Announcing The Frequency (Third Edition)

Something old, something new…

I am delighted to announce the third of edition of The Frequency paperback. With a brand new cover and interior design, the third edition gives my genre-blending debut horror novel an eye-catching new skin.

It’s an interesting thing, choosing to redesign the aesthetics of my book. It really wasn’t something I ever planned to do. My original cover, created by brilliant LA based graphic designer Daniel Iglesias, captured the vibe of the book so brilliantly: taking a classic horror theme (in this case, death and lots of it) and adding a sci-fi twist. I have an A3 poster of it on my wall that I cherish even now, almost three years later. However, trends in publishing change and as an indie author I need to go with the times or face falling behind.

I knew with the redesign I wanted to continue with a fairly minimalist cover - one object, front and centre - wham, bam, thank you mam! I also wanted this object to represent one of the core characters. Who better to do that with, I thought, than Abidemi; an elusive ghost that brings all of our characters together in terrible, supernatural ways. Named Ewella when she was alive, Abidemi was a 17th century Kernewek maid burnt and hung by Britons invading her village. She suffered greatly in her final moments, but never stopped fighting for the ones she loved, even in the face of death. My three protagonists - Rasha, Trish and Sam - all share traits with Abidemi, binding them together in ways only the afterlife could.

I was hopelessly browsing Envato elements at 2AM one night when I stumbled across the image of a ghost-like doll hung from a noose. It was perfect - almost! I took it into Photoshop and worked some magic, adding a flame in the bottom corner of the doll’s fabric, using various brushes to add a burnt look to its hem. Soon I had something eye-catching, genre-fitting and - best of all - thematic to the core character in The Frequency.

That would have been it, but I have two traits that will be the death of me - I’m a perfectionist and a completionist. Now I had a new cover, I couldn’t possibly keep the same page design. Very quickly the idea came to me - I have thirteen parts. The front cover shows the doll beginning to burn and the back cover depicts the aftermath, the detached head laying on the embers of its body. So why not design part titles depicting the doll disintegrating in thirteen steps. It would tie in to Abidemi’s backstory, which is revealed through the book in five interludes. It would also serve as a visual representation to the gradual fall of The Network, an underground cult where a majority of the book is based. Along with new chapter headings - the loop of the noose bordering the chapter number - the third edition was finally born. Same old genre-blending horror, with a brand new skin.

The third edition of The Frequency is available to pre-order now, due to ship by 14th June. Other great goodies are also available, such as signed copies, bookmarks, prints and pin badges. You can check out my shop here.