Breaking Down the Title, the Imagery, and the Thoughts Behind the Brand-New Cover of Medusa
The cover for my second novel, Medusa; Or, Men Entombed in Winter, is finally here. It’s a stunning piece, crafted by the talented Peter Selgin, and captures the feel of the novel so beautifully. There’s quite a bit to go over here in this cover, so let’s break it down by parts.
1) The Title and Subtitle
Medusa; Or, Men Entombed in Winter.
Does it give you pause? Good, it’s supposed to.
The title, on one hand, is pretty standard. A callback to the Greek monster with snakes for hair, Medusa is a terrifying figure known for turning men into stone.
Medusa in my novel does just that. She’s incredibly charming, yet utterly terrifying, and though she doesn’t literally turn men into storm, when they find themselves in her gaze they can’t ever leave. Bringing them to Stillwell, Maine, does just this. It freezes them in place.
The subtitle, Or, Men Entombed in Winter, continues that idea. Men are frozen, trapped, entombed in the coldness of Stillwell, Maine.
But this subtitle means so much more to me.
On one hand, its an homage to the great American novels that employed similar subtitles. This is including but not limited to:
Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville
Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
Blood Meridian; Or, The Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
In a way, the title and subtitle is a clashing of two great eras of storytelling — Greek Mythology and American literature. I like to think this book is exactly that.
2) The Snowscape
Peter Selgin perfectly captured the snowy pine forests of northern Maine, the predominant setting of the novel, and the winter the men are entombed in.
But not only are the snow and trees pictured perfectly, but it was also important to the both of us that the winter have some sort of idyllic quality to them.
It’s inviting. Despite being so barren, it doesn’t look overly cold, because Peter captured the forest in a way that looks textured and illustrative, almost like a painting.
This was inspired by the cover of Anne Michael’s novel, Held, which captures a similar feeling and tone in the barren winter.
But then, striking on the bottom left, is the red circle.
3) The Red Circle
I want to tread carefully here. The red circle in the forest is such an important symbol, plot point, motif in Medusa, that to say too much in this blog would be careless and foolish.
But, as an aspect of this cover, the red circle does exactly what its supposed to do.
For one, its red, and feels “out of place”, much like Medusa’s people are in Stillwell.
And second, it’s hard to tell really what it’s purpose could be. Is it blood? Paint? Something else entirely?
I will say, I highly recommend purchasing the paperback version of the novel once it’s released in February, because below is the full artwork, with the circle stretching around the spine to the back over.
4) The Endorsement
I’ve already blogged about some of the reviews this novel has received so far, but if you haven’t checked it out you most definitely should.
Saffron’s quote just had to go on the cover. I mean come on? A book blogger calling it a “top book” that she’s ever read?
You really think I wouldn’t want every reader to see that?
While I have you here, I’d like to take the time to ask you, very politely, to please like, share, and comment on the Medusa cover reveal. It’s posted on my X account, my Instagram, and my Facebook account.
The more eyeballs, the better.
Medusa; Or, Men Entombed in Winter will release on February 24th, 2026.
Love you guys.
-KF
Kyle Farnworth 
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