Sophia Huneycutt‘s short fiction has won the Porch Prize, judged by Kevin Wilson, and appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, STORY, The Greensboro Review, and Nashville Review. Originally from Florida, she received an MFA in creative writing from the Ohio State University and has received support from the de Groot Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Ohio Arts Council, as well as attending the Tin House Writers Workshop.
In her debut novel, The House Built on Alligator Bones, she introduces readers to Dartrine Beaumont, who, after her mother’s death, travels to Amelia Island to meet the wealthy relatives she never knew she had, only to be pulled into a ruthless inheritance fight and the eerie legacy of her family’s alligator empire. As sabotage escalates and rumors of a curse deepen, Dart must decide whether the past is something to escape, expose, or confront (and what it costs to do so).
The House Built on Alligator Bones will be released by Dutton on October 6, 2026, and is available for preorder now.
Debutiful is honored to reveal the cover of The House Built on Alligator Bones, which was designed by Andreea Dumuta, along with a Q&A with Hneycutt about its creation.
What was it like seeing your finalized cover for the first time?
Not going to lie: I cried! Looking at it still overwhelms me. A final cover means The House Built on Alligator Bones is a real book, and not just a giant Word doc on my computer. I’m excited that I get to share my imaginary world, but also super nervous.
How does it convey what the book is all about?
I think readers will immediately notice the contrasting colors—a hallmark of Andreea Dumuta’s style. The red captures the novel’s violence and supernatural aspects, while the purplish-blue font indicates both Greer House’s beauty and the heroine’s desperate need for love, family, and stability. (There’s a lot more red than purple, if that tells you anything.)
It also has aspects of classic Gothic novel covers, like the heroine approaching a spooky house, that indicate the genre.
The scarred alligator (my favorite part!) is one of the novel’s most important characters—Ironheart, the alligator spirit that haunts the Greer family, seeking revenge for their ruthless attempts to dominate nature and general greed.
Florida’s landscape takes up a lot of the image, which also points to the man vs. nature theme. The flowers, saltmarsh morning glories, hopefully indicate that there’s a bit of romance, too.
While writing the book, did you have any ideas for what you wanted the cover to look like?
I didn’t let myself think about the cover until well after my book deal! It felt like bad luck. That being said, once my editor asked for my cover ideas, they came pretty quickly, so maybe my subconscious had been working on it.
I knew I wanted an alligator on there, for one. Couldn’t pass up that opportunity!
I also knew I wanted Andreea Dumuta to do it, if possible; I’d seen the cover of Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez a while before, looked up the artist, and fell in love with her work. Andreea has a bunch of gorgeous freestanding artwork, illustrates a lot of book covers, and does other cool projects, like designing t-shirts for music festivals. Such a masterful use of color and unique style! I’m probably not ever going to get a tattoo—I’m a chicken when it comes to pain—but if I do, it’ll be an Andreea Dumuta design.
Her Instagram is @galactixy_illustrations, a great account to follow if you like her style or the horror genre in general. (She posts a lot of studies of classic horror films!)
Can you explain what the design process was like once you started working with your publishing team?
My brilliant editor, Rachael Kelly, asked me for initial ideas, then handed them off to the Art team. I didn’t hear anything else until I received an initial sketch by Andreea, which was a shock! I immediately burst into tears. (Lots of tears involved in this whole cover process.) I’d covered my ideas Powerpoint with her artwork, but didn’t dream that the Dutton team would actually commission her to do it or that she’d agree to take it on.
From that point on, I’d provide a little feedback, which my editor would pass along to Andreea; for example, Greer House was on a hill in the original sketch, but Amelia Island (where the book is set) is flat. (The hill looked SO cool, though, just so y’all know. Creepy as all get-out. Alas, Florida is as flat as a pancake.) We went back and forth like that, maybe 5-6 times, until the team agreed it was perfect.
What covers would you like to see yours next to in a bookstore?
Seeing my novel in a store is going to lay me right out! I would especially love to see it in:
- An Andreea Dumuta display. There are quite a few of us! (Shall we start a club, y’all?) Starting with Until Death by Mary Berman, Femme Feral by Sam Beckressinger, Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez, Play Nice by Rachel Harrison, Awakened by A.E. Osworth, and Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle.
- An alligator display. Starting with Hellions! by Julia Elliot, Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, and Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer.
- A haunted house display. (A classic for a reason!) Next to The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez, How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher, and The Elementals by Michael McDowell.