A Dribble of Ink

[The] folks at Subterranean Press aproached me to see if I’d be interested in putting together a fantasy anthology featuring some of my favorite SFF authors. I replied that I was interested, that goes without saying, but only if part of the proceeds would be used to raise funds for breast cancer research. Bill at Subpress agreed that this was within the realm of possibilities. I will also be donating a sizable chunk of my own advance to support this great cause.

It’s going to be a small anthology, so we were forced to be methodical in terms of contacting authors. It took longer than anticipated, but it would have been bad form to invite many SFF authors, only to let them know that we couldn’t accept their submissions because the lineup was complete.

Though everyone loved the idea and would have liked to contribute a short story, scheduling and prior commitments prevented them from participating. Still, their encouragements and kind words meant a lot to me.

I “borrowed” the title Speculative Horizons from James Long’s blog of the same name (http://www.speculativehorizons.blogspot.com/) with his blessing, and the guy will get a nod in the acknowledgements. As far as I know, our anthology will likely be in the same format as Subpress’ A Fantasy Medley, from which the excerpt from Robin Hobb short story was taken a few weeks back.

Our lineup:

- New York Times bestselling author, L. E. Modesitt, jr.
- World Fantasy Award nominee, Hal Duncan
- New York Times notable author, C. S. Friedman
- Tobias S. Buckell
- Brian Ruckley

These authors bring various things to the dance, and they should offer an interesting mix of styles and stories. I’m eager to see what they’ll come up with!

I have no idea exactly when Speculative Horizons will be published, though I have a feeling it might be in late 2009. Check out http://www.subterraneanpress.com/ from time to time, or keep your eyes peeled for additional info on the Hotlist every time there’s something to report!

I’ve talked a bit in the past about the pros and cons of maps in fantasy, and the reasons why there was no map in the First Law. I think the main thing I didn’t really discuss was that, if a map’s going to be included, I want it to be right. I want it to punch its weight, and look the part. I think maps in fantasy series are too often lazy. Lazy in terms of the authorial thought going into them, and lazy in terms of the artistic execution. A map is artwork, and if you’re going to include it, it needs to look authentic, it needs to help set the tone and create the atmosphere for the world as well as simply describe it, or it’s a wasted opportunity. Or worse, it’s just stuck in there to say – “this book is epic fantasy, like that Lord of the Rings that made everyone so much money. Man, I hope this makes money too.”

So I was very keen that a map should a) be accurate within reason, b) have artistic merit, and c) communicate something about the setting just in the way that it’s drawn. To feel part of the setting. This was extra-specially true given that it was going on the cover, rather than just sitting forlorn, split in half over the first two pages. So the brief that went to the artist, Dave Senior, who draws a lot of maps for Gollancz books, was to aim at something like the work of Gerardus Mercator, the famous 16th century Flemish cartographer.

…

Couple of weeks later a rough version came back, which honestly was already pretty exciting. The general look, the lettering especially, was spot in. It felt classy. It felt authentic. One could believe that it was a map that the characters in the book might consult. There was a bit of tinkering to do, plus a few extra details – towns and towers and what have you – were added to fill in some of the white spaces.

Delighted with the results, I need hardly say. Excellent work, Dave Senior. In fact we like it so much we might attempt to incorporate it as a background on the title pages to the parts, as well.