I’ve spoken before of the “Grand Ole Lady” (the Lake County Courthouse), resplendent with the striking brick red facade (love this building!), but probably not The John Dillinger Museum, a focus of the 1930’s with Dillinger memorabilia enclosed within the building in Crown Point. If you recognized that as being in northwest Indiana, you’d be correct.
Admitted to the union in 1816, Indiana can claim a number of authors, many of whom hail out of Gary, about as far north as you can go without wading out into Lake Michigan. Of the well-known Jackson family born in Gary, Janet gained fame as a singer/songwriter and LaToya as both author and songwriter.
Alex Karras, who gained fame as a pro-ball player, wrote a journal that was published in the Detroit Free Press and much later, a novel entitled “Tuesday Night Football.”
Kurt Vonnegut Jr, born 1922 in Indianapolis, wrote for more than 50 years and although he published many novels, plays, short stories, and non-fiction, was probably most famous for the dark “Slaughterhouse-Five.”
Vonnegut dropped out of Cornell University to enlist in the army and was deployed to Europe to fight in WWII. Captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge, he survived the Allied bombing by seeking safety in the meat locker of the slaughterhouse in which he was imprisoned.
Of course, there are whole alphabetized lists of authors from Indianapolis from Charles W. Akers, also a (WWII–navy) veteran, wrote what is called one of the three best books about Abigail Adams, “Abigail Adams, an American Woman,” Marguerite V. Young, American writer and academic and Dan Quayle, former VP, who wrote his memoir, “Standing Firm” in 1994.
Lest you think the famous authors of Indiana were only from the big cities, there are also lists of writers from Anderson to Terra Haute. Disappointed though, I didn’t see any from Crown Point. Do you know the authors of your area? ©2017 Virginia Williams 
Dear Willy, The Story of a Life Well Lived
Some things just naturally go the way of the dodo, but apparently what appeared to be a gradual waning in the popularity of book blog tours was just a small lag in the industry. While there are certainly many blog tour companies out there, Indie and self-published authors have discovered this marketing strategy can be an effective tool in the promotion of a new publication that doesn’t have to be simultaneous with the book launch.
I reviewed a book earlier this month called “
I’m interested in both sides as I wanted to look into another promo for one of my grandfather’s books and also with the book reviews I’ve been doing lately thought it would be no problem to continue to accept other authors looking for willing book blog hosts.
Title: After You’re Dead by Cary Allen Stone
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. The book is well written, I’ll grant you that; just too much for me.
Author Description: Cary Allen Stone flew inside the cockpits of corporate jets and airlines where he met a man who became a mentor. He’s worked in LA doing feature films and Phoenix in Indie films, as well stand-up comedy and voice-overs for radio commercials. He achieved the endorsements of Clive Cussler and Tim Dorsey and is a proud member of the Phoenix Writer’s Club begun in the 1920s by women reporters. ©2017 Virginia Williams 
Yes, I know, there are gazillions of chats–and parties, out there. Anyone have any experience in this arena with sage advice to impart? Have you participated in another you would recommend for book marketing, for instance?
Mack Collier has assured me they are very helpful in all things blogging–and will discuss a different topic each week. They also have a 
The Eye of Nefertiti-A Pharaoh’s Cat Novel by Maria Luisa Lang
Rosepoint Publishing 