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Maps in fantasy books

Interesting thread on Best Fantasy Books Forum recently

Several comments about how maps do not often work well on Kindle. This reminded me that I had intended to include a map for “Children of the Wise Oak” online for Kindle users to look at if they preferred.

I think this would be a good idea anyway for future reference in my series, and in that of other writers for whom maps are important. Even in print books, the map can come out a tad on the teeny side.

 

Map from “Children of the Wise Oak” click to enlarge.

Crowdfunder Launched for Women of the Wise Oak

Here we go; the project is now live.

Already a few pledges coming in, as we expected, from people who have been waiting for this for months.

It would be easy to get complacent at this point but it is a long slog to reach the target.

We had to set the target at £2,400 this time because we need to make sure the book gets separate copy and line edits. The first book was pretty clean, but one or two teeny things snuck through. That’s not the editor’s fault, but mine for not having the budget to do the job properly.

Blue Poppy; what’s it all about?

Introducing Blue Poppy Publishing.

So, last year, 2016, I finally finished my first full novel. I set up a crowdfunding campaign to pay for a professional edit, cover design, and printing. When the money hit my account I went a bit crazy and spent it all and then some trying to produce a really good product. I hope the seventy-plus backers were very pleased with it. I know I was.

Part of publishing that book ended up with me creating an imprint; Blue Poppy Publishing. I say imprint because it could certainly not lay any claim to being a company. It still isn’t; but more of that in future posts.

Why “Blue Poppy”?

I asked my online friends for name suggestions, but it was my son Morton, who suggested the name. It relates to my grandfather, Frank Kingdon-Ward, who was an explorer and botanist. “The Last of the Great Plant Hunters” was the first person to bring back viable seed of Meconopsis betonicifolia, the Himalayan Blue Poppy.

My first website was all about him, and my very first paid writing assignment was a 1,200 word article about him for “The Great Explorers” by Robin Hanbury-Tenison. (Thames & Hudson  ISBN 978-0500251690)


Hence the name.

So what is Blue Poppy Publishing then?

Can we call it BPP for brevity?

It is a very small publisher with absolutely no money, but a big heart and a growing wealth of understanding about the world of self publishing.

We (yes, I can call it “we” now because with the addition of Ben Blake it is no longer just me) are not pretending we know everything, but we are continually learning, and looking for ways to put that experience to good use for ourselves, and others.

We still don’t have any money, but 2017 is the year we will start to change that, in very small ways at first, but building on it.