The Woolgatherer – Mirror Child Series

A child born in a mirage is bound to be extraordinary, and Faye Mirabelle is certainly that. Delivered to a miner and his wife, she grows up in the western canyons where she tries to live an ordinary life. But Faye is a mirror child, half mortal and half fairy, created by the Fairy King and endowed with magic powers. 

A flighty and frivolous sand fairy … a mysterious couple in a cliff house … a castle hovering in air … a flock of magic sheep… Faye’s time in the Canyon opens her eyes to a world of enchantment, but also to bone-chilling secrets that put her in danger of disappearing forever.

The Mirror Child series explores the concept of pareidolia, the perception of patterns where no patterns exist—seeing a face on the surface of the moon, for example, or in the clouds, or on the surface of rocks, or in the lines and color contrasts on weathered pieces of tree bark. Are these faces simply quirks of human perception? Or are they glimpses into hidden realms? 

This is the first book in the Mirror Child series. When Tamra contacted me about her project, I was immediately drawn into the amazing world she created. Every part of her story was thoroughly detailed, every location, character, magical element. It was certainly a great project to work on and I had a lot of freedom to play with the concept of pareidolia in the cover illustration, reflecting the importance of it in the world that she created.