Before Disney got into the business of whitewashing fairytales, the brothers Grimm delighted in collecting the grisly, original versions. In Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s telling, Hansel and Gretel meet up with a cannibalistic witch and deceive her by cutting off one of their own fingers. Their Cinderella benefits not from a fairy godmother, but from an enchanted tree; her evil stepsisters hack off parts of their feet to fit into her golden slipper. In the Grimms’ version of “Little Red Riding Hood” (“Little Red Cap”) the girl, after escaping from the belly of the wolf, drowns him.
Move over Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Lola Jovan has some gruesome tales of her own to tell!
In MonstroUS, There Will be Blood, Lola, too, relates the tale of a red-caped girl and a big bad wolf, but in her take, the wolf is our narrator. The girl he encounters is bent on righting the wrongs of the past. Let’s just say, she strikes quite a bargain.
Accompanying “Red” are eleven other tantalizing tales, stories that feature a golem, a few witches, and—yes—a spider whose superior analytical skills are rather suspect. Throughout, Jovan’s vibrant full-color paintings and detailed pen and ink illustrations bring her tales to life, making for a true treasure of a book. To learn more about the collaboration between creator and publisher click here.
Lest you fear what lurks between the covers of MonstroUS, WayWord Books’ Total Experience includes a Fairytale Survival Kit, complete with magical flower seeds, silver charms, and a golden token, good for one wish at any well you may happen upon.
Act now, or you’ll find yourself wishing you had ordered a copy of MonstroUS while you had the chance. This book is a limited-edition release and when they’re gone…they’re gone.
AND—by pre-ordering before June 30th, you will automatically be registered to win a piece of original art from the book. Imagine owning an ORIGINAL painting by artist author Lola Jovan! What are you waiting for? Once upon a time is NOW!
Artist & Author, Lola Jovan
Jovan knows monsters. Coming of age in their midst taught her how to sew herself back together. Tracked by monsters from the frozen north to the sweltering south and then out to the wild, wild west, she now resides in an enchanted castle, surrounded by charmed feathers, bones, and stones gathered while wandering the Wild Lands.