Silk Road

I’m currently reading a history of the Silk Road, the caravan route across central Asia. My protagonists travel that route in the novel ‘Wilk,’ set shortly after the First World War. Through most of history the more southerly route across the Tarim Basin was more used, as it was safer, albeit a more arduous route. By the time of my story, concerns for bandits and other human dangers had greatly decreased so I sent Jean Wilk and his companions to China via the northern route, through the Dzungarian Gap.

Why? Lower mountains, mostly. Getting their truck or airplanes across the pass into Sinkiang would have been difficult, if not impossible. I’ve learned since the roads were very sandy along that way, as well, making them largely unsuitable for wheeled traffic. That was probably pretty much as true in 1919 as it had been in centuries earlier.

So I made the proper choice there, sending men, truck, and, yes, a couple disassembled aircraft north on the railway from Tashkent and then east into China. That journey is far from being the entire novel but makes up a decent portion of it.

 

Qala/Tes

Qala the Pirate Queen appears in four of my (Stephen Brooke’s) fantasy novels. She was introduced as a secondary character in ‘The Eyes of the Wind,’ in which she is still the leader of the pirates. ‘The Crocodile’s Son’ and ‘The Crocodile God’ chronicle her adventures in retirement as a member of the landed gentry (and the mother of a demigod). We turn to her childhood as a refugee in the decaying city of Tesra in ‘The City and the Sword,’ when she was known as Lellie. Later she took the name of the city as her own, becoming Tes the pirate captain before rising to the position of queen.

 

It is as Tes she appears in the novella ‘Storm Stone,’ to be released in about a month (June 28). This is a tale of her days as a young pirate on her way to the top. All the books are available in print or as free ebooks at arachispress.com

Palatino

Herman Zapf was a bit surprised when his Palatino design became a big hit as a text font. It was intended as a display face, for titles and headings, and he was busy developing the text version, Aldus, that was intended to pair with it. Maybe he should have let the public see that one first!

I have a version of Aldus in my type collection and I would definitely use it rather than Palatino for text in a novel. I did set my very first novel, The Middle of Nowhere, in Palatino, being somewhat less knowledgeable at the time. It looks okay but it does not have the readability of some other choices. Palatino will definitely slow down the eye, though admittedly not that much.

I don’t use the typeface for fiction body text now, but it is my default for poetry — when in doubt, print that poem in Palatino. Typically, I would print that a point or two larger than in a novel, which better suits a display face. And, of course, I do not want the reader to rush through the poems so I’m not interested in quick readability.

I would certainly not discourage anyone from using Palatino for a novel or story collection. It is a well-crafted and attractive design; if you like it, use it!

Mission Delayed

The new Jack Mack science fiction novella, MISSION DELAYED, written as Oliver Davis Pike, has its official release today. Here's where to purchase a print copy:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/oliver-davis-pike/mission-delayed/paperback/product-nvrr49v.html

Or go to arachispress.com for both print and free ebooks.

Monospaced

I like to use a monospaced font for my early drafts (as well as for writing poetry and songs). I find it more suited to spotting mistakes. The main criteria is that it simply looks good. Well spaced, punctuation large and easy to differentiate, and a look more similar to book text (with serifs, of course). Italic and bold versions are nice but not essential — the ones generated by the computer are good enough for drafting. These are the ones I’ve used and generally liked:

Linux Libertine Mono is the most book-like of my monospaced fonts. No bolds nor italics. Spacing is good and punctuation shows up well enough (though not as obviously as with some other fonts). Pretty much my main choice at this time.

BitStream’s Prestige BT has italics and bolds. Somewhat book-like, though it is more a typewriter font. Everything shows up well.

Century Schoolbook Mono is more book-like than most. No bolds nor italics. I used this a lot at one point. Incidentally, when I don’t draft with a monospaced typeface, Century Schoolbook is my usual choice.

These two I don’t like quite as well but could do an adequate job:

Go Mono has italics and bolds. Reasonably book-like slab serif but feels a little too bunched up.

Courier Prime has italics and bolds. A much better and meatier Courier than what comes with most computers, but still has the typewriter look — not much like book text.

I’ve found one fault or another with everything else I’ve tested. That doesn’t mean I won’t keep my eyes open for something new.

Raft, a poem

Raft

A raft of words remains, the wreckage
of our voyage, bearing me 
across unknown horizons, empty
seas that yearn to grasp the stars.

Shall I, too, yearn? I, too, have depths
untouched by light. What swims those depths?
What cold and patient monsters hunger,
silent and insatiable?

They lurk as motionless as I,
anticipating nothing more
than that the errant currents bring.
They bring the unnamed stars I swallow.

Those can never fill me now.
For you I gathered handfuls once;
their light is lost. They have no substance,
float away, drift as do I.

The corners of the sky grow silent;
across expanses of forgotten
song and sea, night scatters dream,
to echo, echo, and to fade.

Stephen Brooke ©2026 

Infinity, a poem

Infinity

Give me half of infinity;
you can take the rest.
We’ll compare the two and see
which one has the best.

Mine’s a really big amount,
big enough, at least,
that when I began to count
the counting never ceased.

Half’s enough for anyone,
everyone assures,
but I hope when all is done,
mine is bigger than yours.

Stephen Brooke ©2026