Take a look at my gorgeous Entwined Destiny cover. I love it,
but there’s one teensy, tiny detail that bugs me and would most likely disturb
the majority of people of African descent (no matter where they live in the
world).
What is it, you ask? Well I’ll tell you. Right after I let
you know all the things the fabulous designer got correct.
1. The Kente cloth. Ghana is known for creating fabulous,
hand woven Kente cloth. When I mentioned that I wanted a purple, black and
cream one on the cover, I wasn’t sure how they’d make it happen. Look how
wonderfully they incorporated it in.
2. The purple color scheme. The cover artist stole my heart
with the purple scheme to match the Kente cloth.
3. The sweet and sexy embrace of the models. Love it.
4. The presence of the ocean gives the cover such a warm,
scenic look. Totally Ghana.
5. The models are gorgeous. The hero, Kwame is muscular
(delicious) and Adjoa has curly hair with light brown skin.
If I love so many aspects of the cover, then what’s my
issue? The models are not black. When I
first saw the cover - that was my first
thought, because they aren’t. They may be mixed, but they look more like
they’re of Spanish decent than African.
Is this a big deal? Kind of, considering that the book is
set in Ghana. People of African descent can tell when a person is of African
descent, even when they are mixed with other races. I’ll take it a step
further, an African can tell where another African comes from (usually) without
them speaking. And to go even deeper, in Ghana a person can usually tell the
area in the country a person comes from.
Things get more difficult when we add African-Americans,
those from the Caribbean, and other off continent residents into the equation
because they are good and thoroughly mixed. But interestingly enough they have
their own unique recognizable looks, too.
It all boils down to our features and coloring. Brown is not
just brown, there are shades, hues, and undertones of it that are different
from group to group. It’s a very interesting phenomenon.
And there you have it. The slight imperfection to my book
cover. The models are beautiful on the cover, but they don’t really depict the
African (or even African American) features of the characters in the story.
What do you think? Can you tell where a person comes from by
looking at them?
The Blurb
Time is ticking away for Adjoa Twum. She has until the end of
the year to find a guy, fall in love, and marry. Or else, her father will
disinherit her from the family business. Adjoa hasn’t had success with the
dating game. No man meets her expectations. Esi, her cousin, suggests a fake
relationship with Adjoa’s best friend, Kwame Opoku, to pacify her relentless
father.
Kwame thinks Adjoa’s request is ridiculous. Posing as her
boyfriend might get tricky, but he can’t say no to those beautiful eyes. Once
the falsified relationship begins, things heat up. He discovers deep feelings
for her, feelings that might lose Adjoa and her friendship.
Should they take the chance and up it to the next level?
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