Article: Mapping out Mythren

The World Under the Laughing Moon
by Todd VanHooser

More than sixteen years ago I sat down behind a desk over winter break at the University of Missouri and sketched out a map. I had a handful of story ideas kicking around in my head, and I thought it would be helpful if I could see the landscape where they would take place.

You could say all those stories needed a home, and I needed a place I could point to.

I spread out some graph paper and began tediously drawing what would, over the course of many more years to come, evolve into the world of Mythren. The world under the Laughing Moon.

My world.

As a kid I would pour over the maps of of Middle-Earth, or those found in the Dragonlance & Forgotten Realms books. I fell in love with these far-off places where only our imaginations could transport us.

Now, thanks to the talents and attention to detail by my Laughing Moon artist, Risa Hulett, the world of Mythren will begin to appear in the front of my own novels. I can only hope that readers out there will find themselves tracing the paths of my characters as they undergo adventures and quests.

The two maps that are posted here are near completion, but some details are left to be filled in. There will be a few edits, tweaks, and changes, but for now, you can at least take a look at the "near finished" product.

Enjoy your little mental escape to Mythren. Many more adventures are yet to come!


(Artwork by Risa Hulett, Copyright 2010
Laughing Moon Productions, LLC)