Value

 “There is nothing mutual about this, except, perhaps, my silence.”

Cast out by her parents because of teenage pregnancy, Elizabeth Simmons has worked hard to support her son. She finally lands a housemaid’s job with great pay and a free apartment. But Mr. Booth has selected Miss Simmons very carefully. Completely vulnerable to being exploited and controlled, she is precisely what he has in mind. What Mr. Booth does not know is that Miss Simmons’ ordinary exterior hides an extraordinary secret, one that can change their lives in ways they never imagined.

About the Cover

A woman looking out through a dollar sign was the single image that came to me as a cover for this story. I chose a black background because it is a dark tale, and I liked the symbolism.

The typeface is Trajan Pro, which is based on Ancient Roman lettering. I liked using it here because the concepts explored in this story are as old as civilization. The title is my best try at producing gold type, and the author’s name is supposed to be silver.

The female face was “palatized” to look like a painting. I was going for the “woman as object,” “woman as commodity” kind of impression. I tried it with the face in colour, but it looked much better in black and white, and again, I liked the symbolism of black and white for this story.