Over the past summer, I published three new books but didn’t announce them here on the blog. Truthfully, I was a little embarrassed about them. See, I hate when authors, mostly self-published, come out with an “all-new” book that isn’t all-new at all. Some I’ve seen have less than 20% new material, and everything else is a re-hash of a previous title. I hate that. It seems so dishonest. I wanted nothing to do with anything that my readers might construe that way.
And I fear it would be easy for that to happen. So let me tell you all about the new books and why I did what I did.
At the venues where I sold my books in 2024, some people were overwhelmed by Armageddon Pharmacy. They asked for something smaller, with color photographs. Because I anticipated doing more of these markets in the coming years, I decided to give it a try, breaking the original Armageddon Pharmacy into subsets akin to a quick start or introduction. The first three focus on backyard flowers, mint family herbs, and weeds, and average 130 pages. There will eventually be six more of these subsets; however, I have another project to complete before doing any more.
Medicine Surrounds Us: Craft Powerful Herbal Remedies from Backyard Flowers contains 14 flowers. These ten are in Armageddon Pharmacy:
Calendula
Chrysanthemum
Dianthus
Echinacea
German chamomile
Nasturtium
Passionflower
Peony
Snapdragon
Sunflower
These four are only in Medicine Surrounds Us, Volume 1, and on the blog:
California poppy
Hollyhock
Johnny jump-up
Sweet alyssum
Medicine Surrounds Us, Volume 2: Craft Powerful Herbal Remedies from Mint Family Herbs contains 11 mint family herbs. These nine are in Armageddon Pharmacy:
Basil
Catnip
Lavender
Lemon balm
Oregano
Peppermint
Rosemary
Spearmint
Thyme
These two are only in Medicine Surrounds Us, Volume 2:
Horsemint
Sage
Medicine Surrounds Us, Volume 3: Craft Powerful Herbal Remedies from Weeds contains only information that was published in Armageddon Pharmacy. There is no new material, other than the photographs and therapeutic usage index.
After publishing Armageddon Pharmacy last year, I realized what I really wanted in it was a Therapeutic Usage Index. I want to locate my illness in the index and find which herbs manage it; I don’t want to look up a dozen page numbers, and then find out which herbs treat it. I guess I’m impatient like that.
I posted two Therapeutic Usage Indexes on the ribbon at the top of the blog. One button contains just the herbs and substances found in Armageddon Pharmacy. The other, Armageddon Pharmacy +, contains what’s been published in the Medicine Surrounds Us books as well as on the blog but nowhere else. Feel free to print them up for your own use.
The Medicine Surrounds Us books are basically quick start guides. With only three pages of introduction and about a dozen on making medicine, the focus is on the making medicine from the herbs.
All four books contain the same information on how to transform herbs into the various preparations as well as all the footnotes. The Medicine Surrounds Us volumes are formatted much better. I improve my skills with each book. I cringe looking at the formatting of my earlier books. I’m really embarrassed by them.
So there you have it. A short description of the books and why I published them. If you’ve already got Armageddon Pharmacy, would I recommend these? Well, not for yourself, for sure. If you’re interested in the other herbs, look them up on the blog and jot down any info you need in the margins of Armageddon Pharmacy. If buying them for gifts, absolutely. I think they look rather nice.
Amazon is the most expensive place to buy them, and I get the least amount of profit.
EmergingBookshelf.com, an upstart Amazon alternative, has most of my titles but not all. We’re still working on that. Everything there is less than on Amazon, and a few titles are less than on my author website. We’re also still working on that, but in the meantime, take advantage of the lower prices. Last I checked, shipping was free with a $40 order.
AuthorJenniferRader.com is my website; click on the Square button to purchase through me. It’s not a pretty site, but it works. Shipping through me is also free.
