Today, we’re excited to host the cover reveal of a story by one of our own!

Ten: three little letters, one ordinary number. No big deal, right? But for Troy Hayes, a 16-year-old suffering from Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the number ten dictates his life, forcing him to do everything by its exacting rhythm.

A harrowing yet hopeful account of a teen living with Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder… and contemplating his own mortality.

But before we spring the gorgeous cover on you, we asked Halli a few questions about List of Ten and her journey to publication.

Interview with List of Ten author, Halli Gomez

I love the List of Ten cover! The bright orange background pops and the number sequences are a haunting hint at Troy’s OCD. Tell us about the process of creating the cover from your point of view.

Halli:  Elizabeth Lindy, Senior Art Director at Sterling, led the design work. Sterling sent me three different concepts for the cover and asked for my opinion on them. One cover had Troy, the main character, one had Troy and a hint of a second character, and one had no characters at all. They were so different! But there were details I loved in each of them.

Later, editor Suzy Capozzi and I had a phone conversation and then I sent her a bunch of notes about the details I loved from each cover, like the number sequences from this one and the question mark replacing the number 10 in the central sequence. These details all spoke to the story.

The final choice was in Sterling’s hands, but because all three options were fantastic, I wasn’t worried.

On the final cover we see Troy, but we see that he’s holding someone’s hand. It seems like a hint that List of Ten isn’t just full of serious issues, but perhaps has some romance too. What can you tell us about this?

Halli: That is the hand of the girl Troy meets in the first chapter, Khory Price. Khory is in Troy’s science class and she turns out to be a big part of his life and the way he looks at the people around him.

I’m part of the 21ers Debut Group and we did a Twitter chat in August and one of the questions was, “Who is your character’s mentor?” I think of mentors as old, gray-haired men, but actually mentors can be anyone with experience or expertise that’s relevant to the way your character looks at the world. Khory is a mentor for Troy and she’s such an important part of the story. I’m glad that her arm made the cover!

What else can you tell us about List of Ten while we wait for its March launch date?

I can give you a short teaser. This is when Troy first meets Khory in science class:

Against my better judgment, I peeked at Khory Price. She had her left elbow on the desk and her forehead in her hand, and alternated between writing and erasing numbers in an open notebook. The only thing consistent were the sighs. . .

Her hair. Long and brown, with a hint of red when the sun shone through the window. It was shiny and smooth. My fingers would slip down like on a water park slide and get lost in the curls at the ends. I ran my right hand through my own hair. It did nothing to satisfy the tingle and probably just made my hair stand up straight. My left elbow jerked to free my hand. I yanked it out and held it back like it was a two-year-old going for candy.

Oh, there is so much here. Troy’s immediate interest in Khory and his battle to control his own Tourette ticks. I love his voice and want to learn more about Troy already!

Thanks for the teaser and for talking about List of Ten with us today, Halli. It’s so nice to get a glimpse of the publishing process. Without further ado, here is the cover of List of Ten by Halli Gomez —

Cover Reveal – List of Ten

Halli is offering a free first chapter or query critique giveaway if you sign up for her newsletter. Go to https://halligomez.com/subscribe to take advantage of this great offer!

You can read more about Halli’s journey to publication in our List of Ten Book Announcement post.

List of Ten will be published by Sterling Children’s Books on March 2nd, 2021. Add it to your Goodreads list! You can also support Halli and List of Ten by preordering from Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.

Check Back in February for a List of Ten Giveaway!

In the meantime, if you have a writing or publishing question for Halli, send it via info (at) wingedpen (dot) com and she’ll answer them in a future post!