Good day Factioners! We have a treat for you! A cover made by one of my favorite artists, who also did the cover for the Fantasy-Faction Anthology! But I’m getting over excited. Let me start over.
Today we are happy to reveal the cover of debut author A. A. Freeman’s soon to be released novella, The Worth of Hair. And rather than me blathering on about it, she has graciously agreed to a short interview. So, let’s begin!
Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
Well, I’m bad at talking about myself so let me introduce you my Amazon bio:
A. A. Freeman is an author, crafter, and all-around geek who lives in the foothills of North Carolina and spends her days writing fantasy and science fiction with a hint of romance. When not writing she knits, cross stitches, plays video games and works on perfecting her dried rose petal shortbread cookie recipe. She’s probably not a robot. Beep boop.
And really the robot thing is more like 50/50.
The Worth of Hair, is technically your second published title, but the first was a short story set in the same world, correct?
Correct! The first story, The Midwife and the Lindworm, is an introduction to the world and the character of The Midwife herself. The Worth of Hair meanwhile is the first of a five-part novella series. It’s a set of fairy tale retellings focused on the side characters who often get left on the wayside after the happily ever after.
And The Worth of Hair is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but not the Disney version most of us know.
That’s right. It’s a retelling of the original Hans Christian Anderson version of the story. Which, if you’re only familiar with the Disney version, features a lot more blood, suffering and heartbreak, and far less singing fish.
You have a lot of great characters from groups that don’t always get the best representation: people with disabilities, LGBT+ characters, people who are neuroatypical. What made you decide to make your cast so diverse?
Well to be frank if I see another white bread filled piece of media where everyone is cis, straight, and neurotypical I’m going to scream. The world is so wonderfully diverse, and media of all types should reflect this.
Take The Midwife for example. She’s bisexual, struggles with depression, and carries scars that run far deeper than they appear. I made her because I needed a grumpy middle-aged woman when all media offers are the same cookie-cutter sexy young “strong woman” characters.
Are there going to be more Midwife stories? Can you give us any details? Or would that be too spoilery?
There’s four more in the pipeline, each based on my favorite fairy tales. I will say the next one involves The Midwife running into an old friend of hers who has a Granddaughter who loves to wear a red cloak…
And are you working on anything else right now?
Yes! I’m currently doing a massive re-edit of my sci-fi romance novel, Echo of the Larkspur, whose first chapter you can read on my website. It’s about a snarky robot and the human scientist studying him falling in love and both of them learning how to trust.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us! Where can people find you online?
They can find me at my personal website aughtpunk.com, on Twitter as @AughtPunk, and on Facebook @aafreemanauthor because someone beat me to aughtpunk there.
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Now that we know a little more about the author and the story behind this cover, here it is!
Isn’t it beautiful? Jay H. Holloway once again created a cover that speaks volumes without saying a word. The knife and hand seem still, but the bubbles around them tell a different story. It is stabbing the sea itself, and if one was going to stab the sea and expect some sort of reaction, that would be the knife to do it with! It could be fashioned from foam and sand, or the scales of some creature from the darkest abyss. But whatever it’s made of, the person wielding it means business.
The lettering offsets this ethereal picture with grounded text both elegantly playful, but also serious in its own way–almost royal. Congrats to Starla Huchton for the great job there as well!
Overall, this is an amazing cover and the story it contains is just as intriguing and mysterious. Thanks again to A. A. Freeman for letting us do the cover reveal!
The Worth of Hair is due out October 21, 2020 worldwide! You can preorder your copy now! You can learn more about the author and her writing on her website or follow her on Twitter and Facebook!
Geoff Matthews
Julia Kitvaria Sarene