Hi there George, welcome to the Guild! you are in good company. Many writers have come to these forums with exactly the same goal as you have. It sounds like you've already got your feet wet with fantasy mapping, and have an idea of what you want to do. However you might still want to browse the tutorials section as you'll find allot of great aids there for making maps in various styles (using various forms of software). Also, you might take a peek at the finished maps section, look for styles that you like, and see if you can figure out how they did it (sometimes there will be a tutorial for that style). Finally, once you decide to get started, I'd recommend posting a work-in-progress image so that you can receive helpful feedback early on. Well, best of luck to you, and I look forward to seeing your stuff.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh