In anticipation of Torn in Flames releasing in a few weeks, I have a question for you all. I have a map of where all the pertinent dragon territories are in the U.S. My beta readers and editor found it helpful to keep track of clans in the story. There are more mentioned in this installment than previous ones.
Keep in mind, it is a generic map I altered with colors, name labels, and territorial lines for my purposes. It’s out of my price range to have a professional do it, unfortunately, but it does the job. I referred to it many times while writing the novel. I just can’t include it in the ebook because I got the country outline from a separate source. This map does not list every clan that exists because if they have no relevance to the story or my personal notes then I’m not taking the time to name or outline them. So a blank area does NOT mean it’s free of dragons. I already had this question and they know who they are, though in their case they were just messing with me. I will say the Cast by Flames (book 7) map has an even more comprehensive map because I did have to add a lot more clans for that due to the plot, but you won’t get to see that one yet.
Also considering creating a Torn in Flames character list explaining who is who if there are enough interested people. I make a spreadsheet for each novel I write, but those have a lot of details that are for me. This would be a cleaner version in a PDF document with a couple of details on who each person is for this installment to use as a quick reference for readers.
Please let me know in the comments below (or on Facebook) if you all would be interested. It would take extra work on my part, but I would be happy to do so if readers think they’d find the map and/or character list helpful.
If this does happen, I’ll let you all know when the document(s) are ready and email them to those who wants them prior to the book release.
Yes! I would be very interested in this! Is it a world map or just the U.S.? And a cast of characters is always helpful to reference. Although I’ve read/listened enough times I know who everybody is..lol.
The map is only the U.S. since no one travels beyond that during this series.
There are a few characters in Torn in Flames who haven’t been seen in a couple of installments, plus a few new people, so the list can help with that as well. Of course, I do explain to readers who they are in the book as they appear as well.
I think a map is great, especially for non-American readers who are not that familiar with US geography.
I know the gist, but when you mention specific state borders I always have to google to check how far something is.
Character lists not so much. I never got any extra from those from any book. If a character is important enough the book should have been doing the job of letting me know who that character is.
Thanks so much for your feedback. I hadn’t even considered how much harder it would be for people outside the U.S. to follow along with the geography, but it’s an excellent point. There is a lot of travel in this coming novel. I used routes familiar to me, but anyone not from the region may struggle a bit if they want to keep up with the characters’ whereabouts. Even for me, I maintained multiple maps while writing so I could track their movements and ensure accuracy.
This is a great idea. I love maps, and since I’m also no a us resident, it will not only help with territories but with the placing the locations of events.
That’s good to hear. Thanks for letting me know your thoughts, Ran!
Maps are always a welcome addition when reading a book. I think a digital version is probably better than any included in a book anyway, as I always struggle to read those on my kindle. The image can’t be manipulated or zoomed in on.
Character lists can be helpful depending on how they are set out. I agree, we should probably all know who is who in regards to the main characters, but sometimes it’s nice to have a quick overview – of characters and their gifts/ traits/ connections when dealing with multiple groups/clans – to refer to. I can take them or leave them, personally, so I’d say it’s up to you whether you want to spend the time and energy writing one out.
Thanks so much for your thoughts, Natasha!
Based on feedback from everyone, I have gone ahead and finalized two maps that will be up to date for Torn in Flames. One covers territories in the U.S. and the other is zoomed to Oklahoma with points of interest. The post with those will be available on February 20th for readers to grab.