K.M. Alexander's Blog, page 2

Myer: A Free 18th Century Settlement Brush Set for Fantasy Maps

Tucked away in the Met’s American Swords and Firearms gallery in downtown Manhattan, there’s a small powder horn on display. These hollowed-out bovine horns were common in the 18th century until they were eventually phased out by powder flasks. Carved into this particular horn is a crude but intricate map of the Province of New York around the middle of the 18th Century. That map, allegedly carved into the horn by its owner, Peter Myer, in 1759, serves as the basis for my latest free fantasy map brush set: Myer, which I am releasing today.

All my Map Tools will always be free. Want to help support this work?
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A sample of the trees you’ll find in Myer

This set isn’t as detailed as brush sets in the past, nor is it as large—there’s not a lot of room on a powder horn, after all. But the scrimshaw has a hand-done quality that makes it perfect for fantasy. It evokes a rougher map made by a work-a-day commoner rather than an upper-crust cartographer with financial backing from royalty.

I found a few references to a Peter Myer in Revolutionary War records serving as an enlisted soldier in the levies under Colonel Lewis Dubois—that would have been around 1780. Is that our man? Potentially. But based on the date on this horn, he’d probably have been relatively old by that time. When this horn was carved, he clearly had loyalty to the British Empire and featured the royal arms prominently. Did those feelings change in seventeen years?

Powder Horn, dated 1759, American – More images at The Met

Interestingly, the Myer horn also seems to be the basis for other carved horns on the market today. While they aren’t exactly rare, these more modern reproductions (19th Cent./20th Cent.) are clearly based on the Myer powder horn. And, I’ve seen images shared by the Fort Montgomery State Historic Site of a similar powder horn owned by Peter Myer Jr. Perhaps map-themed horns were a family tradition?

Some of the forts, town, cities, and buildings within the set

It’s unknown if Myer was the actual carver of this horn or if the work was hired out to someone else. It’s not the most accurate of maps, and it probably served more as a chronicle of Myer’s travels rather than a precise depiction of the terrain. There’s very little in the way of landforms here; the majority of the focus here is on the forests, rivers, forts, and cities in the Province of New York in 1759. As such, it’s more accurate to label this a Settlement set, with the bonus of a whole lot of flora.

More trees and some of the decorative assets in the set

The way the trees are rendered, I could see this set working well in a swamp-heavy setting. Something about how the foliage is carved lends itself well to evoking a humid marshland. Inside Myer, you’ll find over 140 brushes, including:

87 Individual Trees9 Pairs of Trees4 Unique Trees3 Trees w/ Hills8 Forts6 Important Forts6 Walled Forts7 Buildings3 Unique Buildings5 Towns & Cities5 Ships5 Cartouches

The button below links to a ZIP file that contains an 646 KB Photoshop ABR brush set (it’ll also work with GIMP, Affinity Photo, and I’m told Procreate now). I also release the set as a pack of individual PNGs organized by folder, similar to how I organize the ABR file. This should make using these with tools like Wonderdraft much easier. No more extracting symbols from an enormous PNG.

Like this set? Click here to learn how you can support this project.

DOWNLOAD MYER

Download the Myer PNG Pack
(1.1 MB)

As with all of my previous brush sets, Myer is free for any use. I distribute my sets with a Creative Common, No Rights Reserved License (CC0), which means you can freely use this and any of my brushes in personal or commercial work and distribute adaptations. No attribution is required. Easy peasy!

Enjoy Myer? Feel free to show me what you created by emailing me. I love seeing how these brushes get used, and I’d be happy to share your work with my readers. Let me see what you make!

But wait, there’s more…Myer Scratch: A Free 18th-Century Scrimshaw Typeface

Alongside the launch of Myer, I’m happy to announce the launch of my first free typeface. Myer Scratch is extracted from the same horn as the Myer Brush set. It’s pretty raw, but with some post-processing, it can add that handcrafted feel to a map. If you were looking for “The old man in the tavern drew this map for us” vibes, you found the right font.

Not every glyph was accounted for—Q, V, X, and Z all were constructed from other letter forms on the powder horn. The numbers were also limited, so I had to do the same thing for 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8. As with the faked letters, I constructed them from other carvings so they maintain the feel of the set as a whole.

To keep that handcrafted quality, I have included numerous alternate glyphs; this allows you to vary the letters and keep the font looking more handcrafted, especially in words that repeat letters; subtle differences in how a glyph is rendered only add to that handcrafted mystique, which is a significant tenant of my #NoBadMaps project.

The button below links to a ZIP file that contains the Myer Scratch OFT file. Just install the font the way you would any other. Like my brush sets, Myer Scratch is free and distributed with a Creative Common, No Rights Reserved License (CC0), which means you can freely use it in personal or commercial work and distribute adaptations. No attribution is required.

DOWNLOAD MYER ScratchMyer in Use

Want to see how I’ve used this set? There are three versions: a colored example, a black-and-white rendition, and a decorated sample. Click on any of the images below to view them larger. Perhaps this will inspire you as you get started on your projects! The color version lacks color because after I began applying it, it felt like more of a distraction, so the only color you get is the paper texture.

2000×2500 (4.4 MB) 4000×5000 (3.7 MB) 1080×1350 (893 KB)

Sample Details: I hand-drew the river boundaries in Photoshop and used Ende for the edge. The font is Myer Scratch, which can be downloaded above. All the names come from New York State Artists. The paper texture is from True Grit Texture Supply’s Infinite Pulp, and they’re also where I got Atomica, which gives me ink-like effects for the text and the roads.

Support this Work

Brushes and tools released through the #NoBadMaps project will always be free and released under a public domain CC0 license. If you’d like to support the project and help me cover the cost of hosting, research, and tool-set development, I’ve put together three ways you can help, and all are detailed below.

Buy My Books→

I’m not just a map enthusiast. I’m also a novelist! The easiest way to support me (and get something in return) is by purchasing one of my cosmic horror urban fantasy novels.

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Buy Me a Coffee→

A simple and quick way to support the #NoBadMaps project is through a one-time donation of any amount via ko-fi. Your support helps keep this project going and is appreciated.

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Join my Patreon→

If you want to continually support the #NoBadMaps project through a reoccurring monthly contribution, consider joining my Patreon and get sneak peeks into what’s coming.

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More Map Brushes

This is just one of many brush sets and map tools I’ve released. You can find it and other free brushes covering a wide variety of historical styles on my Fantasy Map Brushes page. Every set is free, distributed under a CC0 license, and open for personal or commercial use. I’m sure you’ll be able to find something that works for your project. Click the button below to check them out!

view more Fantasy Map Brushes

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Trip Report – Lisbon > Paris > Porto

Over the last few weeks, I was struck by how much of the Western world has become a monoculture. Here I am, thousands of miles away from home, and I see people wearing the same clothes brands I see in Seattle, drinking the same beverages, watching the same shows, and listening to the same music from Seattle to Lisbon to Paris, if you get in a cab you better believe you’re going to be getting tipsy with Shaboozy.

This realization came as we ventured forth on our most recent adventure. For my father-in-law’s 80th birthday, we took a ten-day trip with my in-laws to Portugal, spending a few days around Lisbon, making a quick weekend trip to Paris and France to see our friends Kelcey and Jim, and then heading back to Portugal to spend a week in Porto. In the chaos of this year, we haven’t had much in the way of downtime, let alone a real vacation. So, this trip was well overdue.

Leaving early on a foggy morningLisbon

When I travel, I want to immerse myself in a culture as much as possible, and in the monoculture state of the world, that often feels like a challenge. How do you break past that crust and find the little things that make a place different from what you left behind? More and more, I think you do that by stepping away from the familiar and taking note of the little details. Often, it’s those slight differences that influence the whole.

We arrived in Lisbon exhausted after a 24-hour travel day. It was late afternoon, so we took a quick nap before exploring the city—mainly sticking to the Chaido, the neighborhood around our hotel. It was a good introduction; even in the middle of the week, at the beginning of winter, it felt lively. Getting tables and seats anywhere was easy. I imagine it’s more intense in the summer. Either way, that first evening, having dinner outside in early December under the stars on a cobblestone street in the center of the city as school kids played in the road near our table was a propitious start.

We didn’t stay in the city long. We left it behind us on our first full day and headed to Sintra—a suburb—to play tourist. There, we spent the day touring the Quinta da Regaleira and the Palace of Pena. The Palace offered sprawling views and was beautiful, but the Quinta da Regaleria, in particular, was a fascinating place and one of the trip’s highlights. It’s partly a manor house and a vast and sprawling garden, but tucked into the grounds is also what appears to be a Freemason ritual space. Its builder, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, was a Freemason obsessed with symbolism. Initiation wells connect to tunnels and grottos that run under the garden and connect to the chapel and house. You could imagine the local lodge meeting on the grounds before everyone retired to the manor house for post-meeting snacks and libations.

Unfortunately, Kari-Lise and my time in Lisbon was limited. We’d return at the end of our trip, but we were due to fly back to Paris for the weekend. There, we’d settle some unfinished business and visit our pals Kelcey and Jimmy Rushing. But we managed to squeeze a few other things into our Lisbon stop. We rode the neo-gothic Santa Justa Lift between the Baixa and Carmo Square, which is very cool and reminded me a little of the lifts in my books that connect the levels of Lovat. We also toured the Carmo Archaeological Museum, located in an old convent partially destroyed in the 1755 earthquake. After lunch with some Norwegian friends, we left early Thursday afternoon, catching a Ryan Air flight to Paris.

Paris & The French Countryside

Cheap airfare is common within Europe. Once you’re on the continent, it’s reasonably affordable to fly about. However, check your tickets. We ended up flying into Paris-Beauvais—which, as we quickly learned, is fifty miles outside the city and “Paris” in name only. We got in late. The next shuttle bus wasn’t for another hour. The trains had stopped running. Sitting around a tiny airport in the middle of nowhere wasn’t our idea of fun. So, we grabbed a cab and arrived in Paris just after 11. It was cheaper than changing our flight, was twice as fast as the shuttle, and was door-to-door service. In the grand scheme of things, it is not the worst outcome.

In major American cities, it’s easy to find a late-night meal. And if you’re willing to settle for the monoculture, you can do that in Paris, too—Parisian Burger Kings and McDonald’s are open late, just as they are in New York City or Seattle. But I didn’t want the familiar. I wanted something Parisian. However, in Paris, most restaurants and cafes close their kitchens at sensible hours. Want a drink? Fine. Want a meal? Non. It was very late, and we found ourselves bouncing from one cafe to the other, hoping their kitchens were open until we found one that was willing to make us their last customer—that 11:30 PM croque madame, pile of frites, and pint of Leffe never tasted so good.

We were only in Paris for the weekend. Then we planned to pop over to see our friend’s new house just outside the city. (And also pet, his majesty.) So, that first day, we hit up the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie—two stops we had wanted to see and missed in 2023. Both were wonderful; the d’Orsay, in particular, is now my favorite art museum in the city. I got to see Gustave Doré’s The Enigma in person! But as much as I adore Doré, my favorite piece was The Excommunication of Robert the Pious, by Jean-Paul Laurens. Or, as I like to call it: The Terror of Cigarettes.

L’Excommunication de Robert le Pieux, Jean-Paul Laurens, 1875

We enjoyed the l’Orangerie as well. But, I gotta be honest: Impressionism doesn’t do much for me—that said, seeing Monet’s Water Lilies in person was very cool. You could feel Monet’s influence on architect Camille Lefèvre’s design; it’s rare to experience a setting where the artist has so much influence in tailoring the viewer’s gallery experience to the work. I came away wondering how I would want my work to be viewed if I had as much of a say.

On our last day in Paris, we met up with our long-time travel pals (and locals) Kelcey Rushing and Jim Rushing. We did an antique crawl for much of the day through Les Puces, near Saint-Denis, looking for something for our new place. As one of the largest flea markets in the world, exploring it is always a good time. It’s full of interesting things to see. There are tons of vendors selling all manner of items; it is something I could do on every visit to the city.

Unbeknownst to us until about mid-day, that was also the day Norte Dame was reopening. (Hourra!) We foolishly thought we could get close. (Not a chance. Triste!) Then, we discovered the whole city was cordoned off for dignitaries invited to the reopening. The goal had been to find a Christmas Market, and quick searches led us astray—it directed us up the Champs-Élysées, which I suppose is a market but not really what we had imagined. Hungry, we ended the evening at Le Petit Canon, a lovely little French restaurant we had visited before. It’s become a favorite of mine. They make a fabulous cassoulet—a perfect way to end a cold rainy evening in Paris.

We left the city behind us on our last day in France and headed southeast to the area around Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne. The French countryside is beautiful, even in the winter, though I will be excited to revisit it in the summer when the sunflowers bloom. We saw the Rushing’s new house, ate baguette de tradition and cheese, drank wine, and caught up. It was too short of a visit, which is usually a good sign. The next day, we flew out of Paris (Paris-Orly, an actual Paris airport) and back to Portugal for the final leg of our journey.

Porto

Our trip ended in Porto, a college town and the second-largest city in Portugal. Like Lisbon in the south, it is a city of hills, though I daresay its roads there are much steeper than its larger cousin—the city sprawls across the steep banked sides of the Duro River, connected by six bridges. Lisbon was hilly. Porto was something else. The city’s narrow streets switch back up the slopes. Funiculars and lengthy stairs connect the upper streets to the waterfront. History can be read in its layers, and it feels layered as some buildings loom as if they were built atop their lower siblings. (And sometimes they are.)

As with any ancient European city, all manner of architecture is on display, but there was a constant stream of Art Nouveau intermixed with the heavy Baroque architecture prominent throughout the city. It’s a style I most associate with France—particularly Paris—so seeing it mirrored here was intriguing. We explored a lot of the core of Porto, though I wish we spent more time across the river in Gaia. I don’t think I had a bad meal in the city. I highly recommend ordering a Francesinha, a hot sandwich similar to a croque-monsieur but with much more pork and drenched in a delicious beer-tomato sauce. It’s amazing.

One of the highlights was taking a “mountain” tour up into the hills above the city for my father-in-law’s birthday. We met our driver and guide outside the city center. In his 1996 Land Rover Defender, he took us away from Porto and into the eucalypts-covered hill surrounding the city. Our route took to a cookie factory along the way (delicious), past a complex of old Roman mines (intriguing), up to spectacular views (beautiful), and down an incredibly steep slope (terrifying), to a tiny town with six residents along the Caminho Português (fascinating). We ended at a cafe with a draught of Super Bock before returning to the city. It was a fantastic experience and a nice break from the hustle of urban exploration.

I want to revisit Porto. Upon reflection, I realized I liked it more than Lisbon. (Plus, its local draft is better.) I don’t feel like I’ve scratched its surface after nearly a week. There is so much of the city that went unseen and food that went unate. I feel like I need to attend a Porto FC match. There are more dishes I want to try. Much more of the city I should explore. Our whisper through Gaia felt like a tease. We didn’t even get a chance to head out to the Duro Valley—a place chock full of vineyards and olive groves. Two things I love. All that feels like unfinished business.

But that is a sign of a good trip. A reason to return is a mark of a place that exceeds expectations. I’d rather leave a place with a reason to return than leave feeling like I’ve exhausted it.

Advice & TipsSo, uh… here’s a big one. DOUBLE CHECK YOUR CHEAP AIRFARE DESTINATION. Spend a little more to get a little closer. Time is money, friend. Save some. Don’t assume.Most travel sites (Airbnb, GetYourGuide, TripAdvisor, etc.) have an “Experiences” section for excursions and tours. It’s how we found our mountain tour. It’s a solid way to do some fun adventuring you might have missed just reading a guidebook.Portugal has SO. MANY. CHURCHES. So many, in fact, that they often don’t have a regular congregation. Almost all are open to explore. Quite a few are now used for various functions—check out whatever they’re doing; it might be cool—we saw a neat light show in one.Drink the local draft. (In Europe, it’s probably a pilsner.) It’s refreshing, well-brewed, cheap, and probably older than America.I say it every time, but I will keep repeating it, don’t sleep on Atlas Obscura . It’ll send you to places you’d never have found on your own.

There will always be tourists who are bound to the monoculture. The people who leave their homes and travel across the world looking for “The Same.” They go to familiar restaurants. They shop at familiar stores. They follow the same routines they follow at home. They come back learning little and often return feeling dissatisfied, or superior, or bored.

My main takeaway from this trip was small but poignant. It’s easy to slip into capitalism’s comfortable monoculture. That’s what it’s there for. That’s what it’s designed to be. There’s nothing wrong with comfort in the familiar. But, after a while, and especially when traveling, it’s not fulfilling. Why leave home for the same thing? Why meet and experience other cultures only to seek out what you’re already comfortable with or what you’ve already experienced? Save your money. Heck, go on a cruise or stay at an all-inclusive resort—they’re made to cater to what makes us as comfortable as possible.

Personally, I want to break that. I want to escape it. To do so requires a little more work, a little more walking, and a little more stepping outside of a comfort zone. Observing the small, subtle ways people interact with each other, the gestures, smiles, and body language. It’s always different. It’s not the mass-produced food; it’s the local cuisine. It’s the local art and music, not the top 40. It’s the graffiti on the walls. The murals under overpasses. It’s patience. It’s friendliness. It’s trying to greet people in their language, bumbling it, and them being kind in return because you tried. It’s counting out change, half in English and half in Portuguese. It’s watching how people spend the morning chatting with their local cafe’s owners. It’s how they decorate the exterior of their building. How they decorate the interior. How they order. How they jaywalk. How they worship. How they swear. How they smile.

So many people ascribe value based on arbitrary notions—holding onto weird shibboleths of mediocrity. Over much of my lifetime, I’ve watched Western culture trained to ascribe worth not based on reality but instead based on some billionaire’s profit center, which at the core is the essence of the monoculture. It’s a rush to blandness, shedding of the very things that make a culture, a people, or a country interesting. But, hey, anything to increase shareholder value.

[Note: This is where I removed my glasses, rubbed my eyes, and let out the longest sigh.]

Yeah, okay. Maybe this wasn’t such a small takeaway.

Portugal (and France) were still impressive, the people friendly, the experiences wonderful. We had a fantastic time; it was the perfect way to celebrate my father-in-law’s 80th birthday.

Go. Visit. Be weird. Be adventurous. Eat good food you can’t pronounce. Explore their cities. Climb their hills. Get lost. Have fun. Lose yourself even for a bit, shed the monoculture, and see what you’ll gain.

Returning late on the ferry to Vashon

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Forgotten Frequencies, Vol. 1: Lovat – Available Now!

Inspiration can descend like a squall. After I shared a recent Quiet Corner on TikTok, a reader asked me: “Do you have a playlist for reading your books to?” It was a great question!

As many of you know, in the past, I’ve put together playlists of tracks from various artists that have inspired scenes/chapters/moments within the Bell Forging Cycle. Yet, even as I shared how to find those, I realized they weren’t something I would personally listen to as I read. I usually don’t listen to anything when I read. I often find anything with lyrics very distracting. So, I began mulling over the question: what would I listen to when I read?

With that in mind, I am happy to present my latest project and the answer to the question above.

Forgotten Frequencies is an auditory exploration of the world of the Bell Forging Cycle. These are long looping tracks, all around ten minutes in length, designed to be environmental aural impressions of Lovat. The bluster and din—albeit a little more mellow—you’d hear at various locals in my books. (My “Old Haunts” fans will pick up on some callbacks.)

You’ll hear Thad moving eyeglasses between cubby holes in his shop, Hagen stocking shelves around St. Olms, passengers entering and exiting the Monorail, and roaders picking at their banjo while waiting for paperwork to clear in a caravansara.

The cover of Forgotten Frequencies, Vol. 1: Lovat

The goal was to keep these as chill as possible. There are no spoilers or jump scares. These are intended to be background tracks for reading. But there are plenty of other uses as well. They’d make perfect background sounds for a tabletop RPG session with your friends. You could use them to amuse your partner. Heck, play them and weird out your grandma. Listen at work. My hope is you’ll find them relaxing and that they will add some pleasant background noise to your day.

Track ListRussel & Sons Optics
It’s a dull day of inventory at the spectacle shop; at least something good is on the radio, and a friend has promised to drop by later. The doorbell sang out its soft tinkle…
Lovat, Level 2
Somewhere just above the Sunk.
Featuring: “Louisiana” by Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, 1928
St. Olmstead
Staying cozy and restocking the shelves is the order for a rainy day.
Featuring: “Rhapsody In Blue Part 1 & Part 2” by Paul Whiteman & George Gershwin, 1924
Lovat, Mid-Level
Somewhere in the mid-span hustle and bustle, location uncertain. Maybe that’s okay.
Featuring: Drew Gerken as the Newsie, and “All of Me” by Greta Keller, 1932
Caravansara
Half of roader work is waiting around for paperwork: customs need to clear, deals to be signed, and insurance inspections. The other half is walking.
Cedric’s
The quiet ambiance of a diner in between meal rushes. Order up!
Featuring: “Snake Rag” by King Oliver’s Jazz Band w/ Louis Armstrong, 1923
LTA Monorail
Relax aboard your local as other passengers enter and exit. Stand clear of the closing doors, please.
Below Lovat, Humes Tunnel
Deep beneath the city, something sinister stirs.

Forgotten Frequencies, Vol. 1: Lovat is out now, and you should be able to find it everywhere you can stream or buy music, including the following platforms:

Let me know what you think. I will admit this is a pretty niche concept. But if it strikes your fancy, please, drop me a review. Tell your friends. Escape into the city and enjoy your time in Lovat; we’re soon to leave it behind. Forgotten Frequencies, Vol. 2 – Territories is due later this year—the road beckons.

It’s not actually available on vinyl.
But it’s fun to mock it up.

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Happy 2025

Goodbye 2024. Hello, 2025.

I am not one to prognosticate much over the future. For the most part, handwringing about what could happen means I’m less prepared to deal with what does happen. Just not worth it, and I have a lot to do.

Thanks to all of you who have been dedicated readers of this site throughout the years, supporting my work, and generally keeping tabs on me. I appericate it. I hope you all have an extraordinary 2025—one that is full of love, adventure, mystery, and accomplishments.

As for myself, I hope this year is more productive and fulfilling than the last. I have quite a few projects in the works of both the literary and cartographic persuasion, Kari-Lise and I have a new house we want to make our own, a new community we want to become a part of, and my TBR pile keeps growing. Oh, and some secret stuff, of course, always secret stuff. It should make for a very full year.

Take care of yourself and each other. Get involved in your community. Keep focused on your creative pursuits. I’m excited to see what we all make, build, and create in 2025.

“Don’t let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole. Don’t try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen. Stick with the situation at hand.”

—Marcus Aurelius

Happy New Year, everyone.

My Reading List for 2024

Last year, I read the most books I ever had in a single year, setting a personal best of fifty-three. This year was—er—decidedly not that. In novels, I didn’t even crack thirty. Life got in the way, big time. On the reverse of that, and perhaps because of, I managed to read significantly more graphic novels. Now, I’m not a fast reader, but I can generally finish one graphic novel in a session, and I think that played in their favor. Like every year, I track my reading through Goodreads and would suggest following me there, where I will occasionally leave a review for a book I particularly enjoyed.

Most links below will go to Bookshop.org—now more than ever, support your local bookstore. If possible, I will directly link to each author’s website but occasionally fall back on Wikipedia, professor profiles, or publisher pages.

Novels & Novellas Persepolis Rising (The Expanse #7)
by James S.A. Corey Children of the Dark
by Jonathan Janz The Sheltering Sky
by Paul Bowles Exit Strategy …again
by Martha Wells Sword Catcher
by Cassandra Clare Red Rabbit
by Alex Grecian Essex Dogs
by Dan Jones Tender is the Flesh
by Agustina Bazterrica , translated by Sarah Moses Servants of the Storm
by Delilah S. Dawson The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time #3)
by Robert Jordan The Trip to Echo Springs: On Writers and Drinking
by Olivia Laing Gogmagog (The Chronicles of Ludwich #1)
by Jeff Noon & Steve Beard The Jennifer Morgue (The Laundry Files #2)
by Charles Stross The Tainted Cup (Shadows of the Levithian #1)
by Robert Jackson Bennett 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne Suspension
by Richard E. Crabbe These Deadly Prophecies
by Andrea Tang Blacktop Wasteland
by S. A. Crosby The Civil War, Vol. 3: Red River to Appomattox (The Civil War #3)
by Shelby Foote Cold Mountain
by Charles Frazier A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1)
by Becky Chambers War of the Givens (The Silvers #3)
by Daniel Price The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century
by Olga Ravn Tread of Angels
by Rebecca Roanhorse The Demon of Unrest
by Erik Larson Under the Dome
by Stephen King The Daughters’ War
by Christopher Buehlman The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) …again
by Stephen King The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower #2) …again
by Stephen King Favorite Novel of 2023 Tender is the Flesh

by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses

When you start a horror novel on the premise of humanity farming other humans for meat after a disease wipes out all animals, you know it’s going to be heavy. But Tender is the Flesh, is less about the consumption itself—though the subtext is there—and more an exploration of how quickly and easily humans will dehumanize others for their own benefit. How we often compartmentalize the horrors as long as we are comfortable. It’s direct and unflinching on the way, pulling no punches, from its horrific beginning in a processing facility to its shocking and brutal end that left my stomach in knots.

Favorite Novel Runners-up of 2023 Red Rabbit

by Alex Grecian

I adore Weird West, but it often never goes weird enough. Red Rabbit leaned in, and the result was a delight. The tale follows two drifters who team up with a witch hunter to answer a call to kill an evil witch in Kansas. Through their journey, they pick up a few more lost souls, and together, this motley outfit experiences the surreal and often supernatural underbelly of an American West drenched in folk horror. I grinned the whole way through.

Essex Dogs

by Dan Jones

In the author’s note, Jones concedes this is a fictional portrayal of Edward III’s 1346 Crécy campaign. Don’t expect the detailed approach of a Wolf Hall-esque historical fiction. The history here is a little thin in places, but the result is a fast-paced, bloody tale that takes you into the front line of medieval warfare and is more akin to a thriller. Told from a unique perspective, the story follows the titular Essex Dogs—a band of gruff men at arms, mostly longbow archers—during the pitched battles across northern France. And if you know history, you’ll understand why Jones chose archers as the subject.

 Honorable Mentions of 2023

I read a lot of enormous books this year. Which slowed me down, and as a result, I don’t have as many honorable mentions this go-around. But a few other great books were vying for my top three, and they all deserve a little more attention.

The Sheltering Sky
by Paul Bowles
Existential despair works as cosmic horror in this bleak and beautiful tale of a young couple’s trip to the North African desert. A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1)
by Becky Chambers
A delightful little first-contact road trip story between machine and human as they seek an abandoned monastery in the wilds. The Demon of Unrest
by Erik Larson
I’ve read a lot about the American Civil War. So, it often takes a lot to impress me. Here, Larson found enough new material to write a thoroughly enjoyable history of the events that led up to the conflict. The Tainted Cup (Shadows of the Levithian #1)
by Robert Jackson Bennett
A complex murder mystery set in a fantasy world plagued by kaiju with fun characters, a fascinating world, and intriguing politics all come into play. It’s Bennett doing Bennett things, which is always good—so good that it nearly made my top three. Under the Dome
by Stephen King
Small-town politics become violent when an invisible dome drops over the town, trapping its residences inside. Having grown up in a small town, many characters here, their mindsets, and their decisions all felt eerily familiar. War of the Givens (The Silvers #3)
by Daniel Price
The conclusion of Dan Price’s epic trilogy was as immense as the story itself. I couldn’t help feeling nostalgic throughout as now, with the characters fully fleshed out and the sides drawn, the whole thing has a mid-90s X-Men vibe, and I adored it. Graphic Novels

In the past, this tended to be the “here are those other things I’ve read” section. (Usually, this also contains short stories as well.) But this year, I read a lot of graphic novels, nearly as many as regular books, and I got hooked on a few series in particular.

Department of Truth, Vol. 1: The End of the World
by James Tynion IV (Author), Martin Simmonds (Artist) The Magic Order, Vol. 1
by Mark Millar (Author), Olivier Coipel (Illustrator) Hailstone
by Rafael Scavone (Author), Rafael de Latorre (Illustrator), and Wesllei Manoel (Illustrator) The Magic Order, Vol. 2 (Amazon Link)
by Mark Millar (Author), Stuart Immonen (Artist) The Cloven: Book One
by Garth Stein (Writer), Matthew Southworth (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 1: Rainbow Sprinkles
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 2: Strange Neapolitan (Amazon Link)
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Newburn, Vol. 1
by Chip Zdarsky (Writer),  Jacob Phillips (Artist) Kaya, Vol. 1
by Wes Craig (Writer & Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 3: Hopscotch Mélange (Amazon Link)
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 4: Tiny Lives (Amazon Link)
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Wayward, Vol. 1: String Theory
by Jim Zub (Writer), Steve Cummings (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 5: Other Confections (Amazon Link)
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Royal City, Vol. 1: Next of Kin
by Jeff Lemire (Writer & Artist) Royal City, Vol. 2: Sonic Youth
by Jeff Lemire (Writer & Artist) Royal City, Vol. 3: We All Float On
by Jeff Lemire (Writer & Artist) Kill Six Billion Demons, Vol. 1 (Image Comics Link)
by Tom Parkinson-Morgan (Writer & Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 6: Just Desserts (Amazon Link)
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 7: Certain Descents
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Public Domain
by Chip Zdarsky (Writer & Artist)Ice Cream Man, Vol. 8: Subjects & Objects
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 9: Heavy Narration
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo Satellite Sam, Vol. 1
by Matt Fraction  (Writer),  Howard Chaykin  (Artist) Adventure Man, Vol. 1 (Image Comic Link)
by Matt Fraction  (Writer),  Terry Dodson  (Artist) Undiscovered Country, Vol. 5: Bounty
by Scott Snyder (Writer), Charles Soule (Writer), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Illustrator) Favorite Novel of 2024 Public Domain

by Chip Zdarsky (Writer & Artist)

A family strives to wrest back control over The Domain, a popular comic character created by the father and sold before it became a multimillion-dollar property for an enormous studio. It is a story of creation, capitalism, family, and the wild nest of egos that populate all three. At times funny, at times heartfelt, and always thoroughly enjoyable.

Favorite Graphic Novel Runners-up of 2023 Undiscovered Country, Vol. 5: Bounty

by Scott Snyder (Writer), Charles Soule (Writer), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Illustrator)

I read a lot of this series last year, and the first few early trades reminded me a lot of the Morrison-era of Vertigo. So very weird. The latter books slipped, but volume five is a return to form. It looks like it’ll conclude with the sixth book, and I look forward to seeing how this all ends.

Ice Cream Man (Series)

by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist)

Anthologies are hard to do. Maintaining quality through each entry can be tricky—every anthology will slip up. Ice Cream Man is no different, and there wasn’t a book I loved through and through. But there was something there. The sometimes dark, something comedic stories about life and loss and the human condition just worked for me. And all of them tied to the malevolent figure of Rick, the Ice Cream Man, only made it all the more intriguing. As you can tell, I couldn’t stop.

 Poems

I highly recommend subscribing to The Poetry Foundation’s Poem of the Day mailing list if you like poetry. It’s a great way to be exposed to more literary arts in your daily life and a nice way to spend a few moments a day to dip into the world of poetry. Here are the poems I read this year.

“The Exorcism”
by Joyce Sutphen “In an Unrelated”
by Elaine Equi “Dream of the Raven”
by Ada Limon “Peach”
by Jennifer Tonge “Anthem for Doomed Youth”
by Wilfred Owen “Ghost Prisoner”
by Heid E. Erdrich “In Kyoto …”
by Bashō , translated by Jane Hirshfield “The birthday of the world”
by Marge Piercy “Today”
by Victoria Change “Southern Gothic”
by Ricky Laurentiis “Snow”
by Frederick Seidel “The Sky Keeps Surprises”
by Ahmad Almallah “The Elevator Man Adheres to Form”
by Margaret Danner “She Walks in Beauty”
by Lord Byron “ Fire and Ice”
by Robert Frost “Hinotama”
by Brandon Shimoda “Black Earth”
by Marianne Moore “We Lived Happily During the War” …again
by Ilya Kaminsky “Tall Lyric for Palestine (Or, The Harder Thinking)”
by Rickey Laurentiis “O God of Cuba”
by Jordan Pérez “ANTENNA”
by Yahya Hassan , Translated by Jordan Barger “The Grave-Digger”
by Kahlil Gibran “ASMR”
by Corey Van Landingham “Lady Day”
by Frank Marshall Davis “Reciting the Holy Book”
by Mo H. Saidi “Stunt Double”
by Tomás Q. Morín “My Son the Man”
by Sharon Olds “Your Fade-out is a Tiny Philosophy But No Less True for That”
by Chad Bennett “From Space”
by Katharine Coles “jasper texas 1998”
by Lucille Clifton “Duplex”
by Jericho Brown “The Anactoria Poem”
by Sappho , Translated by Jim Powell “Nocturnal Tripping”
by Raza Ali Hasan “A DeafBlind Poet”
by John Lee Clark “Poet’s work”
by Lorine Niedecker “The Fountain”
by Charles Baudelaire , Translated by Anthony Hecht “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
by T. S. Eliot “Invictus”
by William Ernest Henley “Old Men Pitching Horseshoes”
by X J Kennedy “Dreams”
by Nikki Giovanni “Gotham Wanes”
by Bryan D. Dietrich “I Imagine My Father’s Death”
by Bryan D. Dietrich “I Swear, Next Time I See You I’ll Be Funny”
by Clementine von Radics “Ceasefire Haiku”
by Faisal Mohyuddin Favorite Poem of the YearGilbran in 1897 “The Grave-Digger”

by Kahlil Gibran

Honorable Poetry Mentions of 2023

Poetry, to me, is a lot like music. Some days a poem will hit you just perfectly, and on others it’ll fall flat. The poems below all struck a nerve when I read them this year. Perhaps you’ll find your own emotional connection to them as well.

“The Exorcism”
by Joyce Sutphen

“Anthem for Doomed Youth”
by Wilfred Owen

“Southern Gothic”
by Ricky Laurentiis

“The Anactoria Poem”
by Sappho, Translated by Jim Powell

“In an Unrelated”
by Elaine Equi

“Today”
by Victoria Change

“jasper texas 1998”
by Lucille Clifton

“We Lived Happily During the War”
by Ilya Kaminsky

Therein concludes my year with books, comics, and poetry. All in all, it was a pretty good year. There are a few books I DNFd, but overall, it was an enjoyable year of reading. Interestingly, my top three were all read one after the other. That was a good chunk of reading. Here’s hoping I can get more of those chunks in the future. My e-reader is chock full of new books, 2025 is just around the corner, and I’m excited to see what it brings.

How about you? What were the standout books, graphic novels, short stories, or poems you read this year? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment and let me know!

Are you looking for a good book? Want to see my reading lists from previous years? Check any of the links below and see what I was reading in the bygone days of yore.

• 2023  • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 •
• 2017 •  2016  •  2015  •  2014 • 2013 •

Next year, why not join me? Goodreads does a reading challenge every year, and I am an active participant. First, follow me on Goodreads (leave me a review while you’re there), and once the New Year arrives, participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2024.

Want to stay in touch with me? Sign up for Dead Drop, my rare and elusive newsletter. Subscribers get news, previews, and notices on my books before anyone else delivered directly to their inbox. I work hard to make sure it’s not spammy and full of interesting and relevant information.  SIGN UP TODAY →

2024 in Ten Significant Photos

Despite some incredible and positive changes in 2024, I will not be sorry to see the year go. It’s been a year. A tumultuous year if I was forced to put a descriptor on it. Those incredible highs were also matched by brutal lows. So, it’s good to reflect and assemble my annual reckoning-via-photographs.

For those new around here, this is my annual post, where I look back on the year using ten photos that marked significant experiences or moments throughout. These are the moments that mattered—both good and bad—to me. The rules are simple. Pick ten photos from my past year that are the most significant: positive or negative—significance can be found in either. It can’t be more; it can’t be less. Some moments will have to fall by the wayside—that’s intentional—culling is a part of this process. It helps create a more realistic and personal picture of the year. Some years will be more complicated than others; sometimes, one will discover significance in smaller, quieter moments. This is the way.

Okay, the rules have been revisited. The stage has been set. Let’s dive into my 2024.

Times Square is something you should visit once. Bonus points if it’s in the pouring rain.

2024 started off strong. We took a trip to New York City for Kari-Lise’s birthday. While she had been many times, this was my first visit. It was absolutely incredible, and I fell in love with the city. We stuck mainly to Manhattan, ate some incredible meals, and caught a performance of Sleep No More (which broke my brain and got me obsessed—yeah, I want to go see Life & Trust.) This wouldn’t be our only trip to the city, but it was the better of the two. I never got around to writing up a trip report because of everything else that comes next.

Moving out.

We left our home of thirteen years. After months of prep, we packed up and moved out. So many memories are stored up in those walls, leaving was bittersweet. But we were ready for something new and eager to see what the future brought us. We had a goal in mind and planned on staying at AirBnBs until we found a new place to land.

After french drain installation. Before finishing work.

The very next day, the house was inspected. The inspector found water intrusion in the basement, which required a french drain and a sump pump. We also discovered the shared sewer line had collapsed, which required the installation of a new sewer pipe. I will never fully understand how all of this was rectified within two weeks, but it did, and we managed to move out again and get the house on the market—big thanks to our friends, especially my pal Steve, who helped in that regard.

The Manhattan skyline on the worst day of my life.

Our house was on the market. We had no home. Kari-Lise had business in NYC. So that spring, we returned. NYC2. This visit was profoundly different from the fantastic experience we had in January. This second trip was an emotional rollercoaster of an extreme high followed by a somehow even more extreme low. While there, we learned that we sold our house, and the very next day, Kari-Lise was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. I detailed all of this in my post, April is the Cruelest Month. That second trip to New York was the pivot point upon which our whole year changed. Those two consequential events, which we learned about during our short visit, would have ramifications that echoed for the rest of our year. 2024 was divided; there was pre-NYC2 and post-NYC2.

Uly on the couch.

“If I get diagnosed with cancer, I am getting a dog.” Whelp. Whatcha going to do? The lady wanted what she wanted, and I couldn’t really say no. (And, to be honest, look at that face, could you!?) Ulysses entered our life the day before Kari-Lise’s thyroidectomy. (See more of him here: Meet Ulysses, Uly Pupdate, Autumn 2024) He’s been a delight and the best distraction in a challenging year. Today, he’s now ten months old and weighs 75lbs. It’s hard to believe he was ever this small. (He still makes that face, though.)

Kari-Lise and Uly on the ferry moving to our new home.

A few days after Kari-Lise’s surgery, a house landed on the market on Vashon Island. Kari-Lise was recovering, so my friend Steve and I toured it. Something about it and its gardens clicked. Three days after her surgery, Kari-Lise also toured the place. After crying on a mound behind the house, we put in an offer. That offer was accepted, and at the end of June, we moved in, Becoming Islanders.

Moses resting on the deck of our new house.

The most recent nibling was born! Number eleven, Moses Alexander broke the streak of yearly nieces that had lasted for the last five years. He’s a happy little guy and really inquisitive. While he was born in the spring, this photo was from a summer visit he, his parents, and his three siblings made to our new home. It’s going to be a delight watching him grow up.

Two iodine-free loaves of bread I baked during Kari-Lise’s treatment and diet.

At the end of August, Kari-Lise completed her cancer treatment with a targeted dose of radiation. It was an intensive process of her making daily treks to the doctor and going on a very restrictive no-iodine diet for several weeks. Since iodine is in everything, extensive and often exhaustive, prep work went into our daily meals. Then, there was a three-day period when Kari-Lise couldn’t come within 12 feet of Uly and me. We’re all glad to have those weeks behind us. August was nearly as cruel as April.

Celebrating changes with Bruichladdich’s Octomore 13.1.

Aside from everything else that happened this year, there were enormous professional changes for Kari-Lise and me. My company was sold for a third time. Since starting there, I’ve been through two mergers and three sales. But with this sale, I became a fully remote professional, which is particularly great because I now live on an island! Meanwhile, Kari-Lise and her partner Redd have moved on from Moth & Myth, selling it to a fantastic artist in Portland, Oregon. In the interim, she had taken the role of gallery director at Roq La Rue, a place special to both of us.

The Bica funicular, late night, in Lisbon

We closed off the year by flying to Portugal to celebrate my father-in-law’s eightieth birthday! We spent some time in Libon, took a weekend trip to visit our pals Kelcey and Jimmy in France, and then closed off the journey in Porto. It was a wonderful time and a nice respite to wrap up a tough year—expect a trip report in the next few weeks.

So much has happened this year it’s hard to wrap my head around. Even these ten moments don’t fully capture our 2024—so many things happened. Taken on their own, the events that inspired any of these moments would be stressful. But combined with this hodgepodge of a year, it is a wonder we’re both still functioning.

And the list could have been longer! We completed so many house projects ramping up to our sale. We became the caretakers of a flock of chickens and then egg moguls. We introduced Uly to the joys of dog parks and have been training him constantly. We ate some incredible meals—both out and at home. We spent time exploring the woods around our new house. We spent nearly a month bouncing from AirBnB to AirBnB while somehow trying to housebreak a puppy. We went to a Broadway show (Gatsby) during our lowest moment and had the weirdest experience. We attended baseball games. I attended my first Kraken hockey game. We went to Hood River for a weekend. We spent time at Stingeroo. We hosted many family visits and friend gatherings at the new house, which meant plenty of BBQing. There were antique hunts and art shows. We got a hot tub! We had Thanksgiving with my family in Idaho. We introduced a bunch of nieces and one nephew to our chickens. We began to learn the ins and outs of all the fruit on the new property—quince, medlars, figs, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, apples, and pears! We made blueberry jam! We started filling out, building on, decorating, and making the new house our own.

Now it’s your turn. How about you? What did you experience in 2024? What are your ten photos? Assemble them on your site and leave a comment with a link! Let us all know about the significant events in your year.

I’ve been doing this since 2014, and I’ve found it beneficial even in challenging years. Interested in revisiting my photos from past years? Click on any link below and check out my selection from that specific year.

•  2023  •  2022  •  2021  •  2020  •  2019  •
• 2018  • 2017 •  2016  • 2015 •  2014  •

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No (New) Cosmic Horror Gift Guide This Year

This year, I am taking a break from assembling a Cosmic Horror Gift Guide. Each year, on black Friday, I’ve released my List of Lists, culminating in my tenth year in 2023. It’s been a fun ride, and we’ve discovered some great stuff along the way. Each year, it’s grown larger and larger. And each year, it’s taken more and more time to assemble. I feel like a break is overdue.

But, what is dead may never die. Capitalism never sleeps; many of the odious objects and pnakotic paraphernalia from previous lists are still available! They would still make great gifts this holiday season. So, if you’re on the hunt for some truly unique gifts, I’ve assembled links to all the various categories from the last ten years. Plenty to explore!

Notes & Caveats:

All book links point to  IndieBound/Bookshop.org  where possible. Support your locals! They can get you anything the big box stores can, and it’ll help out your community, and you’ll meet cool people.Author links go to their web pages, blogs, and sometimes Wikipedia. I avoid linking to social media.I try to avoid Amazon links, but I’ll occasionally need to link there, and I will let you know if I do—I avoid affiliate links. (If you see one, let me know, and I’ll fix it.)I spend 40+ hours putting these together, and it’s common for me to share my creations alongside things I find. If you want to support me, buy something of mine! If not, that’s okay too.While I’ve ordered these by price, all prices and availability are subject to change. Shipping and stock are out of my control. I’m just sharing cool stuff made by the community.Did I miss something? Have something to promote? Leave a comment with a description and a link!Books

• 2023 Books • 2022 Books • 2021 Books • 2020 Books • 2019 Books •
• 2018 Books • 2017 Books • 2016 Books • 2015 Books • 2014 Books •

Music & Audio

• 2023 Music • 2022 Music • 2021 Music • 2020 Music • 2019 Music •
• 2018 Music • 2017 Music • 2016 Music • 2015 Music • 2014 Music •

Apparel

• 2023 Apparel • 2022 Apparel • 2021 Apparel • 2020 Apparel • 2019 Apparel •
• 2018 Apparel • 2017 Apparel • 2016 Apparel • 2015 Apparel • 2014 Apparel •

Games

• 2023 Games • 2022 Games • 2021 Games • 2020 Games • 2019 Games •
• 2018 Games • 2017 Games • 2016 Games • 2015 Games • 2014 Games •

Housewares & Collectables

• 2023 Housewares • 2022 Housewares • 2021 Housewares • 2020 Housewares •
• 2019 Housewares • 2018 Housewares • 2017 Housewares • 2016 Housewares •

Miskatonic University

• 2023 Miskatonic • 2022 Miskatonic • 2021 Miskatonic • 2020 Miskatonic • 2019 Miskatonic •
• 2018 Miskatonic • 2017 Miskatonic • 2016 Miskatonic • 2015 Miskatonic • 2014 Miskatonic •

 Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! 

As I mentioned above, I usually post this after Thanksgiving. But since I’m just linking to previous gift guides, I figured I’d help you get a head start on your holiday shopping and share this post a little earlier.

If you’re in the US, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the holiday season. I hope you have a blast browsing all the cosmic horror-related items from bygone years. Feel free to comment below with your favorite weird fiction or cosmic horror-related product. I’ll approve any comment that comes through, and who knows, it just might find its way into a future gift guide!

Want to stay in touch with me? Sign up for Dead Drop, my rare and elusive newsletter. Subscribers get news, previews, and notices on my books before anyone else delivered directly to their inbox. I work hard to ensure it’s not spammy and contains interesting and relevant information. Sign Up Today →

America, Vote 🗳

It’s that time again when citizens in the US go to the polls and make their voices heard. That means this is also the time when I write a quick post encouraging you to participate. It’s important! As Thomas Jefferson once said, we’re not governed by the majority. We’re governed by the majority who participate. (I’m paraphrasing a bit. I quoted him in 2020.)

Here in Washington State, I voted long ago. October 18th, to be specific. On the 21st, I got an alert from King Count telling me my ballot was received, my signature verified, and my vote would be counted. It’s all quite efficient and lovely.

If your state doesn’t offer that sort of convenience, and you need to know where to go, you can find your polling place here. If you’re not sure if you’re registered, many states offer same-day voter registration! You can check out the list and requirements here. Remember, no one can keep you from voting if you’re an adult US citizen. Stay in line. Get counted. If you’re intimidated at polls or have problems voting, keep these numbers handy:

866-687-8683 (English)888-839-8682 (Spanish)888-274-8683 (Asian Languages)844-925-5287 (Arabic)

Find out more information at 866ourvote.org.

A Map of the Island of Biringan

In 2023, I took a commission from G.P. Putnam’s Sons to illustrate a map for Melissa de la Cruz’s YA fantasy romance book, The Encanto’s Daughter. It arrived in March, and with life being what its been throughout 2024, I am way overdue to share my work with you! Click on it to view it larger.

The world Melissa created is heavily based on Filipino folklore, superstition, and mythology and keeping that central was key. One of the other requests was to lean into the aesthetic of 18th-century Spanish colonial maps of the Philippines. Mimicking historical styles is something I have gotten pretty good at over the years, and I am pleased with the result here. I think I captured the historical aesthetic but with an added bit of mystery and magic.

Melissa and the team at G.P. Putnam’s Sons were all great to work with, and they gave me a lot of liberty to expand on original sketches. I packed the map with loads of tiny details you might not have spotted on the first look. Along with sharing the map, I thought it’d be fun to point some of them out.

Being good Catholics, Europeans loved erecting random crosses everywhere—and these are common in historical cartography. I liked that idea and wanted to riff on it but stay within the mythology of the Philippines. Instead of crosses, I placed little bulul statues everywhere. They’re easy to miss, but you’ll find the standing and squatting guardian statues along roadsides, at intersections, or near fields.

Besides the statues, you’ll discover that this map teems with life. A creepy pugot wanders in the woods beyond the wetlands. A canine-like beast can be spotted north of the Sigbin Palace. A boar can be found among the trees of the Tikbalang Woods. But there are many more: a monkey, a leopard cat, a bat, and a crocodile can also be found on Biringan; see if you can spot them.

Each of the four courts is intended to evoke a season, and some of that was requested to be shown on the map. Weather isn’t generally shown on historical maps, so I decided to imply each season through the landscape symbols, or the lack thereof. I kept the winter area of Sigbin bleak with drifting hills that could be interpreted as snow alongside evergreen forests. As you move clockwise, you encounter the lush hills and sprouting vegetation that establishes Lambana as the spring court. Sirena’s dry and warm lands are intended to appear like a late-summer landscape. Finally, the harvest implications of the open fields help evoke autumn for Tikbalang. It’s subtle, but I think it worked well without being too heavy-handed.

Cartographer Gabriela Roxas’ is the fictional creator of the map. Her post-nominals stand for “Royal Biringan Order” and “Society of Maria Makiling.” Adding names and characters to work like this helps a map feel more authentic; proudly claiming your work (and usually praising the king or queen) was common practice within historical cartography. Why wouldn’t it be in fantasy?

And that concludes my mini-tour of the map. I get asked a lot, but I don’t accept many commissions. I am glad I took this one. I had a blast mapping Biringan. I enjoyed working with everyone on the project and am proud of where we landed. I hope the map helps draw all readers into Melissa’s world. You can nab The Encanto’s Daughter from everywhere books are sold. The follow-up, The Encanto’s Curse, is due in March of next year.

Want to stay in touch with me? Sign up for Dead Drop, my rare and elusive newsletter. Subscribers get news, previews, and notices on my books before anyone else delivered directly to their inbox. I work hard to ensure it’s not spammy and contains interesting and relevant information. Sign Up Today →

Uly Pupdate, Autumn 2024

This has been a long and strange year. Through all the ups and downs, one of the constant highlights has been our newest family member, our sheepadoodle, Ulysses. I introduced him back in May, and then our chaotic 2024 summer happened. As autumn settles in and things have quieted down, I realized last night that it has been far too long since I shared a Uly update—or a pupdate. Let’s rectify that!

Uly is now seven months old, smart as a whip, and perpetually silly. He’s learned a lot and has doubled in size, but he doesn’t understand how big he’s gotten. We’re still working through typical puppy issues (not listening) and big-dog puppy issues (counter-surfing). But he’s getting better and better. He’s gotten good with a leash. He loves “helping” in the garden, and he’s discovered a love of fruit. (Figs in particular.) He’s figuring it out but very much entering his teenage years. It’s challenging at times, but overall pretty dang fun, puppy energy is a needed addition around here. You can click on each picture for more details.

This has been your Autumn 2024 Uly pupdate. I hope you enjoyed it. More to come in the future. Onward!