Hello folks

I've never made a request like this on LJ before, but I've seen others do this sort of crowdsourcing before with spectacular results, so here goes:

I'm looking for someone to create a pretty, high-quality map of my fantasy world THE CRESCENT MOON KINGDOMS.

Basically the situation is this: My first novel, THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON, comes out in February of next year from DAW Books. For those who don't know, it's the first novel in an Arabian Nights-tinged heroic fantasy trilogy. (To get some idea of the flavor of the world, you can read prequel stories here and here, and read my blabbery on the novel itself here.) I'm quite proud of it, and am of course hoping that  it makes a splash. But splashes don't depend on the text alone. Packaging matters. In some respects, I'm in good shape there: THRONE will be a hardcover release with some very cool blurbs and cover art by an *awesome* artist (more on whom a bit down the line).

And, because I have always been a fantasy map nut, it will have a map.

Now. DAW's in-house person can provide a very serviceable, basic, black-and-white line map. I love my publisher *to death* and have zero complaints about their plans for the book. But. Truth be told, I would love for the map to move beyond utility and help contribute to teh splashery first impressions. Truth be told, I'm fantasizing about something more like this:



or this:




And there are for-hire folks out there who do this sort of work. But they ain't cheap, and here's the grisly catch: I am flat flat flat broke right now (twin infants, recent relocation, no teaching gig at the moment, etc.). So my ability to fund this is pretty limited. Thus this reaching out to the crowd.  As a newbie-ish writer, I know how crummy and insulting the 'Hey,  we're not paying anything, but the work is *exposure*!' thing can be. On the other hand, DAW will be pushing this book as one of their major fantasy debuts, and it *would* be a pretty nice bit of exposure for a less established artist. In addition, I could likely scratch together *some* token funds and/or work out some sort of barter. I teach creative writing at the university level and, for a genre newbie, have had some decent success in SF/F publishing. So I could happily offer my services doing a ms. critique or some such. And I'm open to other creative, equitable arrangements.

If this sounds like something you have the skills and inclination for, or if you know someone who might be up for this, please hit me up at saladinahmed [youknowwhatgoeshere] hotmail.com. Thanks! 


ETA: WOW, the People Of The Internet are amazing! Less than 24 hrs since I posted this, and I've had a SLEW of responses from talented folks. I'm in the process of looking at portfolios, websites, etc., but the decision is not mine alone - I have to have a discussion w/ my publisher as well before I ask anyone to start putting hard work into this. Please bear with me - I'll be getting back to everyone individually within a day or so. And, to everyone who's written, posted, or spread the word, THANK YOU!!!!

ETA II: Just to clarify, though I've had a slew of responses, the call is still open - please do contact me if you're just seeing this for the first time!

ETA III: Thank you all *so* much for your rapid, generous responses to my call! I'm frankly astonished by how many talented, creative people wrote me expressing interest in this project. I'd had visions of tumbleweeds blowing through my inbox as I waited for responses.  Instead I find myself  in the awkward position of being both and beggar and a chooser.

In any case, after looking at a bunch of truly gorgeous portfolios and consulting with my publisher, I've narrowed the search down considerably, and have contacted my top choices. I wish all of the rest of you fantastic craftsfolk and cartographers the very best with your impressive creative and professional endeavors, and I thank you all for your time.