The Joys of World-Building: Mapmaking

I write gay romance; it’s what I’ve been known for since day 1 in 2005. I’ve written in countless genres, too—from sci-fi to contemporary, bdsm to fantasy, and everything in between (maybe except steampunk…haven’t gone there yet). My biggest love, though, in reading and writing, has always been—and always will be—fantasy. I’m huge fan of it and its subgenres: sword & sorcery, epic fantasy, high fantasy, historical fantasy, urban fantasy, the list goes on. When writing it, I take my time on the world itself. I have several books and websites that I refer to when I need to jog my brain on details of the cultures, the lands, and so forth.

One of my favorite aspects of world-building is the mapmaking. I’ve seen some amazing hand-drawn maps from fantasy authors, but I’m not quite that talented. So I use software for it. Profantasy.com has several great programs you can buy, from fractal maps to campaign maps, and only the gods know what else. While I’ve used the trials of a few to get a feel for them, my all-time favorite program is actually an open source program called AutoRealm. I don’t remember who introduced me to it at this point, but I’ve used it for years.

I’ve made maps for Aurora (Magic & the Pagan world) and Socendor (Secrets of Socendor world), and now I’m working on a huge one for a new fantasy world I’ll be playing in under a different pen name.

Once I’ve created my basic land masses (usually with the polycurve fractal tool), there are several categories of icons I have to choose from with which to decorate the lands: vegetation, city/town/stronghold markers, land features like mountains, etc. When I’m happy with the placements, I move the file into Paint.Net and color it, adding labels for towns, cities, rivers, etc.

I can easily spend hours and hour, day after day, working on a single map. I make notes of directions, distances between places, even how big certain notable places are. In the end, I rarely share these maps. I create for my own personal reference, to be honest. Maybe one of these days, I’ll recreate the maps for Aurora and Socendor (since the originals went missing) and share those.

Mapmaking is very time-consuming, but like any art, it’s well worth it.

* * * * *

Bio:

What do online gaming, Spongebob, cooking, writing, and an unnatural addiction to Mountain Dew all have in common?

Not a damn thing, which is what makes Mychael Black an interesting bird indeed.

Born in north Alabama, Mychael now resides on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Having run the gamut of labels in regard to gender and sexuality, Mychael now shuns society’s views on normality and embraces a poly-everything attitude. Call Mychael her or him—it doesn’t matter. Just keep reading the books.

https://www.mychaelblackbooks.com/
https://www.mychaelblackbooks.com/category/blog/
https://www.facebook.com/mychael.black
https://www.shaynetheauthor.com/

* * * * *

Click on the cover to buy it!

Book 1, The Lost Son, is available now. Book 2, Dragonblade, is due out July 2, 2013.

Dragonblade

Secrets of Socendor, Book 2

Winning this battle requires a faith stronger than steel…

Legends tell of a dragon-forged weapon so powerful, it possesses the ability to traverse time itself. Knowing the havoc it could wreak, the dragons sealed it deep beneath the mountains.

No one was meant to find it, let alone wield it.

General Kalen Ysindroc, leader of the human king’s armies and the long-lost son of Socendor’s most feared wizard-king of old, is in a race against time. His half brother, Braen, is searching for the sword as a means to return their father from the grave. Kalen must not let that happen. Joined by his elven lover, wizard Micheil Thierauf, he sets out on a journey beneath the mountains to stop Braen from doing the unthinkable.

As secrets come to light that test Kalen’s faith in every way possible, including his trust in the man he’s loved nearly all his life, the right path is as clouded as the murky, dragon-blood-tainted waters of the Ebon Sea. And Kalen is forced to make a decision that could very well be his last.

The Winners!

The winners of these two books were picked by a random number generator. Teresa Hughes (April 7 comment) wins the copy of the The Mammoth Book of Futuristic Romance! Melissa Porter (March 30 comment) wins the copy of the signed ARC of Shattered Souls! Teresa and Melissa, congrats! Email me to arrange delivery of your prizes!

Night Crow Pendant Contest

I have a brand new contest!

What can you win? This is a handmade pendant. It’s a domino, which I altered with ink and paint and a bit of silver foil. It’s not as dark as this picture makes it out to be, but it is eerie! I’ll gift it along with a black leather cord necklace to one lucky winner!

What do you have to do to win? Simple. Comment on my blog—on any posting, from now thru April 25th. I’ll choose a winner at random from among all the comments. Good luck!

For those of you who haven’t seen my recent posts on Facebook, I’ve been busy building inventory for a brand new website store. You can see some of the things I’ve made on my Pinterest board!

And here’s a suggestion so you don’t miss out on future fun things—SUBSCRIBE to my blog via email. See the box in the left-hand sidebar!

Sloan—The Country Town With Heart

Back in late 2003 I started reading erotic romances and, in particular, books from Ellora’s Cave. I also started wondering if perhaps I could write one of these hot and spicy romances. Not a bad idea, I decided. My mind turned to aliens crash landing near a small country town, and my first Ellora’s Cave book Talking Dogs, Aliens and Purple People Eaters was born.

Along with the characters, the country town of Sloan where I set my story took on a real personality. I liked the town so much I’ve set two different series there. (Talking Dogs and Fancy Free)

Here are a few interesting snippets about Sloan:

1. It’s a reasonable size town, not far from Auckland, New Zealand, but surrounded by countryside.

2. The café is the place to go for great coffee and to pick up all the local gossip.

3. UFO sightings are a common phenomenon in this area. Strangely enough, the sightings often occur just after a juicy piece of gossip starts circulating. I wonder why?

4. Some of the locals make big money, taking tourists to view crop circles.

5. The Women’s Division usually sets up a stall and sells tea and scones.

6. The Thirsty Cricket, the local pub, is also a good place to catch up on gossip.

7. One of the main employers in the area is Fancy Free. They manufacture condoms and sex aids.

8. The board of directors of Fancy Free consists of retired people who took a chance investing in their school friend’s dream of developing a condom company.

9. The Children of Nature cult also makes their home in Sloan. They are totally against the use of birth control and often stage demonstrations.

10.  Unknown to most residents, aliens live and love among them. There’s even a talking dog.

11. There are lots of great picnic spots around the town. Couples can picnic by the river, swim at the waterfall or find a private spot to get romantic. They should, however, watch out for Peeping Toms!

12. Sloan is a vibrant town with a lot of younger people who live in non-traditional relationships. Watch this space.

In Biding His Thyme, book four in my Fancy Free series, readers get their first inside look at the Children of Nature cult. Things are not as they seem! There’s definitely something strange going on.

Question: I’ve given you a list of things that have occurred in Sloan to date. Use your imagination and tell me what you think should happen in the town of Sloan next…

Contest: Complete the rafflecopter and go into a draw to win a $20 Amazon OR All Romance eBooks voucher (winner’s choice). Winner will be drawn on 15 April 2013.

Rafflecopter code – a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note – if the code doesn’t work use this link – https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MGU2NDU3NmU4ZjgyMDYyNTRhYTFjNjRiOGU1YWYxOjc=/

Blurb: Biding His Thyme

Born in the Children of Nature cult, Sorrel “Bitter” Thyme is destined to spend the rest of her life there, but not if she has her way. She’s perfected the dream cream that enhances orgasmic pleasure in those who use it. Now she must approach Fancy Free management with her invention while making sure the cult leader doesn’t learn of her idea and steal Sorrel’s chance of escape.

Jake Ramsey, a Special Air Services soldier on sick leave, agrees to go undercover in the cult to help local police close a case against the leader. Sorrel is his inside contact, a woman who is constantly ridiculed by the other cult members.

The partnership works well and kisses meant to cement their cover take on new possibilities. Jake uncovers secrets, and their loving heats up, passion coalescing into more than friendship. Then Sorrel is tossed into danger. What began as a favor is now deadly serious—-a game Jake must win to keep Sorrel safe.

Books set in Sloan:

Talking Dogs:

1. Talking Dogs, Aliens and Purple People Eaters – https://www.ellorascave.com/talking-dogs-aliens-and-purple-people-eaters.html

2. Never Send a Dog to do a Woman’s Job – https://www.ellorascave.com/never-send-a-dog-to-do-a-woman-s-job.html

3. Romantic Interlude – https://www.ellorascave.com/romantic-interlude.html

Fancy Free:

1. Fancy Free – https://www.ellorascave.com/fancy-free.html

2. Christmas is Coming – https://www.ellorascave.com/christmas-is-coming.html

3. Feeling the Buzz – https://www.ellorascave.com/feeling-the-buzz.html

4. Biding His Thyme – https://www.ellorascave.com/biding-his-thyme.html

Bio: Shelley Munro

Shelley Munro is tall and curvaceous with blue eyes and a smile that turns masculine heads everywhere she goes. She’s a university tutor and an explorer/treasure hunter during her vacations. Skilled with weapons and combat, she is currently in talks with a producer about a television series based on her world adventures.

Shelley is also a writer blessed with a VERY vivid imagination and lives with her very own hero in New Zealand. She writes mainly erotic romance in the contemporary, paranormal and historical genres.

You can learn more about Shelley and her books at https://www.shelleymunro.com. Also, feel free to drop her line via her website or join her newsletter via the link from her blog to hear more about new and upcoming titles.

https://www.shelleymunro.com/blog

https://www.facebook.com/shelleymunro

https://www.twitter.com/shelleymunro

Before we talk, I want to remind you that two contests will be ending on this coming Thursday…

First, I’m giving away a pendant on the Smokin’ Hot Firemen website. There are two things you have to do to be eligible for the drawing. (Both are easy and painless!). Don’t miss out!

Second, my Two Signed Books Contest I’m hosting on this site also ends. And all you have to do to be eligible is post comments on blogs.

Okay, so back to our little chat. I’m up to my ears as usual. So many projects in so many differing stages. My mother asked me what I was working on, and by the time I finished listing them her eyes glazed over. It’s that bad. I did finish one little project on Sunday. Whew. So glad to mark another done! Have I shown you my work chart lately? It lists everything due January through June. Keep in mind it’s what I HOPE to accomplish.

It’s completely ridiculous, right? But some of these are very short. One is something I parcelled out, because the publisher wants it parcelled out. But still… And I’ve started the Smokin’ Hot Firemen blog. Another blog for the High Octane Heroes will be coming shortly. And three different book campaigns will begin.

I’m tired just thinkin’ about it. And now you know why I have so many guests lately. So if you see me screwing around, remind me about priorities. I don’t mind nagging. I respond very well to the crack of a whip. 😉

So here’s the question for you…

If you could build a recreation area atop a penthouse rooftop of a 20-story building, what would be the theme of your elevated playground? Would you open it to the public? Or would you keep it for yourself and your besties?

Collaboration and a Strip Club

Thank you for having me on your blog today, Delilah!

Recently, I’d been asked to join a brand new blog, along with nine other authors. Being a relative newbie to the industry, I was honored by the request and jumped at the chance to be a part of this talented group. This was the opportunity to interact and collaborate with other writers that I’d been looking for.

The idea of writing an anthology started with a chain of e-mails that was mostly kidding around. The discussion started with a note about Valentine’s Day and progressed to the topic of St. Patrick’s Day. Of course (we are romance writers, after all), the discussion then shifted to a sexy leprechaun and the “treasure” at the end of his rainbow, to which the response was “Lucky Charms!” It was mentioned that Lucky’s would make a great name for a strip club…with its strippers called Lucky’s Charms. Then, someone said, “Hey! We should write that!”

See, folks? This is one way plot bunnies are born. Collaboration, even when unintended, can be magical.

After the initial shock of agreeing to write an anthology wore off, we got to work. With four weeks to go until St. Patrick’s Day, the clock was ticking. Unlike other anthologies, our stories are connected to each other through common theme. All of the stories are set in or around Lucky’s Bar and Strip Club. We were able to quickly hash out the details and interworkings of the club. Our resident attorney checked into the laws that govern strip clubs in NYC. Not that some of our guys didn’t (accidentally) break them, but it’s always good to know the rules.

We utilized Dropbox as a way to share documents. This is an invaluable tool for long-distance collaboration. It gave us a central location to store things such as marketing materials and cover art. It also helped to keep things on track as we went through the editing process. And it reduced the number of “Lucky’s Charms” titled emails in my inbox. 🙂

Have you ever wondered how things can come together so perfectly, despite writers block, time constraints, surgeries, illnesses and general life stuff? Because all of these things occurred during the process of creating Lucky’s Charms.

Synergy.

We came together as women. As writers, sisters, and friends. We worked together and got the job done. Through collaboration, we’ve created a blog and an anthology I am very proud to be a part of.  I can’t wait until we do this again!

A Love, Lust and Laptops Publication:

From the ladies of Love, Lust and Laptops comes a special anthology filled with sexy tales of the men and women of Lucky’s Bar and Strip Club.

Anything could happen at Lucky’s Bar and Strip Club. Underneath the neon lights, the loud music, and the tear-away costumes, new lovers meet for the first time and old flames ignite anew. Shifters claim their mates, and leprechauns pay unusual gambling debts. Undercover operative solving crime? Advertising executive seducing the boss? All business as usual at Lucky O’Reilly’s.
Have you gotten lucky tonight?

Currently available for FREE at Smashwords.

Coming soon to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance eBooks.

 

Read the rest of this entry »

Sex and the Strong Woman 

I’ve never cared for stories that feature mistreated women waiting to be rescued. I prefer books where the victim turns around and bites her abuser. I guess that’s why when I started writing my own heroines they all kick butt and resist taking orders.  🙂

In my recently released Eclipse Heat series title, Wolf’s Tender, Naomi Parker, my heroine, is a school teacher who uses her wits and limited powers of seduction to save her kidnapped students. Do I think such a scenario is possible? Yes. I think history proves that women have always used seduction as a means of survival.

Do I think Naomi chooses well when she picks Charlie Wolf McCallister to seduce? Double yes. Naomi finds the best tracker in Texas and uses sex to persuade him to help her. Why? Because we all know that saving her students is a lot more important than saving her virginity. (And besides, Charlie Wolf is a half-Kiowa hunk who makes her blood sizzle.)

I think one of the greatest compliments I’ve received for Wolf’s Tender was from a reviewer who said “…This entire book has a gentle message of female empowerment that appealed to me greatly, [a surprise] since it was in a historical Western that normally features damsels in distress…” [Book Vixen: Reviewer: J9]

About the Author

Gem Sivad is an award-winning author with a reputation for creating multi-faceted characters simmering with passion in the Old West. Dubbed by many reviewers as the “Queen of Historical Naughty Romance” Gem loves turning up the heat.

Preceded by Quincy’s Woman, Perfect Strangers, and Five Card Stud—Wolf’s Tender is the fourth book in Gem’s Eclipse Heat series published by Ellora’s Cave. Trouble In Disguise, the next Eclipse Heat book, will release in summer, 2013.

Subscribe to Gem’s monthly Dreamcatcher Newsletter
Visit Gem’s website
Like her Face Book Author Page
Follow her on Twitter
Find her @ Amazon

A book in the Eclipse Heat Series

Charlie Wolf is half Kiowa, all bounty hunter and a no-nonsense man—until he meets a schoolteacher with cornflower-blue eyes. After marauding outlaws attack Naomi’s school and kidnap her students, she’s desperate and will do anything to rescue them, even seduce the best tracker in Texas to secure his help.

Naomi offers one night of sexual favors, underestimating the power of Charlie’s predatory charm and his determination to claim her as his mate. She’s impatient with his decisions, questions his authority and generally ignores his warnings. But she melts in Charlie’s arms when he makes love to her.

Blood is spilled, past murder avenged, desperadoes captured and lust assuaged as the two set out to rescue Naomi’s young ladies.

A Romantica® historical Western erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Wolf’s Tender Buy Links:

Ellora’s Cave: https://www.ellorascave.com/wolf-s-tender.html

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Wolfs-Tender-Eclipse-Heat-ebook/dp/B00BR070N2/

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wolfs-tender-gem-sivad/1102940087?ean=9781419938061

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-wolf039stender-1114154-340.html?referrer=203d1555227662f5a48dc2e310466f41

The winner (chosen by random number generator) of the free download
of Laying Down the Law is Chris Bails! Chris, congrats! And send me an email
so I’ll know where to send your story! ~DD

* * * * *

This week’s snippet theme is all about the heartbreak of breaking up. Zuri and Colt from Laying Down the Law had a parting that haunted them for years. In this scene, you’ll meet both stubborn souls still too proud to admit they’ve never been able to forget their youthful romance and move on. Enjoy!

“With amazing suspense, and hot, dominant lovin’ this cowboy and his high school sweetheart take the reader on an amazing emotional journey. Mixed with a bit of humor, sizzling bedroom scenes, and cowboys that steal your heart, Ms. Devlin has created a beyond 5 Book worthy start of an incredible new series.” ~ 5/5 Books, Reviews by Molly

Seeking sanctuary could be the hottest mistake she ever made.

The TripleHorn Brand, Book 1

A lifetime ago, Zuri Prescott kicked the dirt off her boots and ditched her small-time small town for the glam city life—and lived to regret it. When she’s framed for a bank job, she lights out for home, seeking refuge with her old high school sweetheart while she figures out her next steps. Only she discovers that the boy she left behind is the last man she should trust.

Sheriff Colt Triplehorn knows trouble when he sees it, especially when it comes in the form of a familiar trespasser, caught naked between an angry bull and her underwear. Sure she’s up to her usual no good, he grants her sanctuary at his ranch—the better to keep an eye on her, and purge her from his system once and for all.

Reconnection is sweet and hot, but the heat can’t hide the truth. When Colt inevitably finds out what Zuri’s running from, it’s too late to put the fire out, and he’s got a career-compromising choice on his hands. Follow the letter of the law, or follow his heart.

Product Warnings: When a sheriff captures the girl who got away, expect revenge so hot it leaves brands on two lonely hearts…