I used to have a theory that you could tell where a fantasy author lived from the shape of their map. e.g. Maurice Gee&#x27;s _The Halfmen of O_ --- good book, BTW --- has got the warm ocean to the north, with the snowy mountains to the south. He&#x27;s a New Zealander.<p>Unfortunately, authors are way too aware of this now. I&#x27;m currently reading Jane Lindskold&#x27;s Firekeeper quintet --- also really good --- and they&#x27;re set on the west coast of a continent, called the New World, which was settled a couple of centuries ago by civilisations from across the sea to the East. She&#x27;s American.