Among the top 10 selections on the newly released Spring/Summer BookSense 76 Children's List is a little book from a very small publisher about a tiny creature with a large following among booksellers around the country. Time Stops for No Mouse by Michael Hoeye of Portland, Ore., was self-published in a quality paperback format under his Terfle Books imprint in the summer of 2000.

The tale of a mouse named Hermux Tantamoq of the town of Pinchester, who fixes watches, falls in love and unravels a ratty mystery, is being compared to Stuart Little and Martin the Warrior of the Redwall series. Now distributed by PGW, Time Stops for No Mouse has been a featured selection on Amazon.com and a BookSense 76 pick. Now in its second printing, the book is nearing the 10,000 mark in sales. The author's second book, The Sands of Time (another Hermux Tantamoq adventure), is due out in September.

While sales figures may seem modest compared with those from larger houses, this mouse's success has been won without benefit of any national publicity. Instead, Hoeye, a savvy copywriter by trade and soft-spoken artist by nature, has quietly brought his book to the attention of those who mattered most—booksellers.

The author introduced the title at last year's PNBA fall show by creating a detailed parlor set from the story and inviting booksellers in for tea. Many buyers had already been alerted to the book via a teaser mailing which included the shipping bill for a mysterious trunk from Pinchester Moving and Storage along with an actual key to open it. "I had been waiting my whole life to get this mailing," said Tonyia Vining, children's book buyer for University Bookstore in Bellevue, Wash. "I tied it to the outside of my briefcase so that people would ask me what it was. It is so clever and fun, and the language is so lyrical. When you start reading, you have to finish it." Vining later put up a sign in the store that said "Hooked on Harry Potter? Try Hermux Tantamoq." Since December the store has sold over 100 copies, and it is the only children's title featured on the staff picks table.

While booksellers in the Northwest were among the first to embrace this tale, the Enchanted Forest children's bookstore in Dallas has become a major outlet. According to owner and buyer Jennifer Anglin, "This is currently our bestselling children's novel; lately it has been outselling even Harry Potter. It takes one into a richly detailed world, has engaging and quirky characters and is full of real suspense with its plot twists, surprises and many levels of nuance. Mystery readers like it and it appeals to boys and girls equally. We keep a stack on the front counter, and now that the entire staff has read it we can barely keep it in stock. In two months we've sold over 125."

Like Harry Potter, Time Stops for No Mouse is hailed by booksellers as a title they can sell to both children and adults. At Rakestraw Books in suburban Danville, Calif., the book was the March title for the store's Fantasy Book Group. Rakestraw owner Michael Barnard handsells the book to customers of all ages. "It's original and fun and fills a real niche for older readers," he told PW. "Plus we like to support independent publishing."

Sidney Jackson, the children's buyer for the Tattered Cover bookstores in Denver, echoed those sentiments. "This is the kind of book we love to find and handsell. It's wonderfully clever and a great read for anyone 10 and up. For a first book, with no national publicity, it's done amazingly well."

Making a gift of his book was an early approach that Hoeye used to get his mouse out of the house. He has given copies to schools and local libraries and has volunteered at local schools where he leads discussions on writing, storytelling and bookmaking. His work in the schools led to a feature story in the Oregonian and adoption in several school district libraries.

Hoeye told PW that he hoped the book would invite adults back into a more childlike world, while children would be taken to a world with more adult themes. Forward or back, Time Stops for No Mouse is on its way.