I know him from a Mexico Writers FB group I’m in. He does mostly Maya work, but I asked if he’d create a map and he agreed. Since the story takes place in several regions of Mexico, I wanted the reader to be able to follow along.
It's on both left and right pages. I'll try to combine later on today. The center binding always makes it look a little awkward as I've tried this before . . . but i'll give it a go.
Hi again- here’s the map, by artist Steve Radzi, from Wheels Up: A Novel of Drugs, Cartels and Survival. Pretty straight forward. A little cock-eyed on photo, hard to position properly with binding in center, but you get the picture! Oops can’t send photos here - will DM you with it.
Yes, that is helpful. We tend to forget about countries that no longer appear on modern maps. Unless we've worked on our history, it's possible to get very lost!
As a mapper, I couldn't resist responding to this..
1. Do you include bespoke maps in your own work? Yes, very much so, and I tend to draw them myself (for both my science fantasy series and personal mapping)
2. What is your experience of maps alongside text in articles, essays, and books? I really appreciate it when a book has a map, especially for fantasy writing, where the world is unfamiliar to me. But any map, gets my attention really, as a visual person.
I created a map of Kent, specifically the Isle of Thanet, reimagined as an island by using the sea-level rise map resources and some research about the Wantsum Channel. It was a lot of fun and allowed me to come up with a new way of looking at a familiar part of the country, which lent itself to my narrative.
Oh Richard. This is beautifully done. And I love the little sailing boat in the sea! What was the process? What medium did you use - ink on cartridge paper?
Printed out the map and then traced it onto a grid using pencil and then ink. Then went over it with dark marker, scanned it, applied a woodcut effect in a photo editing tool and played with contrast. Then printed it out and cut and paste the name boards and compass rose and boat. A lot of manual correction with ink. Then scanned it again to tidy up. So a real mixture of manual and technical approaches. It was a lot of fun and I’d probably do it again!
I make maps for my scientific work (GIS based) and your question made me ask myself why I have not made any maps as part of my writing. I love reading books where the end papers are maps that relate to the story. I went to a great exhibit at the British Library in January about hidden maps and the connection between power, control and mapping. Since I’m writing a book about how our connection to the places we love are changing, I think I need to think more deeply how to visually represent some connections. (I also love looking at books of maps because they are beautiful.) Thanks for asking this question.
I’m pleased to have sparked the question for you Leigh.
How wonderful that you got to see the exhibit at the British Library. Maps are complex in that they carry hidden meanings, and can influence how we think about place and people. That power and control…
Seems that some authors hire artists to draw their maps and others make their own. A lot of fun either way.
one of my favorite parts of the exhibit was silk underwear made from maps used by the resistance during WWII. And a map of the world from 1550s that did not show Antarctica because the cartographer was unaware it existed! Fun stuff.
Yes. And I've come to appreciate deep mapping. I follow @Outdoor Historian and her work on Lake Superior is phenomenal. I hired a professional map-maker to include in the front of my new book, The Land of Everlasting Sky.
Oh, that's good to hear. A few people here have replied that they hired a professional to make their maps. So now I'm intrigued about the process of hiring someone and how you get to produce the map that's in your writerly head.
Erin Grebs is the cartographer I hired. She asked me for sketches and GIS info and any map images I could locate. And it was much more reasonably priced than I had first imagined.
Immensely. Lake of the Woods is the sixth largest freshwater lake in North America and most people don't know where it is...on the US-Canada border where Minnesota, Manitoba and Ontario come together. The border cuts across the lake and gives the state map a funny chimney shape at the top. Most of that area is water, islands, and the "Northwest Angle," a piece of Minnesota above the 49th parallel that is accessible only by water or crossing across the Canadian border and then back into the Angle. Erin also did the two family trees for the front matter of the book.
Yes, re maps. I hired an artist to draw a map for my first novel, a thriller set in Yucatán. I really like maps in books and gravitate to them.
That sounds like a lovely project for an artist, Jeanine. I love to see maps in books as well.
I know him from a Mexico Writers FB group I’m in. He does mostly Maya work, but I asked if he’d create a map and he agreed. Since the story takes place in several regions of Mexico, I wanted the reader to be able to follow along.
Wow. Sounds like my kind of book.
Is there a chance we could see the map Jeanine? Could you post it in Notes? It sounds very interesting.
It's on both left and right pages. I'll try to combine later on today. The center binding always makes it look a little awkward as I've tried this before . . . but i'll give it a go.
🙏
Hi again- here’s the map, by artist Steve Radzi, from Wheels Up: A Novel of Drugs, Cartels and Survival. Pretty straight forward. A little cock-eyed on photo, hard to position properly with binding in center, but you get the picture! Oops can’t send photos here - will DM you with it.
I’m about to start drawing a map with pen, ink and watercolour of our village based on all the old maps I’ve pored over in the county archives.
Maps are endlessly fascinating aren’t they.
I occasionally include maps, especially when mentioning countries that no longer exist, e.g. Lorraine or Prussia.
Yes, that is helpful. We tend to forget about countries that no longer appear on modern maps. Unless we've worked on our history, it's possible to get very lost!
As a mapper, I couldn't resist responding to this..
1. Do you include bespoke maps in your own work? Yes, very much so, and I tend to draw them myself (for both my science fantasy series and personal mapping)
2. What is your experience of maps alongside text in articles, essays, and books? I really appreciate it when a book has a map, especially for fantasy writing, where the world is unfamiliar to me. But any map, gets my attention really, as a visual person.
Maps really appeal to those of us who lean towards the visual, and how exciting to draw your own. Magical when portraying a fantasy world!
I created a map of Kent, specifically the Isle of Thanet, reimagined as an island by using the sea-level rise map resources and some research about the Wantsum Channel. It was a lot of fun and allowed me to come up with a new way of looking at a familiar part of the country, which lent itself to my narrative.
Richard this is fascinating. I'd love to see this map. Is it available to view online?
A bit self-promotiony but here you go: https://humansoftwarebook.com/how-to-purchase/
Oh Richard. This is beautifully done. And I love the little sailing boat in the sea! What was the process? What medium did you use - ink on cartridge paper?
Printed out the map and then traced it onto a grid using pencil and then ink. Then went over it with dark marker, scanned it, applied a woodcut effect in a photo editing tool and played with contrast. Then printed it out and cut and paste the name boards and compass rose and boat. A lot of manual correction with ink. Then scanned it again to tidy up. So a real mixture of manual and technical approaches. It was a lot of fun and I’d probably do it again!
This is amazing. I thought it looked like a woodcut. Very stylish result from a variety of techniques. Thanks for sharing your process.
I make maps for my scientific work (GIS based) and your question made me ask myself why I have not made any maps as part of my writing. I love reading books where the end papers are maps that relate to the story. I went to a great exhibit at the British Library in January about hidden maps and the connection between power, control and mapping. Since I’m writing a book about how our connection to the places we love are changing, I think I need to think more deeply how to visually represent some connections. (I also love looking at books of maps because they are beautiful.) Thanks for asking this question.
I’m pleased to have sparked the question for you Leigh.
How wonderful that you got to see the exhibit at the British Library. Maps are complex in that they carry hidden meanings, and can influence how we think about place and people. That power and control…
Seems that some authors hire artists to draw their maps and others make their own. A lot of fun either way.
one of my favorite parts of the exhibit was silk underwear made from maps used by the resistance during WWII. And a map of the world from 1550s that did not show Antarctica because the cartographer was unaware it existed! Fun stuff.
hahaha! brilliant.
Yes. And I've come to appreciate deep mapping. I follow @Outdoor Historian and her work on Lake Superior is phenomenal. I hired a professional map-maker to include in the front of my new book, The Land of Everlasting Sky.
Oh, that's good to hear. A few people here have replied that they hired a professional to make their maps. So now I'm intrigued about the process of hiring someone and how you get to produce the map that's in your writerly head.
Erin Grebs is the cartographer I hired. She asked me for sketches and GIS info and any map images I could locate. And it was much more reasonably priced than I had first imagined.
Good to know, Jill. I think this must add a great deal to the reading experience.
Immensely. Lake of the Woods is the sixth largest freshwater lake in North America and most people don't know where it is...on the US-Canada border where Minnesota, Manitoba and Ontario come together. The border cuts across the lake and gives the state map a funny chimney shape at the top. Most of that area is water, islands, and the "Northwest Angle," a piece of Minnesota above the 49th parallel that is accessible only by water or crossing across the Canadian border and then back into the Angle. Erin also did the two family trees for the front matter of the book.
Family trees are also fascinating.
They map social relations.
I love reading about and researching cartographers of old but my goodness, I’d love a conversation with a modern day cartographer.
It's still both an art and a science. I'm awed by the skill set.