Interview: Lynn Davis

Doing Map Mondays for more than a year now, I have to admire those alternate historians (who I usually refer to as "alternate cartographers") who have the patience and skill to create those wonderful and informative maps we find in timelines across the Internet. Wanting to learn more about this subset of our community, I decided to interview one of my favorite map makers: Lynn Davis. Check out our conversation below:

Who is Lynn Davis?

My name is Lynn Zelda Davis, a 21 year-old Texan college student currently working on their bachelor's degree in English Education. That's right, folks, history and cartography are just a side hobby for my real, crazy passion: teaching! Other than that, I love to write, to read, and just about everything involving Christmas. My favorite things in life are my partner Chris, my maps, and sleep. Most people around the web know me as ToixStory (formerly known as PlatoonSgt).

What got you interested in alternate history?

Sometime around 2010 I started to wonder about the usual history scenarios, about what would have happened if the Nazis had won, if Texas was still independent, etc., and found AlternateHistory.com that same year, which only fueled my passion. At the same time, I was becoming more and more interested in history itself, devouring every book I could find on any part of history, which only fueled my desire for alternate history. This past year has seen it really ramp up in terms of research and study, but the passion has been there for a while now.

When did you start creating alternate history maps?

Technically, I got started around 2011, using simple Wikipedia basemaps and the world-a basemaps you see on AlternateHistory.com Map Threads. However, I was never really satisfied with them, because they always seemed so...stale. Lifeless. After a while, I gave up on them. Then, last year, I picked up the hobby again, not with maps made in Microsoft Paint but in Inkscape, using more detailed techniques to create the beautiful maps I had seen posted on deviantart and AH.com before. I wanted to have maps that told a story, that showed a whole world instead of just a plate imitation of it.

In a world where geography is at the bottom of the list for someone's favorite subject, why do you think people make maps of alternate worlds?

I would say because, on some level, all people wonder how things would have gone had the circumstances been different. Alternate history is simply quantifying those thoughts and putting them into a study of how you think things could have gone, and maps are simply an extension of that. Not to mention, maps are something just about everyone has been exposed to at one time or another, from atlases to Google Maps, so I think anyone interested in alternate history has thought, at one time or another, of what the maps for different worlds would look like.

What programs do you use to create your maps?

I started out with, and still primarily use, Inkscape. It's a very sleek, free vector-based program that allows you to use all sorts of tools and tricks to get a map looking just right. It's easily manipulable and fairly easy to learn. Lately, I've experiment with using GIMP to make a base for the map before doing the details in Inkscape. There are definitely some advantages of GIMP, though I'm probably going to start going back to Inkscape more and more.

Where can people go if they wanted you to commission a map from you?

My deviantart is definitely the best place. I have a journal of all commission prices and info here or you can e-mail me at lzeldadavis at gmail dot com and we can talk prices and such.

Any other map makers you would like to recommend?

Oh, wow, there's almost too many to list. 1Blomma is definitely one of my favorites and is a master at the craft. There's also a ton more, off the top of my head: martin23230, Fenn-O-Manic, Kurarun, Undevicesimus, Pischinovski, ImDeadPanda, Kuusinen, Sapiento, ReagentAH, RvBOMally, nanwe01, and iselander. All of them are on deviantart, and definitely worth checking out.

Any other projects that you are working on now?

For alternate history? Well, something like 6 maps that are in some stage of completion, a tutorial, and a whole map series—world map, regional maps, flags, etc.--and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I may go a little overboard. As far as other things, I've got a couple novel ideas in the mix that I might sit down and write one day (alternate history, naturally), but mostly I just like my maps. Definitely my favorite and most soothing hobby.

What books are you reading?

Just like with my maps, I move between books very rapidly, so I'm never reading just one. At the moment, I'm reading In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India, An Empire of Wealth, Leviathan Wakes and A Canticle for Leibowitz. Like I said, my mind wanders a bit.

Any advice for aspiring alternate cartographers?

The biggest piece of advice I can give is: be patient. Cartography, whether it's digital or physical, takes time to get right. It can feel like a pain to meticulously trace coastlines, rivers, borders, and the like, but it definitely pays off in the end and makes your map look much nicer. More than half my maps took more than 50 work hours to make, with a couple taking over 100 hours of work time. It can be tedious, but find a rhythm and stick with it and you'll be a master of the craft before you know it.

Top 5 Posts from November 2014

What were the most popular articles of last month? Check it out:

1) Twilight Histories Cover: Aztec Steel by Sam McDonald.

2) Map Monday: The Grand War by PlatoonSgt by Matt Mitrovich.

3) Map Monday: Royal Province of Maryland by False Dmitri by Matt Mitrovich.

4) Nagumo’s Missing Turkey: The Kido Butai’s “Third Strike” at Pearl Harbor by James Young.

5) Map Monday: Map of Venus by NuclearVacuum by Matt Mitrovich.

Another month and another strong showing for alternate maps.

Map Monday: The Grand War by PlatoonSgt

This is now the third time I have featured a map by PlatoonSgt (see Map of North America, 1750 and The World Cromwell Made on December 25, 1955) on Map Monday. Before I go into why I like his maps, lets take a look at today's featured map:

This is called "The Grand War". You can find a full description of this scenario here, but the point of divergence involves China being ruled by a Muslim dynasty. Butterflies flap their wings and, among other changes, we find a world where the Norman invasion of Britain failed, the Holy Roman Empire is more centralized and the Kievan Rus are still the center of Russian culture. You don't also see Islamic Chinas often in alternate history, so this map certainly gets some points for originality.

Its the style, however, that makes me a true fan of PlantoonSgt's work. He doesn't use the common templates you see everyday on AlternateHistory.com. He continually presents different ways of looking at maps, that I respect. I also thought the Anglo-Saxon language was a nice touch (and there is an English language version). I look forward to the fourth time I feature one of PlatoonSgt's maps on Map Monday and if you want a better look at his work, check out this thread.

Honorable mentions this week include "The Dominion of New England" by False Dmitri and, just to prove I look at maps outside of AlternateHistory.com, "Europe Post Copenhagen" by Arbolianus of the AltHistory Wiki. If you want to submit a map for the next Map Monday, email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com with your map attached and a brief description in the body of the email.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Top 5 Posts from October 2014

What were the most popular articles of last month? Check it out:

1) Map Monday: The World Cromwell Made on December 25, 1955 by PlatoonSgt by Matt Mitrovich.

2) Maps of Twilight Histories by Sam McDonald.

3) Map Monday: American Caesar by rvbomally/General_Finley by Matt Mitrovich.

4) My Thoughts on Irish Alternative History in the Modern Era by Mark Lynch.

5) Interview: Christopher M. Cevasco by Matt Mitrovich.

People like maps.

Map Monday: The World Cromwell Made on December 25, 1955 by PlatoonSgt

This week's featured map is from PlatoonSgt of AlternateHistory.com, whose maps from "Where Hearts Were Entertaining June" I have featured in the past. Well he is quickly becoming one of my favorites with his "The World Cromwell Made on December 25, 1955":

According to PlatoonSgt, the map is inspired from Martin23230's "The Commonwealth" map. In this world Cromwell lives ten years longer and the Commonwealth solidifies its control over England, Scotland and Ireland. The Stuarts, however, are still around after establishing themselves in Maryland with the help of the local Catholics and the Dutch. I have always liked the idea of a Stuart kingdom in America so that was a big hook for me.

In PlatoonSgt's map, he jumps the timeline to the 1950s where the Stuarts have transformed Maryland into a Catholic empire stretching across most of OTL United States and Canada. His scenario focus on Christmas was a nice touch, giving a better insight into the culture of this world where Catholic nations are the most powerful, even if the Puritan Commonwealth still exists. A little wankish perhaps, but otherwise an interesting and imaginative map.

Honorable mentions this week go out to Sam McDonald's (of Flag Friday fame) map based on Twilight Histories' The Kaiser Assassin and Operation Wodan, 4chan's map of Europe (I thought what they did to Russia was a nice touch) and the "Natives of North America" map. If you want to submit a map for the next Map Monday, email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com with your map attached and a brief description in the body of the email.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Timeline Thursday: Where Hearts Were Entertaining June by PlatoonSgt

I touched on this briefly in a past Map Monday, but now I am ready to talk about PlatoonSgt's timeline Where Hearts Were Entertaining June, currently being published on Alternate History.com.

It is set in a world where the little known English Armada ("little known" because I didn't know anything about it until recently) was more successful in breaking the power of the Spanish navy. In the peace treaty the British get Brazil and set out to colonize it, leaving the east coast of North America to the French, Dutch and Portuguese, completely screwing up the map as we know it. Don't believe me? See below:

The World in 1750.

PlatoonSgt goes into a lot of detail about how these alternate colonies evolve culturally, economically and politically.  As you read the timeline you see how Brazil becomes even more cosmopolitan (with a diverse number of ethnicities and religions intermingling) than the English colonies of North America in our timeline.

PlatoonSgt also doesn't ignore the butterflies and recognizable names disappear quickly as a new generation is born (allowing for some pop-culture references including a Scottish "King in the North" named Robert). What is even more refreshing is that he spends time not just discussing European and American history, but also the changes to China, India, Indonesia and elsewhere. Coverage of the areas outside of "western civilization" is a common omission in many alternate histories and I am glad PlatoonSgt didn't make this same mistake.

The timeline currently stretches to the 1750s, but I am still reading updates from the 1730s so I can't comment on the entire timeline. Still I like what I have seen so far and look forward to reading the rest.  As always, if there are any timelines you would like for me to check out or ones you would like to recommend to our readers, please contact me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.