargain on multiple book sales. I'm the author, I can do that. Also, say thanks when you see Emily, who designed the cover, formatted Storm Squalls for both e-book and print, and got it up for sale. She's my hero.

(By the way, Storm Squalls is also up on the website: www.markrhunter.com/)

• 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 died from feeding an author. That I know of.

With the dog and I both sick and the weather a study in hell, I haven't felt like going outside. The last time this happened, I spent a few days doing internet searches for:

Antique fire trucks, natural cliff climbing spots near Chicago, Harlequin Great Dane dogs, climbing and rappelling gear, highway cuts, dog lift harnesses, the most common Louisiana surnames, antique car restoration, and first names for men and women.

I do my research with dogged determination.

Either the infection reached my brain, or it was time for another novel research session.

Not that I don't have plenty of other work to do, in submitting, editing, and promoting other book projects. Oh, and my day job, which is at night. But when it comes to submitting, there's a certain amount of waiting involved, anyway. So I came up with an idea for a new story, and sometimes a writer just wants to kick back and do the fun stuff, which for me is researching, creating characters, and writing that first draft. I mean, fun when it's not frustrating.

At least I won't get as much Federal attention as when I started work on The Source Emerald, and researched such things as the FBI, jewel smuggling, cross country travel routes, and types of handguns.

So ... what kind of story should I research for next?

When I started writing the Storm Chaser books, I did so much weather research I should have earned a meteorology degree.

This may seem an odd time of the year for this, but I've been working on a novel set at a horse campground in late April, so to me it fits right in. In conjunction with it appearing Monday on the FussyLibrarian website, here's my periodic soap selling about one of my favorite books, The No-Campfire Girls.

Half the proceeds of this novel benefits Friends of Latonka, an organization made to support Emily's former Girl Scout camp in Wappapello, Missouri. That's the camp singer Cheryl Crow went to. No, I'm not making that up.

My fourteen regular readers, you know the story:

There's a new review of The No-Campfire Girls up on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/review/R39H3834BJOTK7/?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00K3OS35C

I like it, because at no point do they use the term "talentless hack".

Half the proceeds from sales of that book still go toward supporting the Missouri Girl Scout Camp Latonka, and it's only ninety-nine cents for the e-book version, so get your copy right now!

Or, yeah, you could wait until lunchtime, if you're hiding this from the boss. Just don't forget.

Remember, every time you buy a copy, a Girl Scout gets her Fiction Reading Patch. And if they don't make one of those, they should.

Remember, folks: I have to sell the soap, from time to time!

The No-Campfire Girls, a YA adventure—just 99 cents on Kindle and $5 in paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/No-Campfire-Girls-Mark-Hunter-ebook/dp/B00K3OS35C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535180005

Fifteen year old Beth Hamlin is horrified to discover her beloved summer camp must go without campfires this year, due to the fire hazard from a drought. But Beth isn't one to just sit (or swim, or boat, or horseback) around. When her new cabinmate, Cassidy, claims a local Cherokee can do a rain dance, she jumps into action.

All they have to do is trick the Camp Director into letting Running Creek do the dance, avoid the local bully and a flying arrow or two, and keep from getting caught plotting with Cassidy’s firefighter father on a forbidden cell phone. With luck southern Indiana will get a nice, soaking rain, and Camp Inipi can have proper campfires again.

But when things go horribly wrong, the whole area is endangered by a double disaster. Now Beth and her unit may be the only people who can save not only their camp, but everyone in it.


*A portion of the proceeds of this book benefits Friends of Latonka, an organization made to save a summer camp in Wappapello, Missouri.

So, we paid a little money to promote The No-Campfire Girls on the Fussy Librarian newsletter, which resulted in a few sales. Then I doubled down by letting social media have it with both barrels. I sent out a newsletter, then put up two different posts on multiple social media platforms, including some I still have never heard of and others that don't exist yet.

(By the way, FaceBackTalk will be huge.)

I even tagged some celebrity former Girl Scouts with what amounted to begging. Up to this point, the total effort has produced zero results, in sales or reviews. (To my knowledge; sometimes these things move slowly, like my bathroom sink.)

So the next time your father says "you get what you pay for", stop snickering and pay attention.

I'm tempted to paraphrase Davy Crockett by saying social media can go to hell--I'm going to edit. But after Crockett said something like that, he went to Texas and died at the Alamo. I'm not sure I want to fight to the last adverb.

Besides, social media can be pretty cool, what with the family's baby pics and the backdraft simulators, so as long as you don't get addicted or expect too much from it, it's okay. Another besides: I was once followed on Twitter by the original Becky from "Roseanne", so I've already had my fifteen minutes of fame. (And after she followed me her Twitter account disappeared; coincidence?)

Besides X3, I've gotten a lot of moral support from friends and fellow writers online ... so here's a reward in the form of a short excerpt from The No-Campfire Girls. It's free. You get what you pay for.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Cassidy stopped in her tracks. “Oh, no.”

            “What?”

            For a moment Cassidy listened to the voices, then she gripped Beth’s arm. “Whatever you hear from now on, just remember this: Only half of it is true.” She took a deep breath, then marched on toward the barn’s entrance.

            Director Harris stood inside, along with two wranglers—former Lookout Girls who now specialized in the camp’s horses. The wranglers looked greatly amused. Mrs. Harris did not.

            The object of their attention was an old man who stood with his arms crossed. His craggy face was brownish-red, his nose a great tomahawk-like hook, his eyes brown and clear. “Whatever might help should be tried, Director Harris. We accomplish nothing if we don’t try.” He wore jeans, work boots, and, despite the heat, a long sleeve red flannel shirt and cowboy hat. Even the horses stood still, fascinated by him.

            “Oh, my gosh.” Beth whispered to Cassidy, “He looks like a full blooded Indian!”

            “Half Cherokee. But he’s full of something.” Cassidy took another deep breath, then stepped into the barn.

            Cassidy knows this guy. Beth followed the other girl in. Well, it made sense: Unlike Beth, Cassidy lived around here, and the nearest city wasn’t all that big. Heather claimed the nearest mall called her name from three hours away.

            Mrs. Harris didn’t notice them at first, but the old man looked around. “Osiyo, Cassidy.” He sent her a mild smile. “Maybe you could explain to your director that I do an effective rain dance.”

            Cassidy drew back a little. “Hello to you, Running Creek. Beth Hamlin, this is Running Creek.”

            “Call me Simon. I don’t stand on ceremony.” He looked at Mrs. Harris again. “Although I do know how to conduct ceremonies.”

            A moment of silence followed. Everyone, Beth realized, looked at Cassidy.

            “Mrs. Harris, Running Creek—Simon—is trained and experienced with rain dances.”

            Mrs. Harris sighed. “That doesn’t mean—“

            “These things must be done right,” Simon told her. “Once, in 1997, I danced too long. It was a hundred year flood.”

            “I didn’t question your ability to do the dance, Simon. But you’re here to teach archery in place of having campfires—not to change the weather so we can have the campfires. I don’t think it’s proper to do what amounts to a religious ceremony in front of all these girls.”

            Beth didn’t see how a rain dance would be any worse than the Lookout Girl rain song they’d sung at breakfast, but something told her bringing that up would be a bad idea.

            Simon stared at the director for a long moment, then whipped off his hat to uncover a full head of pure white hair. “The politically correct police strike again.” He bowed to Mrs. Harris, nodded to the others, then walked out the door. The horses watched him until he disappeared, as if waiting for his next trick.

            The wranglers tittered a little, until Mrs. Harris threw them a glare and they went back to work. Then she turned her attention on Beth and Cassidy. “You know Running Creek—Simon?”

            “Yes, ma’am.”

            “He came well recommended, but I’ve never heard of him doing rain dances before. One has to wonder if he’s for real.”

            “He’s really half Cherokee,” Cassidy told her.

            “And what’s the other half?”

            “Irish.”

            Beth looked at Cassidy. How did she know so much about the old man?

            “Irish. I think the word we’re looking for here is blarney.” Apparently too rattled to ask the girls why they were there, Mrs. Harris walked out the door.

            After the director left, Beth cleared her throat. “Blarney?”

            “I think it kind of means … bull … droppings. I wonder if Mrs. Harris is half Irish, too.” Cassidy smiled. “They’ll continue to not get along.”

www.markrhunter.com

The No-Campfire Girls was featured Sunday on the Fussy Librarian daily newsletter; the site's all about books of various genres, and can be found here:

http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/

It costs a few bucks to do the ad, but it did bring sales. The Amazon ranking for The No-Campfire Girls rose from just over three million to 41,341 that day, which is its highest Kindle ranking, so the extra effort clearly did something.

That's especially important because half the proceeds for the book go to support my wife's Girl Scout Camp Latonka, in Missouri. (Not "former" because once a Scout, always a Scout.) This is our second such effort, with the proceeds from another book, Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights, going to the Albion Volunteer Fire Department.

And they don't get charged for the advertising!

This is also why I didn't set The No-Campfire Girls to free: Can't raise funds that way. Not to mention the e-book is already only 99 cents. You can even pick up the print version for just five bucks: That's a lot of entertainment, for the price of an extra small plain black Starbucks coffee.

I'd planned to do a whole promotion thing around the Fussy Librarian appearance, with the idea of getting it as far up the rankings as possible. But my mother landed in the hospital (she's out now) and some other things happened, so now I'm going to launch that effort afterward instead, for about a week. I don't self-promote nearly as much as I probably should, so I think my readers will forgive me, especially when it comes to a good cause.

What will my extra promotion effort entail? In the immortal words of Indiana Jones, I dunno--I'm making this up as I go along. But look for more about the book later, and until then please support the Girls Scouts by picking it up on our website at www.MarkRHunter.com, or over on our Amazon page:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO