Ashley Robin Franklin is a queer cartoonist and illustrator based in Austin, Texas, where she lives with her girlfriend and their goofy tiny dogs. Ashley makes sweet and spooky comics with horror and fantasy elements. Her most recent in-print comics are One Million Tiny Fires (2020) and That Full Moon Feeling (2021), both published by Silver Sprocket. She has also published several short comics with the New Yorker, the Nib, and Pome press. The Hills of Estrella Roja is her YA graphic novel debut.

"When college freshman Kat Fields receives a mysterious email urging her to visit a relatively unknown Texas town with a history of witchcraft, strange sightings, and 'devil lights'--glowing red stars that appear above the town's hills every night--she ditches her plans for spring break and takes a solo road trip to Estrella Roja to investigate for her podcast, Paranormal Texas. ... Meanwhile, Marisol 'Mari' Castillo is also headed for Estrella Roja to attend the funeral for her abuela whom she hasn't seen since childhood, when her mom cut ties with the family and left town. Feeling lost and bored, she decides to help Kat after a chance meeting at the local diner--and, okay, it doesesn't hurt that Kat is super cute"--]cProvided by publisher.