The Adage Still Applies: Never Judge a Book by its Cover
The Adage Still Applies: Never Judge a Book by its Cover
Daemon Manx
Never judge a book by its cover. It was my mother who first taught me this valuable life lesson. The adage resonates like a divine mantra or a proverb gifted to me by a wise sage. (Which mom certainly was)
As authors, I would like to believe we are an accepting lot with open minds and humble hearts; that we don’t make assumptions about others and are not judgmental on first impressions. I would also like to believe that the world is progressing and that our community is blazing the trail. At the end of the day, we are all different in our unique way. It might be the color of our skin, our race, religion, our sexual identity, or our gender. Still, with all these wonderful flavors and varieties, we are more alike than we are not. And judging someone by any of these identifiers or their cover would be impossible.
And yet it is nearly impossible to look at a book with a bloody skull and a dark background and not draw a few conclusions.
The cover of my novelette, Abigail, displays a crib on a black surface with smoke and ominous lighting. Very scary … or is it? Remember, never judge. The story centers around Adrian, a homosexual man living in the south; he has been mistreated and marginalized growing up and is convinced he will never find happiness and true love. Then he meets Abigail, a strange baby left on his doorstep, and his world is turned upside down. Abigail is different, with her violet eyes, grey scales, and tiny horns. But she also possesses the ability to generate feelings of love in all who gaze upon her. Adrian is about to learn a valuable life lesson. Ultimately, this book touches on acceptance of others, racism, homophobia, and unconditional love with an intentionally deceptive cover.
Although I never found a baby on my doorstep, I based this story on my own experiences hoping it might resonate with the reader. You see, people are like books in a way. Some of us are steamy romance, others are coming of age, and then there are those of us who are Gothic horror stories. Or possibly we are a blending of all the genres—just like books. And that’s the message I would like to convey with Abigail. Although we do not have the same skin color, our beliefs are different, and our gender identities and sexual preferences are not the same; deep down, we are very much alike and want the same thing. To love and to be loved.
Never judge a book by its cover.
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Daemon Manx is an award-winning American author who writes horror, suspense, supernatural, and speculative fiction. Daemon has recently been nominated for the 2021 Splatterpunk awards for his debut, Abigail in the best short story category. In 2021 he received a HAG award for his story The Dead Girl. He is a member of the Horror Authors Guild (HAG) and has been featured in magazines in both the U.S. and the U.K. Daemon lives with his sister, author Danielle Manx and their narcoleptic cat, Sydney where the patiently prepare for the apocalypse. There is a good chance they will runout of coffee far too soon.