Solaris, who are publishing Seven Deaths of an Empire in June 2021, are graciously allowing me to have a map in the front of the book.
I know, I'm excited too! I love a good map, though I know others will skip past it, or only refer to it once the book is read. Maps give me a good sense of place, an idea of distance, and geography. They also quite often hint at the wilder world in which the book takes place -- which I find intriguing.
Maps can spark questions in the reader's mind:
Will the characters go there?
What is it like?
What is happening over there while I'm reading this adventure?
And what is happening in those parts not shown on the map... on the borders with other places, on the other side of the world and the people there? Don't they get a say in how their world is saved, destroyed, turns out?
Anyway, in relation to the Six Kingdoms and Seven Deaths, the map is in progress. I sent my hand drawn map to Kate Coe, my wonderful editor, as a scanned pdf. My writing isn't the clearest ("Ye Olde Treasure Map" was Kate's subtle way of saying "unreadable") and I've worked on electronic version with annotations, labels, and a key. I'm looking forward to seeing the final map... like stupidly excited!
This little section is actually legible (to me at least). It does not show where "Seven Deaths" occurs, but rather another book in the same world that may or may not see the light of day (buy Seven Deaths when it comes out and you may get a chance to read it), and is just one of the Six Kingdoms!
Come on. Admit it. You're excited too!