tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54169106392810150682024-03-14T12:55:44.114-07:00The Arachis Pressour publishing newsPeanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-130178006693034752023-12-29T06:08:00.000-08:002023-12-29T06:08:47.245-08:00Shallow Poet<p>One thing we are certain of for the coming year is the release of Stephen Brooke's poetry collection, Shallow Poet, on April 21, 2024. The book largely (but not entirely) focuses on the poet's lighter and more humorous work. Here's the cover. More soon on what's coming next year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6LmjunUhP9bWx8WxzMzcsVa1z6eIS01p1_QnxzT-Weeik-jTmuCgejT5p3e0oB4A7gZgJyVpUeRL9cOYkh8g02YGYg8f1xFYhAtIZT_1Ic55_I01yPlITI2V7Uh2DdHia31AaO_jnCVPQIqo8MLzzUqAsNWZZ2RKKa4Xji94XETR-ZlVSRpVMSXy1f_s/s799/shallowcovnet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="529" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6LmjunUhP9bWx8WxzMzcsVa1z6eIS01p1_QnxzT-Weeik-jTmuCgejT5p3e0oB4A7gZgJyVpUeRL9cOYkh8g02YGYg8f1xFYhAtIZT_1Ic55_I01yPlITI2V7Uh2DdHia31AaO_jnCVPQIqo8MLzzUqAsNWZZ2RKKa4Xji94XETR-ZlVSRpVMSXy1f_s/w265-h400/shallowcovnet.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-15261385391483734822023-09-18T03:51:00.004-07:002023-09-18T03:51:44.011-07:00Poetry Collections<p>Twenty years of poetry collections from Stephen Brooke. The first of these, PIECES OF THE MOON, was our debut as a publisher. All twelve remain available as
print from book retailers everywhere, or as print or free ebooks at
the Arachis Press site.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQo0eFvkjCN3Cu2Mp8If4e8nGL2JsD0GUzQD45w5e3OaHrzK1rdIY1Po7gznFDQK_SuKoXfCSLub4OtAc1XOBQktPZLqEIb9W8_76NFpj8KKjCUKz7oes9u3kNOaV8z4iu_9eNl8UBnAaKXfOmlhDKGkq3CgHgoKHJwvIYwRCEJmVxEGHQe0uKu-iECWj/s1080/poetryinst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQo0eFvkjCN3Cu2Mp8If4e8nGL2JsD0GUzQD45w5e3OaHrzK1rdIY1Po7gznFDQK_SuKoXfCSLub4OtAc1XOBQktPZLqEIb9W8_76NFpj8KKjCUKz7oes9u3kNOaV8z4iu_9eNl8UBnAaKXfOmlhDKGkq3CgHgoKHJwvIYwRCEJmVxEGHQe0uKu-iECWj/w400-h400/poetryinst.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-42426706224772771542023-09-13T12:28:00.000-07:002023-09-13T12:28:05.787-07:00Site Update and Free Books<p>We (at last?) have a completely up to date and finished website (arachispress.com). The latest books are up, every print book we offer is directly linked to our own store (though they may be purchased elsewhere), and all the ebooks are now free to download. Yes, there is a page with them all listed, in PDF and EPUB format.</p><p>We had given the free thing thought for quite a long time and finally decided we would prefer to have the books read than to hope to make a few dollars now and again. Especially in that we do not deal with Amazon and no longer create Kindle editions. This includes every book by Stephen Brooke, Sienna Santerre, and Oliver Davis Pike.<br /></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-70506316751402042942023-09-09T11:51:00.001-07:002023-09-09T11:51:13.743-07:00Celebrate<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
2023 marks the tenth anniversary of the publication of Stephen
Brooke’s first fantasy novels (or one novel in four parts, if one
prefers), the books of Donzalo’s Destiny. We have gone to new
typography for the books, and the new versions are now up at the
Arachis Press store. It may take a while for the revised editions to
show up at other book retailers. Here are links to the print novels:</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">I. THE SONG OF THE
SWORD:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/the-song-of-the-sword/paperback/product-14mjeen6.html</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">II. THE SHADOW OF
ASAK:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/the-shadow-of-asak/paperback/product-18kdndrz.html</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">III. THE SIGN OF THE
ARROW:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/the-sign-of-the-arrow/paperback/product-1mwvn86k.html</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">IV. THE HAND OF THE
SORCERER:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/the-hand-of-the-sorcerer/paperback/product-1yn2v8g7.html</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">We are also making
downloads of the novels completely free in EPUB and PDF ebook
formats:</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">songofthesword.pdf:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KP0_Dr573gIjI1rxVIY2KTYJcN581L9O/view?usp=drive_link</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">songofthesword.epub:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AEyY-UfmVvV-xYQHN2cv84noqHSWnAc_/view?usp=drive_link</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">shadowofasak.pdf:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fv7by4kPs8kJ_rPlSnLtcOSIOgA4_aM7/view?usp=drive_link</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">shadowofasak.epub:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j0nfvuiHpwY_USuTB6HX8bd5rcNHwP_N/view?usp=drive_link</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">signofthearrow.pdf:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V44VZN7atpZiUKGFHK6_RTtC7Gzotqeg/view?usp=drive_link</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">signofthearrow.epub:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WXqWsSoIc21LGtG8vRVzAb4drDaGGC5R/view?usp=drive_link</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">handofthesorcerer.pdf:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/159FymrABprMoPW9cXNX4gmY0s9rRZO28/view?usp=drive_link</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">handofthesorcerer.epub:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rgK_quwem-nxPZiTMdsD7GmLldsXZMjl/view?usp=drive_link</p>
<p> </p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-9110260996786067262023-09-04T05:13:00.001-07:002023-09-04T05:13:34.950-07:00New Editions<p>This summer, we undertook the somewhat ambitious (or at least
time-consuming) project of new typesetting for almost all of our
books (only one remained untouched). This involved both using a new
program and, for most, new fonts. And, of course, each book needed to
be proofread, which added considerable time to the process.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">The program we used
was nothing more than LibreOffice, which is generally known as a word
processing app but is also more than adequate for typesetting.
Definitely better than Word or anything of that sort, as it was
originally designed along the lines of a desktop publishing program.
No, it won’t do all the things InDesign or Scribus can but it is
completely acceptable for a typical novel.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">We also moved away
from the Bitstream typefaces in which the majority of our books were
set. These were included with the Corel programs we own and use, but
the licensing was always a bit nebulous. No one, Corel included,
seemed to know whether it was acceptable to use them in print books.
Be that as it may, they were also becoming a bit outdated, being all
in truetype format; nothing wrong with that, to be sure, but we do
appreciate the options offered by opentype.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">Not that all the
opentype fonts we are using provide those options. Some of our titles
now use typefaces from SoftMaker. These are definitely licensed for print
books and most, as with Bitstream, are clones of fonts that have been
around a while. In many cases, we simply plugged in the SoftMaker
alternative to what we had originally used. To be sure, they are
never quite the same size and formatting must be adjusted.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">But we are definitely
moving toward open license fonts for future offerings. These days,
there are plenty of perfectly good typefaces available for free, and
free to use for anything. One can find quite a few at Google Fonts
but it should be recognized the majority of offerings there are
geared toward online use, not print. This includes the latest
versions of fonts that have been around a while, such as EB Garamond
and Crimson—we recommend going to the original projects, rather
than the redesigns done specifically for Google.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">We have finished this
redesign and now comes the process of getting all the new versions
up. This is not high priority, as the old versions are (mostly,
anyway) well-enough done. But we will replace them over the next few
months. More importantly, perhaps, we are also going to put all the
ebooks (EPUB and PDF) up on our own site as free downloads. Getting
those up should take some time too, as well as removing them from the
store (at Lulu). Print will continue to be for sale and distributed
to pretty much all booksellers, Amazon included.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">Incidentally, we
would recommend not buying the Kindle versions we had up at Amazon. It
is to be assumed those will disappear eventually.</p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-29887843811715658792023-08-02T02:30:00.000-07:002023-08-02T02:30:06.094-07:00New Mouse Edition<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The new and revised edition of Stephen Brooke's picture book, A MOUSE IS IN THE HOUSE, is up at the Arachis Press store: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xt0b8zv x1fey0fg" href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/a-mouse-is-in-the-house/paperback/product-1v9qye8z.html?fbclid=IwAR0J1YVN5a8OMR-osgxn6UJWZ6YBAwaermVaCo9jA--o4uFTaqFoihQXqio" rel="nofollow noreferrer" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--blue-link); cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://www.lulu.com/.../paperback/product-1v9qye8z.html</a></span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of the changes were improved typesetting. The story and pictures remain the same! </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">We may soon upload PDF versions (both color and b/w) to our site for free (or pay what you will) download.</span></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-16604893726379885052023-07-31T04:03:00.001-07:002023-12-31T07:19:39.961-08:00Libertine<p>The open license Linux Libertine typeface is sometimes touted as a
Times New Roman replacement, though the two do not look particularly
similar. Libertine is more in the style of such mid-20th Century
neoclassical designs as Berling and Palatino.<br /></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">But it is metrically
equivalent to Times. That is, the same words in either typeface
should take up about the same amount of space on a page. This means
Libertine, as Times, is somewhat closely spaced, though it does not
tend to look as cramped in long lines of text. We might compare it
more to Adobe’s Minion, which is similarly economically spaced (and resembles more than a bit).</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">It may be noted that
other typefaces also are equivalent to Times New Roman. That was a
common goal in the early days of free typefaces, when TNR was
ubiquitous both on and off line. The popular Gentium is one of the
most successful of these, though it has more of a Goudy-like
appearance (to us, anyway).</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">Is Libertine a decent
typeface? Would we use it as book text? The answer must be a definite
‘maybe.’ One can pick at little details of the design but overall
we feel it works pretty well. Definitely as well as many commercial
fonts available. But, as Palatino, we might be inclined to reserve it
for jobs other than novels. Poetry, perhaps—we have employed
Gentium effectively for collections, making sure to keep it
relatively large and well spaced. These are type faces that need room
to breathe, that might look crowded on the page of a typical novel.
Or, as with Minion (or even Times), Libertine could be effective in
books or magazines with the text laid out in double columns, on wider
pages.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">This does not mean we
would never use it a body text in a novel. We tested replacing the
Berling we used in a couple novels with Linux Libertine and it fitted
rather well. Yes, and it looked pretty good, too. So perhaps a future
novel from Arachis Press will appear set in Libertine; we do intend
to move to open license type, after all, and this one should give us
no surprises. It can be one of those workmanlike choices we should
all have available as a fall-back choice.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">And we would be
willing to recommend it as a choice for someone new to setting up a
novel (or other book). It will work—and it’s way better than
Times!</p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-36402642115487240932023-07-15T03:25:00.001-07:002023-07-15T03:25:21.101-07:00Stones in the Sea<p>Today, July 15 2023, is the official release date for Stephen Brooke’s latest fantasy novel, STONES IN THE SEA. Here are the links for print and ebook at our store:</p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 15px 0px; orphans: 2; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">PRINT: <a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/stones-in-the-sea/paperback/product-z2mrvk.html">https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/stones-in-the-sea/paperback/product-z2mrvk.html</a><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; outline: none 0px;" />PDF: <a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/stones-in-the-sea/ebook/product-z2wzrg.html">https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/stones-in-the-sea/ebook/product-z2wzrg.html</a><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; outline: none 0px;" />EPUB: <a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/stones-in-the-sea/ebook/product-z2wvvz.html">https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/stones-in-the-sea/ebook/product-z2wvvz.html</a></p><p>Print should show up retailers 'everywhere' eventually, if it has not already.</p><p>We also continue to roll out new editions of our books with revised typesetting. That is a matter of both licensing and improved appearance.<br /></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-5271912111242330822023-05-12T08:21:00.005-07:002023-05-12T08:21:48.927-07:00July Release<p> We have set the official release date for Stephen Brooke's new fantasy novel, "Stones in the Sea," for July 15, 2023. It will be available in print, PDF, and EPUB. Here is the cover:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Uxwgxqr_zeN5zQsTcwPqWk0gKw4NzlA4dBNHDmTgICfERlCwtMmVA6r1bwsA5TzMcAantcAzrDrO990eGTE70PM-luJHdUF2dgjt32hYYjATsipM1tlUxrjbNJcKiNwX8y15oIpaVlVgJ9yCQ7oK1bRckr09NxFS5OLphxyDH_l5xHI3zkeWhOUARw/s933/stonescovlow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="618" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Uxwgxqr_zeN5zQsTcwPqWk0gKw4NzlA4dBNHDmTgICfERlCwtMmVA6r1bwsA5TzMcAantcAzrDrO990eGTE70PM-luJHdUF2dgjt32hYYjATsipM1tlUxrjbNJcKiNwX8y15oIpaVlVgJ9yCQ7oK1bRckr09NxFS5OLphxyDH_l5xHI3zkeWhOUARw/s320/stonescovlow.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><p>And the rear cover blurb:</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;">
Where to sail but west after escaping his Chilean prison? Into the
depths of the Pacific voyaged Yankee seaman Dick Brown, seeking
refuge and rest beyond the horizon. What he found was another world,
one where his coming had been prophesied, where his destiny was tied
to the mystic gems known as the Jewels of the Elements. On lost
islands, in mountain fastnesses, Dick discovers that destiny and his
place in a new world.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;">STONES IN THE SEA, a
novel by Stephen Brooke</p>
<p></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-11486858419124649152023-04-11T03:17:00.002-07:002023-04-11T03:17:11.135-07:00Twelve<p>We began our publishing journey twenty years ago with the release of Stephen Brooke's first poetry collection, "Pieces of the Moon." On the 21st we will officially publish his twelfth collection (and our 52nd book), "Islanders." Available in print, PDF, and EPUB.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86DGk9cJTgDaJt-eW0kYCNKH07w1FxTITFojsZxgmc30PPgotwZmaMtpDD9y__sFXp96lv7KmzqcDP1Om0901HQ5Lkc4Mdq4HpqpOZMpTX0O261Sp_1T6x3sHH1jQsAuBJiuPLqgmudVYvriCOnk7keN_SCM22cS76g6ZqankByuqckBjBBnOFGbZGQ/s985/poetrybrooke1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="985" data-original-width="751" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86DGk9cJTgDaJt-eW0kYCNKH07w1FxTITFojsZxgmc30PPgotwZmaMtpDD9y__sFXp96lv7KmzqcDP1Om0901HQ5Lkc4Mdq4HpqpOZMpTX0O261Sp_1T6x3sHH1jQsAuBJiuPLqgmudVYvriCOnk7keN_SCM22cS76g6ZqankByuqckBjBBnOFGbZGQ/w305-h400/poetrybrooke1.png" width="305" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-54836157380703307662023-04-10T08:42:00.000-07:002023-04-10T08:42:55.098-07:00Crimson<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">Not long ago, I was recommending Crimson Pro over earlier versions of
the Crimson typeface, which had various relatively minor problems.
The Pro version was a redesign (not by the original designer) done at
the request of Google. There were some fairly noticeable changes to
the appearance but the other improvements made these acceptable.
Crimson Pro remains a perfectly good and usable typeface, but one
that is perhaps better for online use than print.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">Then I found that
Crimson Text had undergone a revision last year that addressed most
of the problems. The Text version, at least to me, seems a more
attractive font and a better choice for print. Pro seems to have a
taller x-height, the details of serifs etc are more squared-off, and
it has other small changes that might make it more readable on a web
page but are not so desirable on a printed page. Not that it wouldn’t
work, but Crimson Text looks more suited to that role, as well as more 'elegant' (which is very much a matter of personal judgement and taste). There have
been comparisons of Crimson to Adobe’s Minion—and one can find
similarities—but to my eye, it is more reminiscent of Plantin. And,
as Plantin, it is an unassuming, do-it-all, Garamond-esque typeface
(although Plantin derives more from the type of Granjon than
Garamond). Crimson Text is certainly a useful font to have available.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">Make certain you are
getting the 2022 version of Crimson Text. What is offered at Google
Fonts may not be the latest iteration but the face can be found at
its GitHub project page. One of the problems with earlier Crimson
type was that it didn’t always print properly in POD applications.
This has supposedly been remedied but it would be prudent to watch
for that sort of problem (it’s not the only typeface that’s been
problematic in POD, including some that are commercial offerings).</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">No, Arachis Press has
not released any books set in any version of Crimson. We almost
certainly will, even if we do have a licensed version of Plantin
available (we’ve used Plantin in a half-dozen books). It’s just
the sort of fall-back typeface that is useful to have in ones
toolkit, with an open license so we never need to worry about
commercial use.</p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-22704337001612829282023-03-27T11:55:00.001-07:002023-03-27T11:56:07.941-07:00Humanist Slab-Serifs<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Mid-Twentieth Century saw the emergence of what are sometimes called (accurately enough) ‘humanist
slab-serif’ typefaces. These retained—for the most part—the
rectangular serifs of earlier slab fonts but varied the axis and the
other strokes to create a more humanist feel to the forms, as with
the humanist sans faces that were appearing in the same period. One
seemingly simple yet elegant example is Candida, which received
greater recognition when Bitstream reissued it half a century later.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Around the same time, the company
released a somewhat similar humanist slab of their own design, Prima.
At first glance, they seem quite alike but one begins to pick out the
differences quickly enough. Prima is rather unlovely beside Candida,
but the latter undoubtedly influenced (or inspired) its design. It
may be noted that Prima, as Adobe’s Utopia and Bitstream’s own
Charter, was designed to work well with the low resolution printers
of its time.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A second look will tell us Prima is
pretty much identical to Bitstream’s Vera Serif, which has since
developed into Deja Vu, a popular and widespread free font. Why the
name change? In part, we would assume, to mark it as their open
license (more or less) offering. An entire family of different fonts
was attached to both Prima and Vera, sans and mono versions, designed
with the same uses in mind. Deja Vu Serif is certainly a decent
enough font, and beloved of the open source community, but we would
be unlikely to use it to print a book.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Candida, maybe, but we’d have to pay
for a license! In honesty, it’s not the sort of typeface we’d
normally consider for a novel. Perhaps for some niche project it
would be just the thing. There are, to be sure, other nice-looking
humanist slab-serif typefaces available, and some are even open
license. It has again become a rather popular concept and more than
one recent release, such as IBM’s big family of typefaces, has
reflected the trend. By the way, we think IBM Plex Serif is decidedly
ugly (a pastiche of varying styles). We’d take Deja Vu over it, any
day—it, at least, stays true to its concept.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Kameron, by Vernon Adams, looks pretty
decent and is available from Google Fonts. Its lack of a separate
italic is, however, problematic, and it is perhaps not really
suitable to book text. To be sure, there are also a number of faces
that almost fit the classification but are not quite humanist or not
quite true slabs. There is not a big gap between humanist slab-serifs
and some neoclassical fonts. As always, how they look on the page is
more important than what category we place them in.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLheiWP9zMC75hgm7MfUy04oG8GzaZxjzldX3Hh5X6TEtHyxlYYYXFLoRczeF9iHnKV-AMq39om7hMXhe5bXJqybrHgKU4SFLsQ_GD-C-PH0tbFqXmDP3JPYBHW47dEjiuUtwO2ajmwhIRwqdB0WLO3chZKqbQt8Rg_xA6aRAEMNSOES6DLF9xPmVSQ/s934/cand-prima.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="652" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLheiWP9zMC75hgm7MfUy04oG8GzaZxjzldX3Hh5X6TEtHyxlYYYXFLoRczeF9iHnKV-AMq39om7hMXhe5bXJqybrHgKU4SFLsQ_GD-C-PH0tbFqXmDP3JPYBHW47dEjiuUtwO2ajmwhIRwqdB0WLO3chZKqbQt8Rg_xA6aRAEMNSOES6DLF9xPmVSQ/w279-h400/cand-prima.png" width="279" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-13413679492312738702023-03-27T05:55:00.008-07:002023-03-27T05:56:25.334-07:00Islanders Promo<p> Stephen Brooke's latest poetry collection, ISLANDERS, is coming in April.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVtHuJVMXA_ZVxGhK2ZT3VcjKlO_RGQWAmQgBpv5cZIBny60k9gT6kc0e1xNXQw0fK20Z1W5lf0LdT5vC9raVERBHTsDtzBmdsCwnQVdPXY9md3NyiF473oEk3Idc6sbgwyxc4eFM2vdDTGzHVni528o9LmzN0lJtX3k0030UkfY-cqrKtnIxMvvYIw/s1120/islandersbanner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="1120" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVtHuJVMXA_ZVxGhK2ZT3VcjKlO_RGQWAmQgBpv5cZIBny60k9gT6kc0e1xNXQw0fK20Z1W5lf0LdT5vC9raVERBHTsDtzBmdsCwnQVdPXY9md3NyiF473oEk3Idc6sbgwyxc4eFM2vdDTGzHVni528o9LmzN0lJtX3k0030UkfY-cqrKtnIxMvvYIw/w400-h167/islandersbanner.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-42721384160873928072023-03-06T12:45:00.000-08:002023-03-06T12:45:19.529-08:00Megafont Review<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Softmaker, a software company from
Germany, has been selling digital fonts for quite a long time. We
recently purchased their Megafont package, some 7500 fonts with a
commercial license, for thirty-five US dollars. This seems like a
pretty good deal for a small publisher; we can print books with them
without any restriction (other than the number of computers on which
they may be installed). So—are they as good a buy as they seem?</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The
first thing to note is that of those thousands of fonts, more than a
third are ‘special effects’ versions of the other fonts:
outlined, antiqued, etc. These would prove somewhat useless to most
of us and we would be unlikely to ever install most of them. Yes, I
could possibly see using one in the main titling of a book or
something of that sort.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The
‘normal’ fonts are of three sorts, some licensed or reissued from
older (often out-of-business) foundries, some outright clones of
older type (and not always done that well), and a few original fonts
created for Softmaker. It should be noted that the quality of the
fonts has improved since Softmaker (and others) started issuing
digital type, decades ago. It should also be noted that the big-name
foundries (many of which have been bought up by Monotype now) were
not always that good either with their digital fonts.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I
can not complain about the quality of the typefaces in the package
(aside from the aforementioned special effects variants). Most are
usable enough, though some lack italics or weights we might want. It
is not always easy to tell what other typeface they might mimic,
either—what is included might or might not provide a desired
replacement font. They tend to be heavy on older and somewhat
old-fashioned fonts, from the late Nineteenth–early Twentieth
Century period. Many would not be a first (nor even second) choice
for publishing modern fiction (though they could work, if nothing
else were available).</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I
will say right here that one could publish quite decent books with
nothing but open license typefaces, such as the ones available on
Google Fonts. Many of those are geared toward online use rather than
print but others are perfectly usable. EB Garamond, Alegreya, Crimson
Pro—I would not hesitate to use one of those in a print book. The
venerable Charter and Utopia are good too. I could keep listing
useful fonts, but back to the Megafont package.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Some
fonts from Softmaker have already proven of use. We have redesigned
the novel ‘The Crocodile God’ (a fantasy adventure by Stephen
Brooke) with their Gareth, a stand-in for Galliard, and it looks just
fine. We may revise other books from time to time, though there is no
great hurry about it. New books are entirely likely to use open
license type, but it is nice to have something to plug into revisions
or new additions to a series. The Softmaker package is, if nothing
else, security, a back up source of typefaces. The $35 is a fairly
good deal really; one could spend that much for a single commercial
font.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">To
be sure, this typeface collection includes many that would be of more
use to a designer than a publisher. After all, we do need to design
ads and book covers and such, too, so they may well prove useful.
Whether I would recommend it to a graphic designer, I’m not so
sure. Oh, at that price, why not?</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But
for the everyday user, maybe not. This is an investment—albeit a
small one—in commercial typefaces. For personal use, one would do
as well to stick to what is available free. There are more good
choices every day!</span></p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-16041871737989636562023-02-24T06:48:00.004-08:002023-02-24T06:48:32.194-08:00Jumping Jack Release<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Here are links to JUMPING JACK at our
store. This is the second Jack Mack science fiction novel by Oliver
Davis Pike, official release date February 25, 2023. The print
edition should be available from retailers everywhere.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">print:
<a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/oliver-davis-pike/jumping-jack/paperback/product-vpkm84.html">https://www.lulu.com/shop/oliver-davis-pike/jumping-jack/paperback/product-vpkm84.html</a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">epub:
<a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/oliver-davis-pike/jumping-jack/ebook/product-qpqpmw.html">https://www.lulu.com/shop/oliver-davis-pike/jumping-jack/ebook/product-qpqpmw.html</a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">pdf:
<a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/oliver-davis-pike/jumping-jack/ebook/product-9g7wpn.html">https://www.lulu.com/shop/oliver-davis-pike/jumping-jack/ebook/product-9g7wpn.html</a></p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-36778174235266418852023-02-12T12:29:00.000-08:002023-02-12T12:29:12.053-08:00Jack Mack Two<p>We are less that two weeks away from the official release on February 25 2023 of the second Jack Mack science fiction novel from Oliver Davis Pike. The cover and a blurb:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYutvmHtQW3n6A1Ti_DweIhks1Dp_jT_w4TGiUEb6V2dosucFXAJUfYwPfyC6VExWf6g0HFEOhX7TBDQkAadEb6IBxe4ZAWmW1oa6qCixfJaQfZ-rjvzvhkdUw_iT1aeroPZQSV5LhlBi0gmM86yZOPt3qPJqmru1hJv-z_lj2izzw-FIxZf3YpIg0eQ/s844/jumpingcoverlo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="559" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYutvmHtQW3n6A1Ti_DweIhks1Dp_jT_w4TGiUEb6V2dosucFXAJUfYwPfyC6VExWf6g0HFEOhX7TBDQkAadEb6IBxe4ZAWmW1oa6qCixfJaQfZ-rjvzvhkdUw_iT1aeroPZQSV5LhlBi0gmM86yZOPt3qPJqmru1hJv-z_lj2izzw-FIxZf3YpIg0eQ/w265-h400/jumpingcoverlo.png" width="265" /></a></div>
<p></p><p>Young Jack McFee’s prowess as a jump
ship pilot has earned him the nickname Jumping Jack. He is only the
second person to leap through the Wall, the great cloud of dust and
gas bordering Scotian space. Jack would as soon continue patrolling
deep space with his almost-too-smart ship’s AI, but he won’t be
permitted. A drawn-out war that is not going well, attempts on his
powerful grandfather’s life, and the duty of protecting a
princess—whom he rather likes—draw him back into action in
JUMPING JACK, the second Jack Mack science fiction novel by Oliver
Davis Pike<br /> <br /></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-24325479231442775692023-01-25T05:19:00.005-08:002023-01-25T05:19:55.894-08:00Jumping Jack Promo<p> The release of Oliver Davis Pike's new science fiction novel is only a month away!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCOJuoeLB-RMt0m6ts8GgC4rf8muXil1uaueiIJbMmgHglG0mF6Pi7em5K3yDOyWTN5rBJH5p4x36yN2RqgmhlQybjG-nZZavXDjVhVjufZkQmmG7EVJw_fOTHBnHd2f753Z7XgR2hUO9nkN1d9BIyOCInKWOfy1Z_BEQg8XQklXpoH0sGx5Snkq2Mw/s1444/jumpingpromo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1444" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCOJuoeLB-RMt0m6ts8GgC4rf8muXil1uaueiIJbMmgHglG0mF6Pi7em5K3yDOyWTN5rBJH5p4x36yN2RqgmhlQybjG-nZZavXDjVhVjufZkQmmG7EVJw_fOTHBnHd2f753Z7XgR2hUO9nkN1d9BIyOCInKWOfy1Z_BEQg8XQklXpoH0sGx5Snkq2Mw/w400-h229/jumpingpromo.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-7037022026669231232023-01-10T12:03:00.000-08:002023-01-10T12:03:07.916-08:00The Free Font Ground-Breakers<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Loads of free typefaces flooded the
internet pretty much as soon as there was an internet. Many of them
were pretty awful, perhaps having some use as display fonts but
definitely not suited for use as print text. We’re talking original
typefaces here, not clones or copies of older designs (though they
certainly could be inspired by them). We’ll write of five serif
body-text faces from those early days that were good enough to have
survived and flourished.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The first is Deja Vu, the darling of
open license fans everywhere, and common in the Linux world. This
font has undergone various iterations and redesigns since a form of
it first appeared as Bitstream’s Prima, later morphing into Vera
and the Deja Vu most commonly distributed today. As some of its
successful contemporaries, it was designed to work well with low
resolution screens and printers, having simplified forms. Deja Vu is
essentially in the humanist slab-serif style, with similarities to
such older typefaces as Candida. There have been plenty enough new
fonts (many free) of this sort released since but they are not
necessarily any better. Not that Deja Vu is a particularly attractive
font—we doubt we would print a novel in it. Possibly it could be
useful for nonfiction or brochures or that sort of thing; it is
readable at quite small sizes.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bitstream released another font into
the wild, intended for much the same roles: Matthew Carter’s
Charter. This one draws from the Fournier designs of the Eighteenth
Century (as does the somewhat more recent and similar Adobe Source
Serif) but simplifies them into a sturdy and attractive font suited
to the needs of the time. As computers and printers improved, those
needs lessened but Charter remains a quite good and quite free
typeface. We would have no qualms about printing a fiction book in
Charter (or nonfiction, for that matter), though there are more
‘elegant’ choices. It is a do-it-all font.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As is Adobe’s Utopia, which was
designed with much the same roles in mind. Utopia has something of a
slab-serif look to it but also draws from ‘Transitional’ and
‘Modern’ typefaces such as Baskerville. It is another all-purpose
font. Adobe intended it as a Times alternative, for office use;
although it never caught on for that role it remains a quite good
typeface. We have issued fiction books set in Utopia. It provides a
balance of modern utility and classic elegance. Were we forced to use
one font for everything, it might well be our choice. Utopia became
free, apparently, somewhat by accident. Be that as it may, it is
definitely free to use as we will these days.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Our final two, Gentium and Linux
Libertine, were not designed with the shortcomings of early computing
in mind, but as traditional typefaces from their origin. Both are
frequently referred to as Times replacements, and compared to that
font, but we do not find either particularly similar to the Times
typeface. Oh, some, to be sure; any serif text face is bound to have
similarities or it would become unreadable!</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Gentium does share one quality with
Times and that is that it is somewhat closely spaced. That is the big
problem with Times; it was designed for use in narrow newspaper
columns and can become too dense on a book-width page (not to mention
a sheet of typewriter paper). Gentium isn’t quite so tightly packed
but it is something of which one should be aware. We have used it for
poetry books but not for novels. This is not to say we never would.
To us, Gentium has a bit of a Goudy-esque feel, with definite
calligraphic elements. It is a nice looking but not ostentatious
font, workman-like and most certainly usable.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Libertine draws somewhat from the
mid-Twentieth Century neo-humanist movement that gave us such
typefaces as Palatino and Berling. Although it has never caught on to
any great extent as a book font, it may be found in use all over the
internet. Wikipedia is the most obvious example. That familiarity
could admittedly be a strike against using it for print. We have not
used it for a book yet, but intend to in upcoming releases (as a
replacement for the above-mentioned Berling). Libertine has the bonus
of a true matching sans, Linux Biolinum (Deja Vu Sans has no family
resemblance to Deja Vu Serif).</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">These five have been around for over
thirty years, plenty enough time to be thoroughly tested. We would
have no reservations about their dependability; whether they have the
appearance one desires is another question and one that must be
answered on an individual, book-by-book basis. But they will get the
job done; they will not let one down.</p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-20491356140600746952023-01-04T09:42:00.004-08:002023-01-04T09:42:33.451-08:00Hills Release<p>We are a few days from the release of Stephen Brooke's new Hocking Hills mystery, THESE REMEMBERED HILLS, officially out this weekend, Saturday January 7, 2023. It is available right now in our store and print should be with book retailers everywhere (soon, if not right now—ISBN is 978-1-937745-85-1). Here are links to the novel in our store:</p><p>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Print:
<a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/these-remembered-hills/paperback/product-g7zgz2.html">https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/these-remembered-hills/paperback/product-g7zgz2.html</a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> PDF:
<a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/these-remembered-hills/ebook/product-vzej8e.html">https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/these-remembered-hills/ebook/product-vzej8e.html</a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> EPUB:
<a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/these-remembered-hills/ebook/product-pvz7w4.html">https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/these-remembered-hills/ebook/product-pvz7w4.html</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">'Remembered Hills' is also up at GoodReads, with early reviews: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63945869-these-remembered-hills">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63945869-these-remembered-hills</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We shall shortly be announcing a definite release date for Oliver Davis Pike's latest Jack Mack science fiction novel, 'Jumping Jack.' Probably toward the end of February or early March! <br /></p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-62232203186648729392022-12-28T10:51:00.002-08:002022-12-28T10:53:09.425-08:00Garamond<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Garamond—yes, <i>the</i> typeface for
your fiction book. You’re always safe using some version of
Garamond to print that novel or short story collection.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Well, maybe not every version. I would
advise against using the one that comes installed with Windows for
two reasons. One, it is an ‘American’ Garamond, on the spiky and
aggressive side, and based on the designs of Jannon rather than
Garamond himself. Two, you do not actually own the rights to use it
in a print book. Not that anyone is going to come after you if you
send a book set in it off to a print-on-demand company, but you
should recognize that you really are supposed to pay for a license to
use it.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The same, of course, is true of today’s
industry standard, Adobe Garamond. If you intend to pay for a
typeface, you might as well go with the Adobe. It’s pretty
authentic to the original fonts with just the right bit of
modernization.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">If you would prefer a free alternative,
go for EB Garamond. It is practically identical to Adobe’s version,
being based on the same original samples, and may be downloaded free.
I would suggest the EB Garamond 12 that was the original version, not
the EB Garamond that has recently shown up on Google Fonts; that
newer take on the typeface has some changes that may make it better
for online use but not so good for print. Not that it couldn’t be
used, to be sure. One gives up small caps and old style numerals for
more weights—most unneeded—and lining figures.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Before Adobe’s offering came along,
perhaps the most authentic Garamond was that from the Stempel
foundry—and its many clones. The URW++ version is totally free and
open license, having been donated to the Ghostscript project decades
ago. I’ve used it for several novels, more than any other typeface,
I suspect (and I’m not going to stop and count right now). It looks
good, it looks professional. It and the EB are the two top choices
for free Garamonds.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Yet I shall mention another: Cormorant
or, more precisely, Cormorant Garamond, the latter being a slightly
altered version to make it a little more suited to body text.
Incidentally, I would recommend the ‘book’ weight, not the
regular, which looks a bit spindly. Cormorant, on the whole, veers
closer to that American style of Garamond mentioned earlier. It is
actually a quite attractive typeface, but perhaps not as readable for
long stretches of text.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I shall also mention a couple free
Garamond-adjacent typefaces, both of which tend toward the Granjon
style (Granjon being one of Garamond’s assistants and successors).
Excellent commercial fonts have been created in that Granjon mode,
notably Plantin and Matthew Carter’s Galliard.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Plantin is a solid, workmanlike face
that has been dependable for book text for a century. A pretty good
replacement for it is Crimson. Do make sure you get the latest
iteration of the design, Crimson Pro. It has finally made it to the
totally professional level with this version. Crimson is one of those
typefaces I could see using for pretty much anything but it may not
have quite the sense of elegance one gets from Adobe or EB Garamond.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Alegreya <i>is</i> elegant, and makes a
decent alternative to Galliard. It seems definitely inspired by
Carter’s design; not a clone by any means but very much with the
same light-hearted and adventurous feel. This is particularly evident
in the italics. I do love Galliard but I think Alegreya may just
replace it.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I mentioned the added weights in the
newest version of EB Garamond. I find all those bolds and blacks and
so on largely pointless, and generally not all that attractive (and
bold italics can be an abomination). Good italics are more
important—essential even—than a variety of weights, and I really
prefer to have small caps available too. EB Garamond 12, Cormorant,
and Alegreya do all include small caps.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Alegreya and Cormorant also have
another point in their favor, and that is a matching sans typeface.
I’ll readily admit I like Ysabeau, the sans companion to Cormorant,
more than Cormorant itself. It and Alegreya Sans can both be useful
for titling in a book set in any flavor of Garamond.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So, we have no excuse for not using
Garamond in our next novel. Unless, of course, we prefer Caslon. I’ll
have to talk about that some other time.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGU8WK-e8ofgr__hOp7PLEnOpyreov1wgRPC-0NorDl6BWA-BYm7OOdFwPYJAl9H7A1SDfUxoNi_qMU5L6SUSB7OC7I71tWUYLV9d3pzGnmJVijkx7yeWemrj9jIY-qaha9s5r65Hicgw1VxlM86Hb4_RffdZRdpLDVGezSLkIDfsuVFdvKv2hcaD1ig/s847/5garamonds.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="847" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGU8WK-e8ofgr__hOp7PLEnOpyreov1wgRPC-0NorDl6BWA-BYm7OOdFwPYJAl9H7A1SDfUxoNi_qMU5L6SUSB7OC7I71tWUYLV9d3pzGnmJVijkx7yeWemrj9jIY-qaha9s5r65Hicgw1VxlM86Hb4_RffdZRdpLDVGezSLkIDfsuVFdvKv2hcaD1ig/w400-h326/5garamonds.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-66170909854304943632022-12-21T05:24:00.005-08:002022-12-21T05:24:43.732-08:00Amazon<p>We have had it with trying to deal with Amazon. There will be no new Kindle editions of our books (including the about to be released THESE REMEMBERED HILLS). The old ones, we assume, will linger on their site, and, of course, our print books will continue to be distributed to Amazon, as they are to pretty much all book sellers.</p><p>Those who wish to purchase ebook versions of our title will find both EPUB and PDF editions at our store: <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/arachispress">http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/arachispress</a></p><p>Incidentally, THESE REMEMBERED HILLS is up at our store in every format right now, in advance of our official release. Print should show up at retailers by the January 7 date we have set.<br /></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-66866206471832380492022-12-15T03:08:00.000-08:002022-12-15T03:08:09.943-08:00These Remembered Hills<p>Stephen Brooke's newest novel, a 'Hocking Hills Mystery' (the first, with a promise of more to come) will be officially released on January 7 2023. Titled 'These Remembered Hills,' the story is set in the Hocking Hills of southeastern Ohio in 1962, and will be available in print, epub, PDF, and Kindle formats. Here is the official blurb:</p><p>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>Yes, he loved these hills, these
remembered hills of his youth.</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Jim Fry had returned from his four
years in the navy, returned to the family farm where his sister had
died, broken at the foot of a cliff. An accident. So most believed.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Not her friend, artist Rick Myers. A
few days later, Myers is also dead and no one mistakes this for an
accident. Through farmland and forest, the cliffs and creeks of the
Hocking Hills of southern Ohio, Jim pursues the truth—and the
murderers.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">And here is the cover:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-acESr7rpITRQ2wAS66cTyKHVDe-5_oEJBbY83SM7rY9OlY5WALRm1gRmdiDA04h9g7IKvCz5JQL8IPAzA1SInptOOvjPCQKnHx3q8happBUwcZqjjDhS5k3l802JKPD6rqOxLm2DpfoFUxNjfT8TN3Jdoxphlm6CalD_iBVBYQcuMq9dhodfcaNFQ/s604/rememberedsite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-acESr7rpITRQ2wAS66cTyKHVDe-5_oEJBbY83SM7rY9OlY5WALRm1gRmdiDA04h9g7IKvCz5JQL8IPAzA1SInptOOvjPCQKnHx3q8happBUwcZqjjDhS5k3l802JKPD6rqOxLm2DpfoFUxNjfT8TN3Jdoxphlm6CalD_iBVBYQcuMq9dhodfcaNFQ/w265-h400/rememberedsite.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p>
Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-69438842029153331842022-12-09T05:23:00.006-08:002022-12-09T05:24:38.194-08:00Winter/Spring Releases<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEa5zeeRBlqPtxU4_ilKCV6bcaby4bumvMfGfHwqe6HrdhppO8jbzAFfR9M9pBmnP8ago4g1RfjABh1ixjeFSFBDMs4oTo-vWdRuswE_QXbj-VKbKWzUVOFLP-9VNeVKXRdHPJIhXMPpd1SWoJdtVG2Aih0ML1kXSKEMVUsTUFwUbIEoRLz4xgiUeKA/s874/ap2023.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="874" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEa5zeeRBlqPtxU4_ilKCV6bcaby4bumvMfGfHwqe6HrdhppO8jbzAFfR9M9pBmnP8ago4g1RfjABh1ixjeFSFBDMs4oTo-vWdRuswE_QXbj-VKbKWzUVOFLP-9VNeVKXRdHPJIhXMPpd1SWoJdtVG2Aih0ML1kXSKEMVUsTUFwUbIEoRLz4xgiUeKA/w400-h229/ap2023.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>These titles will be appearing after the new year (These Remembered Hills is set for a Jan 7 release) and into spring and maybe early summer (exact release dates yet to be set). Expect more later in the year!<br /></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-84330926727683677612022-12-03T12:09:00.003-08:002022-12-03T12:09:33.427-08:002023<p>The coming year, 2023, will mark our twentieth year as a publisher (though we used a different name the first couple of those years). It will also mark the release of our fiftieth title. That will be Stephen Brooke's Hocking Hills mystery, 'These Remembered Hills.' More on that as we draw nearer the release date, which we have set for January 7.</p><p>Beyond that, we will be publishing Oliver Davis Pikes's second Jack Mack science fiction adventure, 'Jumping Jack.' Tentative release date is late February, or March 4 at the latest. More to come on that one, too.</p><p>And by late spring or early summer, the latest poetry collection from Stephen Brooke, titled 'Islanders.' We have nothing set further than that but be assured there will be more books released in the coming year. And for years to come!<br /></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416910639281015068.post-6989653785397942582022-08-05T02:59:00.000-07:002022-08-05T02:59:04.623-07:00One Christmas Release<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Saturday, August 6, 2022 is the official release date for Sienna Santerre's novel of three young women in Sixties Florida, ‘One Christmas in the Sun.’ This is the sequel to ‘One Summer in the Sun’ (also available, of course!).</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">These are the links for ‘One Christmas in the Sun’ at Amazon:</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">PRINT:<span> </span><a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F1937745848&t=NDEzYjZjYjVhYTM5NzgyZTk4OGYzODFiM2U3ZGY0NDliYzMzMDJhZSxvc3ZWcWhmVQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AKqD1LEE7Iq-yfyzN_YUoGA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fsiennasanterre.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F691737425461100544%2Fsaturday-august-6-2022-is-the-official&m=1&ts=1659692678" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937745848</a></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Kindle:<span> </span><a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB0B77L3TSD&t=MTg3NWFmMmJkZTUwZGVmNzdlZmI1OWJlNzFhYWY4ZTdhMGJiOTJhOCxvc3ZWcWhmVQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AKqD1LEE7Iq-yfyzN_YUoGA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fsiennasanterre.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F691737425461100544%2Fsaturday-august-6-2022-is-the-official&m=1&ts=1659692678" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B77L3TSD</a></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">The print edition is (in theory, anyway) available ‘everywhere,’ but you may also purchase it at the Arachis Press store:<span> </span><a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lulu.com%2Fshop%2Fsienna-santerre%2Fone-christmas-in-the-sun%2Fpaperback%2Fproduct-dwz4z9.html&t=NGRhOGYxM2NjYzdiMjc3NWRlMTliN2NlMzE1Mzg3MTA2YTI3ZjE3Mixvc3ZWcWhmVQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AKqD1LEE7Iq-yfyzN_YUoGA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fsiennasanterre.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F691737425461100544%2Fsaturday-august-6-2022-is-the-official&m=1&ts=1659692678" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">https://www.lulu.com/shop/sienna-santerre/one-christmas-in-the-sun/paperback/product-dwz4z9.html</a></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">or if you prefer a PDF:<span> </span><a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lulu.com%2Fshop%2Fsienna-santerre%2Fone-christmas-in-the-sun%2Febook%2Fproduct-87y5m5.html&t=MTdlMzM4ODVhOTEzZDg5MmVlNzk4ODliMjMzMzVhZjFhMzMwMjNmNixvc3ZWcWhmVQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AKqD1LEE7Iq-yfyzN_YUoGA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fsiennasanterre.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F691737425461100544%2Fsaturday-august-6-2022-is-the-official&m=1&ts=1659692678" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">https://www.lulu.com/shop/sienna-santerre/one-christmas-in-the-sun/ebook/product-87y5m5.html</a></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">or maybe an EPUB:<span> </span><a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lulu.com%2Fshop%2Fsienna-santerre%2Fone-christmas-in-the-sun%2Febook%2Fproduct-pq5nd7.html&t=NzFiYzg4ZjIxZDMxMjIyODllMjQyZTI4YWYyODE2NzYwOTljYjdlNixvc3ZWcWhmVQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AKqD1LEE7Iq-yfyzN_YUoGA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fsiennasanterre.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F691737425461100544%2Fsaturday-august-6-2022-is-the-official&m=1&ts=1659692678" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">https://www.lulu.com/shop/sienna-santerre/one-christmas-in-the-sun/ebook/product-pq5nd7.html</a></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">or just browse all the books at the AP store:<span> </span><a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lulu.com%2Fspotlight%2Farachispress&t=YTkzYTgyNjBmOTcyNmE1YzRlMmRiYTA5OTQ2MzViYjVkYzg4MjM2Nixvc3ZWcWhmVQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AKqD1LEE7Iq-yfyzN_YUoGA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fsiennasanterre.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F691737425461100544%2Fsaturday-august-6-2022-is-the-official&m=1&ts=1659692678" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/arachispress</a></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">And if you’d like to stop by the Sienna Santerre GoodReads page and perhaps leave a review:<span> </span><a href="https://href.li/?https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22034700.Sienna_Santerre" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22034700.Sienna_Santerre</a></p>Peanut Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051885746335148507noreply@blogger.com0