Mark R Hunter's Blog – January 2012 Archive (12)

My stepfather was recently diagnosed with bladder and prostate cancer (some of you might remember that the doctors have been keeping a close eye on me due to high Prostate Specific Antigen [PSA] levels), so this is a bit personal to me, this year.

The Noble County Relay For Life has its first sponsors for the 2012 season – but that’s just the beginning.

This year’s annual American Cancer Society fundraiser will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday,…

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".

SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK

            This winter I switched writing modes from fiction to non-fiction and back again, which made me ponder the difference between the two. In a way it’s something I do every week, since I write news articles in addition to my column. News is news, but my columns … well, granted that they sometimes have news in them. Still, they’re intended to be humor or opinion, or both.

            The great thing about a column is that…

My Noble County Library book signing on Jan. 30^th was announced on Thunder Country, a radio station in LaGrange County.  (Their website’s at http://www.wthd.net/ )  I sent a press release out to all the area news outlets, but didn’t really expect a station in the next county would use it!

 Also, as we were passing the library last night Emily noticed my name on their sign, which…

In December I hit a major milestone: My 20^th anniversary as a member of the Noble County Sheriff’s Department.

Doesn’t seem possible, does it? I mean, I seem so young and fresh …

I’ve often joked that anyone who works for more than ten years in a dispatch center should automatically be considered certifiably insane. Since then I’ve learned that the average career length for a dispatcher is around seven years – which means my joke isn’t so funny anymore,…

A local columnist is one of forty humor writers featured in My Funny Valentine, the perfect antidote to the problem of both wintertime blues and finding a perfect and unique Valentine’s Day gift.

Mark R. Hunter’s column “Valentine Fail, or: Where to Sleep When You Don’t Own a Doghouse”, originally appeared in The Albion New Era, Churubusco News, and Northwest News last year, and is reprinted in My Funny Valentine along with pieces by columnists, bloggers,…

SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK

            There are certain questions guaranteed – absolutely guaranteed – to cause trouble: “What else could go wrong?” “What does this do?” “Why don’t we invade Russia?”

            I planned to cook my fiancée a birthday dinner. My question:

            “How hard could it be?”

            Emily didn’t try to stop me, so in my mind she’s at least partially responsible. The plan was simple: I would take one room in…

I got two shipments in the mail today: A box of Storm Chaser copies and a box of My Funny Valentine copies. Pretty much the most important items for the January 30 book signing.

My Funny Valentine is selling for $9.95 plus tax, while Storm Chaser is $14.95 – or $12.95 if you buy them both together. Come to the book signing or contact me for an order (www.markrhunter.com), or get the e-book version of My…

Hit the 10,000 words on the Storm Chaser 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 …

SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK

                I retired from my position on the Albion Town Council at the end of the year, giving me a chance to move to a warmer climate and live a relaxed life of peaceful …

                Oh, who am I kidding? I got fired by six votes, and I’m not going anywhere.

                Perhaps some of my fourteen regular readers are thinking, “Mark, what accomplishments do you have to show for your eight years in office?”…

A book signing featuring local author Mark R. Hunter will be held at the Noble County Public Library main branch Monday, January 30^th, from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Hunter’s romantic comedy, Storm Chaser, was released last year by Whiskey Creek…

            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…