The Secrets Held Within, Bonus Material #1

Site Map

Image above is built, created, drawn, by me, The Paisley Butterfly. 

Many years ago, I attended college. My major was Architecture, though I did not finish - I completed three years in the program. I just didn't have the passion for it as a career. However, for fun I can't help but design houses, inside and out, for the dream home I would love to build...

That said, I also love creating the drawings for the stories and books I write. One reason is I must know that what I describe can truly exist in real life. I do not want to contradict myself as I write, and it also helps me to keep my locations, directions, and layouts straight. For my first novel, I drew out floor plans for the houses that were incredibly prevalent within the story, along with the site map covering the entire property explained within those same pages. I start out by creating a rough drawing by hand, copying the images in my head. Then, I recreate those drawings on the computer, furthering the details. 

I do not have the money to purchase the programs like Architectural Desktop (Auto Cad) or Photoshop, though I would love to own them. So, the resourceful person residing within me has found a way to create all of these graphic designs -- that's what I should have majored in, but you know what they say about hindsight  -- using only Microsoft Word and Paint. Both of which come with the computer. I used these two programs to design everything you see on The Paisley Butterfly: The wallpaper, my profile pic, and even that little picture at the top of the internet tab. It is hard and long work taking layers upon layers of creating the exact finishes I want, often going back and forth between Paint and Word. But it is a wonderful sensation to see the finished product! I have learned so much about the capabilities within these programs just by trying. And quite frankly, I absolutely love the process!

So, here for you today, I have created the fictional locations of The Secrets Held Within Site Map. I hope this helps! I personally love seeing this kind of stuff added to the novels I read, because it adds to the realness of the story line and characters, and I want to pass along that same joy to you. Besides, I do it any way and now I can share what I have built :) Feel free to ask any questions!

P.s. Saturday I will reveal Bonus Material #2! Think you know what it is? ;)