Gemote City features in a number of my books and I created this map to make sure there was continuity between them. The design is based on a map I made many years ago showing the different zones for the empires - the difference being, in the original picture, the zones covered whole segments of the galaxy. When I changed Evigone to a sphere to make it manageable, I still wanted to use the design and when I needed to describe the city, I saw an opportunity to recycle my idea.
The design of the Picarel was absolutely fundamental to the writing of the story. I knew I wanted a relatively small ship and I knew i wanted it to feel like a home as well as a place of business. Some of the details came out in the writing but most of the writing was inspired by the things I thought of as I was making the picture.
This diagram cost me a visit to the doctor and a week off work. I was so engrossed in getting the floors right, I didn't notice how close I was leaning towards the screen until the next day when my neck froze and I was in agony. The doctor told me off and suggested I raise the laptop rather than lean towards it and my father made me a box to sit the thing on. I now use a separate keyboard and mouse and keep my head up-right. A cautionary tale.