ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

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  2. The Inn rearranges itself, right, so you have a good excuse if the map isn’t right. 😉

  4. Helps me to better understand the parts of the books that I have reread trying to get a visual.
    I guess the HL map would be of the new property…

  5. Dare I hope that drawing the map helped you visualize some portion of the neighborhood to aid you in writing Innkeeper’s next installment? And not because someone posted something pedantic or irritating?

      • Speaking of Gertrude Hunt, I have wondered, if normals can’t stay there, why is it important that the inn be in a major town or on a major road?

        “Gertrude Hunt required guests, for financial and other reasons. They were the lifeblood of the inn. Caldenia helped some, but for the inn to thrive, we needed guests—if not a steady stream, then a large party. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to get those guests. Once upon a time, Gertrude Hunt had sat on a crossroads of a busy road, but decades passed, the world changed, the roads shifted, and now Red Deer, Texas, was a small town in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t get much traffic.”

        Andrews, Ilona. Clean Sweep (p. 228). NYLA. Kindle Edition.

  7. Yay! I love visuals. 🙂

    Yes, please make one for Hidden Legacy as well! It’s always great to see what writers have imagined in their heads and put down on paper, to see if it matches with what I’ve come up with in my head as well!

  8. As BDH, we’re always happy with more content. Plus, this sorta begs to be turned into those games that require solving puzzles to upgrade your house/garden/island…

  9. Id love to see one for the HL. I don’t visualize very well in my head, and this was pretty cool!
    Thanks!!!

  11. Is the second turret where the tea room is?

    That description is so beautiful.

    Life goals: daily tea with a former galactic tyrant.

  13. Probably gonna want one for the new Baylor compound… where does Alessandro “drop out of the sky” to have sexy times with Catalina ????

  15. I was talking to a friend who is building her “dream” house and for fun, I decided to draw my own dream house. I didn’t realize I was mostly drawing Gertrude Hunt… very strange…

  16. How neat! If marking the Brutus murder how about the spots where the hostile Vampire clan arrived for the diplomatic event in “Sweep in Peace”? Or where those nasty Draziri met their fates in “One Fell Sweep”? I think for some of this you’d need to expand the map to cover the rear and side sections of the property so you might find that more tedious.

    Thanks for developing fun content to share between books!

  17. I had the impression that the subdivision was behind the inn. As if the inn was the first thing you saw when you turned into the neighborhood and you have to drive around it to get to the houses.

    • Why would an inn and breakfast be included in a subdivision? 🙂 That is not a thing. I am glad the map helped.

      • It is if the Inn was there first and they built the subdivision around it.

        Have we ever heard how old Gertrude Hunt is? Dina mentioned it had been asleep for a long time, but I don’t recall number of years mentioned.

        I imagine the Inns started out in “the boonies” initially to limit possible exposure to humans, but “the boonies” are now the latest 200-home new subdivision.

        • Me too. Plus for some reason I thought of it as a corner lot. Not sure why. I guess a re-read is in order.

          • I also saw it as a large corner lot that a subdivision had grown around. You see that a lot here when farmers sell the back 40.

        • I agree with you Tink.

          The Inn was on a major crossroads at one time so the Inn could have been the only place to stop on the way to other places. Then as time went on and the major road wasn’t so major any more, the land near the Inn may have been sold to the developer who created the subdivision.

          It reminds me of Route 66 and Interstate 40. At one time Route 66 was a major road to go from Chicago, Illinois to California. When the interstates were built, especially Interstate 40, Route 66 wasn’t a major road anymore. The interstate bypasses a lot of towns, but Route 66 went through every single town it could go through. I have traveled both roads. If I wanted to take the scenic route, I would go Route 66. If I want to get to a place fast, I would take the interstate. 🙂

          • Guys, please believe the author. They made a map, this is what they imagined.
            Author’s word is canon :).

            • I’m not saying the map is wrong. I was questioning Ilona’s comment about why a bed and breakfast would be included in a subdivision. I assumed the Inn was there first and the subdivision was built around it.

              Is Gertrude Hunt not officially part of the subdivision? I thought it was, but now that I look at the map again, it appears to be across from the entrance to the subdivision. Are there no houses on either side of Gertrude Hunt?

            • Not questioning the map. Merely commenting that without any evidence I wasn’t the only one who put it on the corner.

  18. You never need an excuse for making a map ????
    As a kid I used to make maps all the time. Treasure and fantasy maps stained with tea and artfully ripped. Carefully rulered street maps with meticulous town planning. Architectural layouts (I always think of them as house maps ????) with door and window details. Route maps to the library/school/garden. For a while as a teen I was torn between town and county planner and architect before choosing neither. I figured if I can’t be a cartographer who puts here be dragons on her maps I should do something completely different. I just make do with my massive map collection now. And occasionally draw one for fun. As you do ????

    • +1 It’s a beautiful map. Maps are magic. They help me so much in visualizing scenes and stories.

    • When new world was first discovered, some of the Spanish authorized maps were (deliberately?) wrong, and coasts were suspiciously bland. But the Dutch commissioned maps that were a lot more detailed and accurate. They were so useful they were constantly reproduced. They helped the English and Dutch pirates against the Spanish.
      So, you perhaps have to think of the purpose of illustrator when reviewing a map.

  19. This gives me a burning desire to play some sort of game based around Innkeeper… Any developers out there? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

  23. Hubby has collected images of large Victorian houses that remind him of Gertrude Hunt. We both love the series.

    Good time for a re-read.

  24. Huh, this made me wonder: we know the Inn changes to meet requirements, on the inside and at the back, but are the good people of Avalon always seeing the same facade? Or does the Inn’s magic make them _think_ it always looks the same (I’m guessing no to that one as that’s probably meddling which I don’t think is allowed)? I never thought about that till I saw the map, so it might actually just be mentioned in the text and I just didn’t consciously register it.. .

    • I do not actually recall an instance where the subdivision façade changes. It’s all inside and in the orchard-facing back.

      There are ofc the “incidents” in the front yard, with certain early arrivals 😀 .

      We all know what that means hehe. Time for a reread!

  28. Having an overwhelming desire to reach for a D20. What the heck AC would a Knight of the Holy Anocracy have anyway? And what kind of level bump did Sean get after Nexus (I’m guessing something like going from lvl 4 to lvl 17)? Ahh, the things only D&D nerds wonder about.

  30. Ooooo…now all the galactic peoples now know where Her Grace is located. ????

    Never mind that the Inn is well protected by the Inn’s inhabitants.

    • Oh, they knew as soon as Caldenia moved in. Hence the slightly out-of-season um… “fireworks”.

  31. The Extra terrestrial visitors are given coordinates to an arrival site on Gertrude Hunt’s grounds that is not visible to the citizens of Red Deer.

  33. I am rereading HL now, so yes please for the map!!
    Also, I love every book I have read written by you genius authors

  38. Reminds me of when I had to submit a site plan bc I was getting an 8×10 shed literally dropped off the back of a truck, so I didn’t ‘overbuild’….meanwhile they allow a 5000 SQ ft house on a 1/4 acre plot. My labs is like .36 acres, my house is small…..go figure

  39. For you next map try using godmode in Rimworld to create maps! My DnD group uses them all of the time for RPGs and they’re pretty good. SIMs is also good for small locations.
    Good luck with your map making!

  40. Love the visual. Is it to scale? The Inn looks way bigger than I’d realized, compared to the rest of the neighborhood. (And obviously it’s bigger on the inside! ????)
    I’ve always wondered if the Inns are self cleaning, especially since they are so big! Where can I sign up for that? ????

  41. Okay. You make all the roads sound much less straight than this shows, but otherwise it looks pretty much what you describe. Good luck with getting whatever you needed it for finished as you need it to be.

    The only description of an eye-roll I’ve liked better was one a friend of mine came up with. We were on the phone and she said something totally preposterous. And then said I was rolling my eyes so hard she could hear them.

  42. This is great! I definitely had the layout wrong in my head, but now it makes so much more sense.

  43. Wowie zowie! Did you guys announce an updated version of Blood Heir and I missed hearing about it?

    My daughter finally got around to reading it, and she kept babbling all weekend about this scene or that…but I didn’t recognize most of them, and I’ve already read Blood Heir so often I coulda sworn I had it memorized.

    So I went to download it from my Kindle library to reread and noticed an update, so downloaded that instead.

    Holy cow! I LOVELOVELOVE all the changes and additions, every single one, for all kinds of reasons.

    And if anyone reads this, I highly recommend that you run—don’t walk—to download and read your updated copy! Oh, and…if you refer audiobooks, that’s what my daughter was using, so at least the Audible version is up to date too.

    Have an amazing time, Faith

    • I just finished rereading Blood Heir a couple of days ago and kept thinking “I don’t remember this scene.” Thanks, I started questioning my memory.

    • Hey Faith,

      There have been no substantive updates to the published Blood Heir book and the audiobook was recorded based on the same file published in January. I just checked and confirmed with House A ????.

      Are you perhaps remembering the serialised website version? 🙂 The published book was indeed very different from that!

      • I am now rereading Blood Heir just to make sure there isn’t any changes and it gives me an excuse to reread. I stumbled on a question I’ve always had. “Glowing eyes watched Tulip and me from the darkness” In every book I see you write Name and me. Why not Name and I? Let me attempt to explain… To me, “Tulip and me” makes “me” sound impersonal and an after thought to Tulip and not very important. Tulip and I- sounds more of a complete inclusive unit, a partnership- they’re in on it together! I am not a writer and do not pretend to remember the rules of writing. I was just curious if there was a reason?

        • Apologies to the free spirits here.
          Really short grammar lesson begins:

          Would you say “Glowing eyes watched I from the darkness”?
          No. You’d say “watched me”.
          So you say “Tulip and me”.

          If you want “Tulip and I”, wait for them to go down a street, jump over an obstacle, or disagree about something.

          If you ever want to know which pronoun to use, use it by itself, then add the extra words back in.
          End lesson.

          I know grammar is seldom taught in school any more, so many of the writers, especially the younger ones, struggle with I/me, he/him, she/her, we/us, and they/them.

          I am old, so I guess I am old fashioned, too. I should just assume that nobody cares any more.

          • +1
            That’s one of my bete noirs. A former coworker always said that, and I had to bite my tongue 🙂

          • You’re wrong. I care. I absolutely hate it when pronouns get mashed into a sentence that makes no sense. You explanation is right on the money here. Grammar matters. Using the correct word matters.

          • Excellent explanation, another teacher in remission here. The one that gets up my nose is people who write: Myself and Lynn will do … ungrammatical and ungracious to put yourself first! Evil Grammar Witch strikes again…

        • Hey Jess,

          As Kimmiesmom explained above, it’s “Tulip and me” because it’s grammatically correct ????.

      • Well, that’s a mystery, because up to now I’ve reading what was delivered to my Kindle on the pub date. Yes, I read and re-read the WIP, but not since the published version hit.

        But, you know what? It doesn’t matter, because what I just read (and will continue to reread) is stupendous!

        Thanks for the reply, ModR

        Faith

      • All these years of using Kindle and I had no clue about “updates”!????‍♀️. I now have a ton of rereading to do. I don’t know whether to thank you all for clueing me in or curse you.

      • Moderator R,

        Could you find out what the difference is between the audiobook On the Edge 1/7/2010 version and the 2/5/2021 version? The 2010 version is listed as one minute longer.

        I own the 2010 version but not the 2021 version.

  44. Yes for the new digs. I had trouble trying to figure out the building layout. A map would be great. Thanks.

  47. Thank you!!! I reread recently and could not figure this out! Where is this tree relation to the Inn? Where’s this fence Sean pees at in relation to the street that Brutus died? Is he being ridiculously rude by being far away from the main road and deep into her property? Where does our favorite policeman park in relation to the Inn? How far back is the new property with the cave to the subdivision? Cuz if it’s close, you know kids are going to go in there.

    I know, who the heck thinks like this? But this is how my brain works and the movie in my head stops playing until I can make it right or make something up to put on my mental screen and continue reading the story. The Inn moves a lot in the book so thankfully I don’t get too bogged down.

    HL map would be awesome. I always try to figure out where the oak tree is.

  48. I always want to put the orchard on the wrong side of the house, so the mask is helpful. Avalon looks like how I picture it though. ????

  49. Drat. I looked at the map and realized that I’ve been picturing Gertrude Hunt as a sister to the Hotel Del Coronado, as originally built. I’m going to need to remember that the Del is the Arbitration Configuration.

  50. I’ve been reading this series all week! Starting Sweep of the Blade…and I want more!

  51. For the last 40 years, I have lived pretty close to the light industrial area that holds the Baylor compound in Hidden Legacy. The side streets, the toll way exits, the Memorial Villages, the abandoned mall – all of those are on my mental map. (I snicker every time I drive past Jersey Village.)

    The interior lay-out of buildings (once you turn off Clay Road), I know nothing about. That would be a very interesting map if you decided to build it.
    But only if you needed to, not just for the fans in BDH. We have our eyes on the bottom line – books.

  52. Well since your mapping were are delighted to receive …and…where’s the bat cavern since we’re mapping??? Please ????

    TY

  53. Yeah a map!
    I love maps, as well as house floor plans, I could look at them all day*

    😉

    Laurence
    *Yeah, I know I’m weird, it’s okay

    • I have a collection of paperback books and magazines of house floor plans. Not weird at all!!
      ????????????

  54. Now, I feel the need to reread the scene where Sean marks his territory ????

    • When I read that part, I think “hey, at least the trees are getting nitrogen”. Then I laugh to the point tears come out of my eyes. 😀

  55. Last summer, I was homesick for Georgia and started mapping Kate Daniel’s Atlanta as a way to cope with COVID anxiety from work (I work in a hospital). I have all of the locations and corresponding book references but have yet to find a good interactive map to use.

  56. People are saying this would be a great video game. I agree. The player would have to earn stars to have more in super powers.

  57. Thanks for the map. I really love maps, and look forward to the HL map. I hope it is of their new house with all the nooks and grannies, as well as where it is in Houston. Sorry. You’re probably tempted to roll your eyes again, but I am a visual person and love to have maps to visualize things as they happen in your books. It makes it more fun for me. So, thanks again.

    • I don’t know that we want ALL the grannies, one is kind of evil hehe. Definitely saying “all nooks and grannies” from now on, it’s adorable.

      • Guess I’ll have to get my grannies and crannies in their right places. Thanks for saying it’s adorable. I’m 74, and nobody has said that to me for a very long time. Thanks, also, for the funny and informative response.

  59. Heh. I’d pictured Brutus’ to have been further away, but realized I was confusing that with when Dina kills the Ma’avi and drags it past the Pool of Thwarted Love…

  63. Thanks for the map, it’s lovely to see how the authors orient things! (Mom’s take care makes so much more sense now!!!)
    The thing I find absolutely fascinating, is how all of us have read the same thing, and part of the people visualized it exactly as the authors intended to see it, and part of us were firmly convinced that the inn stood on a corner just outside the subdivision somehow. I had somehow thought that the house was oriented a 90 turn to the subdivision so a few things never made sense in my head. 🙂 I love when books have maps to go with, then I don’t get lost! 🙂

  66. This map really is helpful! I’ve read the series many times, but obviously wasn’t paying attention. I thought the inn was inside the subdivision. This…makes more sense.

  67. I REALLY need to see a map of the new housing and business digs. I couldn’t quite picture it, but I am certain I would LOVE IT!!!

  69. Bwah ha ha ha. Thank you, Ilona Andrews for the map. It’s better than Google/ GPS maps which can find my mailbox box but my house. ????

    • Hey Rita

      “The Gertrude Hunt Bed-and-Breakfast sat at the entrance of the Avalon Subdivision, on three acres of land, most of it taken up by the orchard and garden. Several mature oaks shaded the house, and a four foot hedge bordered the lawn along the side facing the street” Andrews, Ilona. Clean Sweep, Innkeeper Chronicles 1. NYLA Publishing 2013. Kindle Edition, Page 9

      So about the same as the concrete wall. Unless it’s grown since hehe.

      Hope this helped 🙂

  71. Love the map! I take umbrage at the low concrete wall that is 4 or 5 feet! At four feet you’d see my disembodied head bouncing along; at five feet

  72. interesting, i did not imagine the long part of the house facing the street.
    In my mind Victorian houses never sit square with the street of newer subdivisions

    • And I cant wait to see what you do next with this series
      Klaus
      Parents
      How Helen matures

      this series has endless possibilities!

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