WHAT IS "THE MAP MAKER"

After months of constructing a mesh of woven timelines, the second Fistbump the Sky series, “The Map Maker,” has officially made its way online. The first few “pieces” have been revealed, but in case you missed it, let me introduce you to “The Map Maker”, along with its kinks.

In the Northernmost territory of planet Fistbump the Sky, Juno Altair, head librarian of the Interstellar Observatory, has noticed that the number of stars has been declining. Determined to find the reason, Juno reaches out to an old friend.

Far beyond the territorial borders, Obumbu, the Map Maker, has decided to die. However, news of a war against the god seeds forces them to postpone their farewell until the truth is uncovered.

“The Map Maker” is an online epistolary series in which destinies entwine and allies are formed to protect the planet. It is the second series of the Fistbump the Sky worldbuilding project and can be read as a standalone series. It is ideal, though, to read it along with the “Fantastical Encyclopedia” series, as each series reveals different timelines of the same world.

Like all Fistbump the Sky work, “The Map Maker” is self-published and handmade, without the use of AI in either the writing or illustrations.

New “pieces” of the story are released weekly as diary entries, letters, or visual breaks. As the pieces jump between the perspectives of multiple characters– some only mentioned, it’s up to the reader to discover the complete story.

The entire series is available on Buy Me A Coffee and Substack. Well… Kind of.
Everything changes after LETTER 5.

SUBSTACK
Every piece of the series is available to read in full on Substack. However, all letters, breaks, and entries after LETTER 5 are previews and snippets.

BUY ME A COFFEE
All letters are available to read in full on Buy Me A Coffee. The first few pieces are available to read for free, while those following LETTER 5 are only available to read in THE MAP MAKER MEMBERSHIP.

Producing a worldbuilding project on Fistbump the Sky’s scale is a full-time job. All online material gets produced as physical books, posters, and merchandise, with nothing outsourced. This includes the writing and illustrations.

It is only natural to want to be paid for one’s work. However, it seems that “everything is online” does not mean “everything is accessible”. Being South African means I cannot utilise paid subscribers on Substack, nor Kindle’s KDP. I thus decided to go with Buy Me A Coffee, as any reader or fantasy lover can access it without an account, and the platform is free to use from the creator’s side.
In other words, both sides win.

Thank you to everyone who has been following the series these past few weeks. Feel free to leave your questions in the comments. Otherwise, all the answers are hidden on Substack.