Dispatch #13: The Meldûn Borderlands Map

A Map Of The Regional Setting, Plus A Few Book Related Updates

May 22, 2023

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Today’s Topic: The Map of the Meldûn Borderlands

I’ve been working on a map for several months off and on. I’m ready to share it with you!

Making The Map

Back in January 2023 I discovered a problem.

I had hundreds of pages of notes, drawings and descriptions of story related things. I had already made maps of the Known World as a whole, as well as the larger Kingdom of Bryn - the land in which the Meldûn Borderlands reside.

But I only had a couple of vague sketches of the Borderlands themselves. Lots of descriptions of forests, mountains, settlements, and highlands, and the people who lived in and around there. But no map to actually show where things are placed, in the region where my story is going to take place.

Oops.

So I decided to set about drawing up a detailed regional map of the Borderlands, to provide myself and others with a sense of where things are, where people live, etc.

A screenshot of my map of the **Meldûn Borderlands**. You can view it as a PDF here.

Using my earlier map of the Kingdom of Bryn as the starting point, I drew it out using Inkscape, an SVG vector graphics program some of my less moneyed research fellows used to use instead of Illustrator. Over the weekend I finally finished it.

OK, to be honest, maybe it’s not 100% finished.

Maybe it’s more like 99% finished. I’ll probably make tweaks and adjustments to it between now and whenever I publish the book.

But it’s pretty much there, so I’ve decided it’s something worth sharing with my Esteemed Readers today.

Viewing The Map (PDF)

The map is made available to you in PDF format.

Although you can look at the map using a smartphone with a bit of patience depending on your phone’s PDF reader, the best viewing experience will likely be on a desktop or laptop.

You can view the map [PDF] here.

Coming Up Next

I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much stuff, so I’ll likely send out another Dispatch in a few days discussing what’s on the map.

We’ll start with an overview of the Meldûn Borderlands, then maybe drill down into other areas after we get past the Memorial Day break.

BTW, if there’s a specific place on the map you’re interested in hearing more about, send me an email or comment and let me know.

A Few Other Things To Mention

While the map has been a major focus over the past few weeks, I’ve also been working on a few other things.

Substack Site Upgrade

I’ve rearranged my Substack site to make more of my content available to readers from the home page.

I plan to start adding standalone (non-Dispatch) pages over time that will cover various topics, including individual characters, places, things, etc. As they get posted I’ll link to them in future Dispatches.

Plot Development

I have the opening scenes drawn out and I now know where the book ends. The middle still has some gaps. I’m adding in more action scenes and to include some nice plot twists.

It’s coming along.

Character Development

They are in the latter stages of completion. The Band of Five and Kryd the Archmage are already well defined, so mostly I’m just fleshing out some of the supporting characters so as to give them interesting tics and such.

Writing The Book

My hellish computer problems during April put me off schedule. I’m now hoping to start writing the prose of the story by late summer. I’ll let you know when that starts happening.

I’m thinking about publishing the individual chapters in serial fashion here on the website. I’ll make a decision during the coming summer.

Planned Book Formats

Originally I was going to publish only as an Ebook. However, several subscribers have expressed interest in obtaining physical printed editions, so I’ve decided to ultimately publish the book in the following formats.

Ebook (of course!). They will be published via Amazon/Kindle, Apple Books, and Kobo. Other outlets are a possibility. The Ebook edition will be inexpensive, maybe $5 or so USD.
Hardcover (6 in x 9 in), for those who want a proper hardcover copy and are willing to shell out the coinage for ‘em. They should price around $20 USD.

I’m also thinking about publishing a special limited Founders’ Edition hardcover with a cooler looking cover, etc., just for people who are subscribed here before the publishing date. I’ll get into that later in the summer.
Mass Market Paperback (4 in x 7 in), for the masses who want a cheap-o paperback book to read wherever. They should sell for about $7 or so USD.
Audiobook. I’ve decided to do an Audiobook in principle, but I probably won’t get to publish an audio version until after the printed editions are released. I’m also looking into whether to publish an Audible Audiobook version, a traditional Audio CD version, or both.

Conclusion

That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed reading this Dispatch!

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The Known World