Vegan Mead???

Hey! I'm Amber, and I live in CT. My fiancee and I have never made mead, yet, but we'd love to try. There's just one thing that's stopping us: We're vegan! That means we don't eat anything that comes from an animal, including honey. A lot of vegans use rice syrup in place of honey, it comes in honey, maple, and other flavors. Now, would that work as a substitute in mead? If not, would maple syrup work? And if you can use maple as a base instead of honey, can you still add the different ingredients, such as wood flavors, fruits, etc. Please tell me if anyone has had any experience with this, good or bad. Besides what I suggested, please tell me if anyone has any other ideas for vegan mead. Thanx a ton!