I was hired by the amazing Steve Attardo at WW Norton for this cover.

The novel is based on real events: Ethiopian female rebels fought alongside men during Mussoili's occupation of Ethiopia beginning in 1935. The "Shadow King" of the title refers to a man, but this is a woman's story. I felt like the title could also refer to Hirut, the main female character.

After reading the novel I started gathering and creating imagery.

I researched images of the female Ethiopian soldiers from the period.