13 Comments
Aug 10Liked by Lausanne Davis Carpenter

As a "map" person, I totally agree. We used to get National Geographic for years and almost every issue had a map of some sort in it. I've kept all of them: Road maps, National Park maps, State maps, Country maps, Continent maps, Battle field maps, Ocean maps ... you name it. Sadly GPS has won out when traveling, but we still keep an atlas handy to double-check ...

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Oh yes! I have a crate full of the same. I'm eyeing them for some collage ideas. Maps beckon with possibility.

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Jul 17Liked by Lausanne Davis Carpenter

Wishing you the very best and the successful completion of your manuscript before the deadline. You’re almost there! The maps are a great idea!

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Thanks, Kimber! How's your project going? I'm looking forward to reading a chunk of it when you are ready!

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Jul 23Liked by Lausanne Davis Carpenter

Thanks, I just finished chapter 10, 1/3 of the way through the 30 anticipated chapters. I’ve set a completion date of June 30, 2025, Lord willing, for the rough draft of the manuscript. I need to become more familiar with Substack.

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Sounds great! That first draft is a doozy but then you'll have the big picture to work with.

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Jul 16Liked by Lausanne Davis Carpenter

I love seeing maps in books. Good for you to be back creating art.

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Thanks, Will! It will be fun to get some of the rust out, for certain.

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Jul 15Liked by Lausanne Davis Carpenter

I love a good map! And it was the one stand-out request I received from beta readers. I tried to create one for my book, but it wasn't very visually appealing (and it took me ages), so I ended up taking the easy way out and hiring an illustrator, haha.

I look forward to seeing the map you create for your story world!

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I spent some time today digging out novel maps for ideas. I now suspect I'll hand draw the map and any embellishments, then hire someone to do the labels/text. That's where I would get bogged down. I can hand letter legibly but its not aesthetically interesting, just basic block text. And trying to add those in Photoshop would 100% bog me down. I'll just do the fun part. :)

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Jul 17Liked by Lausanne Davis Carpenter

Sounds like it’s going to be great! Feel free to send it my way if you’d like some help with adding the labels/text! That part I enjoy :-)

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Woo-hoo!!!

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I'm hoping I can DIY it. I think it will be fun. I once painted one of those regional watercolor maps with features, sailboats, dolphins, etc. I hope I can make several with line and text only. Keeping it legible when reduced in size will be the trick. If I get stuck I will definitely bail and get a specialist. Heh.

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