Don Hilton Books
Put down the web. Pick up a book!
There's Nothing Like Capitol Crime!
Murder, Mysteries and History of Lorain County, Ohio, 1824-1956 is my second (and likely last) book of its kind. Lorain County provides more than 250 forgotten killings, investigations, and criminal trials culled from court records and stirred together with the news of long ago.
Follow the clues to identify the unknown found washed up on Lake Erie shores. Work your way along sometimes-twisted paths to imprisonment or freedom. Victims, suspects, perpetrators. Judges, lawyers, witnesses, juries. Read of time spent in the big house, executions, and wonder at how some people truly get away with murder.
If you love true-crime or mysteries, or enjoy history, this 6x9, 450-page, chunk of a book is for you! Never blood-thirsty, but haunting, fascinating, and brutal—sometimes all at once.
Murders, Mysteries and History reminds us that the past is never perfect.
Availability:
Order yours at your favorite bookseller or online in paperback or e-reader from Amazon.
What Readers Say:
This just-released book has no reader's reviews. Use the email link at the bottom of this page to send me the first!
Trumpets in the East:
Follow the "stupidly stubborn" Civil War vet Ashrad Rizvi as his inability to mind his own business leads him to the truth surrounding a mysterious death in his own small home town.
Trumpets' well-developed and memorable characters, gentle humor, and vivid descriptions step things right along, with enough detail to interest, but not enough to bog things down.
Take a look at the first six chapters. It's the start of a great read that'll take you to an ending that's sure to surprise!
Availability:
This paperback can be ordered by you, or your favorite bookseller, and is available in Kindle e-format from Amazon.
What Readers Say:
It was fun. A good read. The plot moved very nicely. Each of the people that Ash visited or ran into exposed the clues smoothly and neatly, yet the final explanation was a surprise, but made very good sense. - Kevin
I love the characters, they're all great. Even the ones that are bad. Each is an individual with his or her own story. I felt I knew all of them by the end - even Becky and the General. Very enjoyable story. - Amy
What's not to like? Good characters, good plot, a lake, boats and steam engines. The funny parts were great. Makes me wish I was there! - Keith
I think there's more going on here than meets the eye. When do we get the next one? - Barb
Dearly Departed Judges of Lorain County, Ohio, 1824-2020
This profusely illustrated book describes daredevil pilots, cowboys, war heros, industrialists, baseball professionals, and presidential appointees. Concise, highly researched, and entertaining biographies of thirty-five dearly departed judges of Lorain County, Ohio, from 1824 through 2020, plus a little bit of history thrown in for good measure. These people are -not- who you think they are. In fact, some are downright amazing!
Availability:
Order yours at Amazon.
The Crawford County Murder Book pulls 150 years of crimes straight from the pages of yesterday’s news and stirs them in a historical mix to produce a book like no other you've ever read.
Get the scoop on 'way more than a hundred real-life murders and unsolved killings. A running timeline helps you connect history, crime, and punishment.
You'll find vics, suspects, perps. Judges and juries. Jails and penitentiaries. Hangings, electrocutions and nothing less than simply getting away with murder.
Sometimes brutal (but never gruesome), often haunting, always entertaining. Murders, Mysteries and History is the perfect reminder that the past was never a gentle place to live.
With a five-star reader's rating at Amazon, this is the perfect buy for true-crime fans, murder mystery fanatics, and history buffs. It's 300 pages "that read more like 100."
A discussion of how to find murders of the past and several tables of crime stats are included in this volume.
Availability:
Order yours at your favorite bookseller or online in both paperback and e-reader formats at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Prefer to keep your dollars local? There's the online Gift Shop of the Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society and the Crawford County Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
What Readers Say:
I've never visited this part of the world, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The author clearly did meticulous research to collate this material, and the timeline format works a treat... not to mention the wry commentary. Entertaining without being grisly or disrespectful this is a real insight into how things used to be... and how they sometimes still are. - Clare (Soton, England)
Being a "True Crime" freak, I love this book and I'm not even from Pennsylvania! The timeline idea is interesting, letting me know what else was going on at the time of the murders. Thanks! And hurry up with the next one! - David
Like dozens of little murder mysteries! I enjoyed the fact that all of these stories, even the wildest, are all true. I remember hearing about some of them (like McGrath in Titusville) when I was a kid. No wonder there are so many ghosts in Crawford County! - Kathy
This book has exceeded my expectations. It is not really gruesome. It is a great history lesson without being too heavy. Just interesting to think murders happened back then. The media is not the same then as it is now. Would highly recommend this book. I bought it by e-reader now wishing I would of bought a hard copy to share. - Wendy
Love it! Love it! Love it! The history is great and the murder stories are even better. There's a surprising amount of detail but none of it's boring. I got to the end of 300 pages and I wished there were a hundred more. Great job. - Alan
I've never read a book quite like it. It's a blast. Great lesson in history, especially the cities and towns. Better lesson in human nature. It was kind of surprising how little things have changed. Plus, I now know more about prostitution than I ever thought I would! - Scott
Website Foundations:
How hard can designing a website be? Not all that difficult, once you've figured out what the heck you're doing!
Website Foundations outlines, in a semi-tongue-in-cheek fashion, the five easy steps that keep you from looking stupid at the speed of the Internet.
This distillation of more than two decades of experience building websites includes: deciding the need, defining your audience, gathering ideas, and story-boarding your pages. There are entire chapters dedicated to keeping you from looking dumb.
At 99¢ this little e-book is worth its weight in electrons for the time and confusion it saves.
When was the last time NOT looking dumb cost you so little?
Availability:
Buy this ~100 page Kindle e-book from Amazon!
What Readers Say:
General overview of the starting steps of website creation. Strategic thinking simplified! - Simon
So much in so little space! - Gary
Funny and kind of snotty. Good advice with attitude. - James
I wish I could talk to the boss like you say I should. - Deb
Lots of great advice. Got me off on the right foot and saved me hours of work. Thanks! - Kaitlin
You're right - it's not hard - once you know what to do. - Jacob
I found a typo: "it's" instead of "its." I want a refund :-) - Paula
Conneaut Lake Ferry Tales begins with the four words used to start all good stories; "Once Upon a Time."
Anchored in Conneaut Lake's Victorian era, the twin ferry boats Redwing and Outing traveled more than a hundred thousand miles and carried untold numbers of passengers in their 120 years of combined service.
With dozens of images (most in color), facts, oral histories, slight exaggerations, and outright lies from nearly 80 storytellers, this book will bring a smile to your face and conjure warm memories of days gone by.
There's love, life, death and rebirth in these 139 pages of memories. There are splintered seats, first kisses and deep, dark secrets never before told. You'll recognize you, your parents, and your grandparents in Conneaut Lake Ferry Tales.
A complete bibliography is included.
Availability:
Kindle lovers - an E-Book Edition is available. The e-version is updated with new information and recently-found images.
Do NOT pay the nearly $70 charged by some resellers for the paperback version! For better than half-price, visit the publisher's bookstore. Better yet, purchase this wonderful book at a reasonable cost at the online Gift Shop of the Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society.
What Readers Say:
I have both, but like the Kindle version because it lets me look more closely at the images. Formatting's very nice, too. Thanks! - Nancy
You've made an interesting day! Your book arrived in the morning's mail and we sat down—each with a copy! We didn't move until we each had read it. You've done a marvelous job. I thank you for an absolutely delightful book. - Russell
What fun, reliving my Conneaut Lake past. My brothers and I used to surf the ferry boat waves at Midway, too. I haven't visited Conneaut in years, but this book sure brought it back to me. Wonderful. - Jennifer
I was at the Park the day Elvis died! You mentioning that in your book made me get out all my old albums and listen to the King one more time. He still gives me the chills. - Christie
Love it! Not sure I believe all of the stories but that's a part of collecting oral histories, isn't it? - Dave
Sailing Through Time:
This Guide to Conneaut Lake's Passenger Boats is the book I wished I had when I was a kid!
Conneaut Lake history, along with pictures and stories of more than twenty-five passenger boats that sailed the lake since 1880. It's still my favorite.
Sailing is a wonderful, 8½x11, 40-page volume packed full of the past: facts and twists of fate. Not only is this is a must-read for any "Laker" worth their salt, it'll interest anybody who loves history, old boats, or both. Buy it for the youngsters you know so they can begin to understand a bit of how the world used to be.
Sailing Through Time includes a complete bibliography that reaches back into the 1800s.
Availability:
Buy the paper version from the online Gift Shop of the Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society. Be aware that there was a single printing. The number of physical books is limited. Once they're sold, that's it! But, for Kindle lovers - an E-Book Edition is available. The e-version is updated with new information and recently-found images.
What Readers Say:
Opened the mail today and was very pleasantly surprised to find your book. Though I've never been to the lake or seen any of the boats, I'm enjoying reading about them, so for those who experienced the lake rides, it has to be a fun-look back in time. - Audrey
When I was little my grandfather used to tell me about the big boats that ran on Conneaut Lake. Reading this book helped me learn about the lake and about PopPop, too. Makes me wish I could've seen them - Mary
My 85 year-old (younger) brother, Bob, gave me Sailing Through Time for Christmas. We sat and talked for hours, remembering things now long gone. I thank you for writing this wonderful book. - Jim
Thank you for the book. You were right - Dad did enjoy having a reason to get together with us to give me mine. As usual, you did a great job! He stayed up late the night you dropped them off and read it cover to cover. I can't tell you the last time he did anything like that. He loves it!! - Pam
Previews are PDFs.
The disc holds a complete web site.
The Original Conneaut Lake Ferry Tales Web Site:
It's not a book. But, it's nearly as good!
This Windows/Mac CD contains The Original Ferry Tales Web Site. Nearly 200 images and loads of stories about the ferries, Conneaut Lake's other passenger boats, and many of the hotels.
It's the total sum of fun stuff and raw research that I edited down to create my two "Lake Books." It holds a ton more information than both of my boat books, combined: even has the typos that I could never quite manage to get rid of.
So you know... The information on this CD is frozen at the year 2000, the time of its last edit. Like any book, it's up-to-date only until it's published. But, that won't detract from your enjoyment!
As a Bonus: This CD includes a complete, Adobe® PDF version of Sailing Through Time so you can enjoy your virtual visit to Conneaut Lake even more!
Availability:
The disc can be bought from only one source: The Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society - either in-person or using their on-line gift shop.
What Readers Say:
We REALLY enjoyed looking through the disc and can't thank you enough for putting it together. You've inspired me to go look through some old photos. I remember going to the Lake during the summer and working at the Midway, riding the ferry to the park, and other great experiences. - Steve
Thanks for creating the CD and keeping those old cherished memories alive for those of us that found Conneaut Lake such a pleasure. - MJR
Lots of pictures, stories and history. It might be snowing outside, but in my heart it's always summertime at Conneaut Lake! - Don