Michael Hoeye appears to have self-published Time Stops for No Mouse and somehow convinced the local bookstores to give him shelf space and even push the book quite a bit. And when you live in Portland (OR), and your local bookstore is called Powell’s, well, the three-book deal with Penguin was probably a bit of a disappointment, really.
The book is quite good, although the plot is kinda weak. Mr. Hoeye has a marvelous eye for goofy names: Our hero, Hermux Tantamoq, is a fussy, vain watchmaker, just as you might expect. He falls for a mysterious aviatrix named Linka Perflinger. His gossipy post lady is Lista Blenwipple. The missing scientist is Turfip Dandiffer. The evil scientist is Hiril Mennus. The likeable reporter is Pup Schoonagliffen. The millionaire philanthropist is Ortolina Perriflot. They’re all terrific characters, too. Well, I was a bit disappointed in Ms. Perriflot and Dr. Dandiffer, but they were fine, really. Oh, and most of them are mice. Some are moles, I think, and there are rats and all, but none of it’s as annoying (to YHB) as that might be. I’ll probably read the other two, when they show up at the library.
chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek,
-Vardibidian.
Goofy names that are obviously pronounceable! (From an author whose name isn’t.) There are dozens of specfic novels that I can’t read because I stumble on the names, but those are great.
Maybe someday I can run a Perriflot Press.
The book was originally published by Terfle press, Terfle being the name of Mr. Tantamoq’s pet ladybug.
Isn’t a Perriflot one of those technical terms for a typeface feature?
Thanks,
-V.
When you’re designing a typeface, you have to decide how far the underline should be from the baseline. Too close, and it crosses descenders from the j, p, and q. Too far, and it looks particularly odd with tight leading. The optical illusion created by an underline that is set too far below the baseline when combined with tight leading, where the underline appears to be equally attached to the line of text above and below it, is called the perriflot.
Daniel M Pinkwater is pretty good at that sort of thing too, as I recall. (Flipping Hades Terwilliger may be my favorite.)
In my family, “Flipping Hades Terwilliger!” is a popular exclamation when, for example, one stubs one’s toe while carrying three bowls of pudding.