“Many years ago, the editor at the newspaper where I worked part time gave me an opportunity that only comes once, the chance so many writers beg for: They offered me a column of my very own. I said no.”

With that, local author Mark R. Hunter shakily started what turned out to be a twenty-five year career as a humor columnist for three northeast Indiana newspapers. When he lost the position after an ownership change, Hunter gathered his unpublished columns together into a new book, Slightly Off the Mark. Obviously, he’d changed his mind and went back to say “yes”.

Hunter specializes in making fun of himself, with pieces about medical problems, his ongoing failures with anything mechanical or electronic, and his family life. But his eclectic writings also cover everything from internet memes and “expert” lists to history and politics.