Book Review: Lies, Knives, And Girls in Red Dresses

There’s a dark, twisted underbelly to fairytales that modern parents generally do not acknowledge.

Early fairytales were often moralizing, cautionary tales with very real messages: do not walk into the woods alone, do not always trust the honeyed words of strangers, not every fair face is your friend.

In the original tale, the Little Mermaid feels like she is walking on swords when she uses her legs and dies in the end of a broken heart, returning to the sea as foam.

Edmund Dulac

 Our contemporary, sanitized and Disneyfied stories are pastel-colored and always have a happy ending. While there are dark moments (notably Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty terrorized me), we are comforted and secure in the knowledge that our protagonist will succeed in their quest, often accompanied by crooning crabs.

Failure, ruin and despair don’t have much play in modern fairytales, except in books like Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge (illustrations by Andrea Deszo).

Koertge makes no bones about his dark retellings; he writes on the first page:

“Do you want to sleep? Find another storyteller. Do you want to think about the world in a new way?

Come closer. Closer, please. I want to whisper in your ear.”

Even the cover promises dark dreams: a lascivious red tongued wolf threatening to gobble a girl in a red dress.

These are true retellings. Do not look here for many happy endings. At best, his characters end up with their expected version of happiness, which isn’t so permanent after all. At worst, maiming, suffering and beautiful death.

If you enjoy the original Grimm Brothers stories, if you like your tales with a razor’s edge, Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses will be your cup of tea. The finely designed laser-cut illustrations from Andrea Deszo give the look of old-world woodcuts, adding a perfect punctuation to the dark-rimmed stories.

Here are twenty reimagined tales, written in free verse ranging from poetic prose to rhymed couplets. It reads like stories rather than poetry, though, and is quite easy to slide into.

My favorite is a series of five stories on Rapunzel, from the point of view of the mother, the father, the witch, the prince and Rapunzel. It will make you rethink Happily-Ever-After.



Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses is available for pre-order on Amazon. It releases July 10, 2012.

Thanks to Candlewick Press and Raquel Matos for the advance copy to review.

Beauteous Day for QuelleBelle

My good friend, Raquel Matos (@quellelove on Twitter) recently commented that weddings are only fun to plan if you are a special special snowflake. She then said she was not one.

Raquel and her fiance

You may remember Raquel from the Fairy Ring Contest. She was kind enough to provide the copies of the books, as well as the original seed of the idea that got me off on all these crazy writing contests.

I recently dubbed her QuelleBelle, because she’s lovely inside and out. So to prove that she is indeed a special special snowflake, I am hosting her the first ever (maybe in the world) Pinterest Wedding Shower.

At this moment, you are likely doing the double-blink that people tend to do when I introduce one of my more eccentric ideas. If you are still reading, let me share the details.

I have started a group Pinterest Board, dubbed QuelleBelle’s Beauteous Day. On it, I have pinned all my ideas for the most charming, quirky vintage wedding shower ever. This is the perfect party theme for Raquel, as she hosts the amazing vintage film blog Out of the Past.

So here’s the deal. This group pinboard is for those who love the vintage fashions and fripperies of yesteryear. Every image pinned must have a CAPTION, an explanation for why you chose it for this whimsical, wondrous online event.

I recommend using the board like this:

1) Pin the outfit(s) you would wear to QuelleBelle’s Beauteous Day. Oh, it can be anything you want: Dior, Chanel, Balenciaga, etc. I am encouraging 40s-50s, but let your imagination go. Pick hat, shoes, accessories, skirt, dress, gown, assemble your dream vintage look. Clearly you need one outfit for day and one for evening. Why not? We have a limitless budget and all of Pinterest to choose from.

2) Pin the gift you would bring Raquel. Explain why you chose it in the caption.

3) Pin a beautiful architectural detail – why not have one corner be a Swiss chalet and another be a French shabby chic cottage? The rooms are as big as you like and decorated in so many styles. Your imagination is the only limit.

4) Pin flowers or favors or any other lovely wedding shower detail that will pay tribute to this unique lady and her style.

The best thing about this shower is that you can come and go as you please, the food and drinks are everflowing and it is filled with wandering, vintage-loving souls like you.

If I have not invited you and you are a lover of vintage/friend of Raquel’s, please @ me on Twitter or email me at annabbps at gmail dot com.

Though she’s too far away for me to plan a real party or even to hug, help make QuelleBelle’s Beauteous Day!

Once Upon a Time Writing Contest: Fan Favorite Contest!

ADDENDUM 5/4/12: The Once Upon a Time Fan Favorite Contest has ended! The winner, with a total of an unbelievable 47 votes is Cory Eadson (@evermore_evil) for his story, “Three Simple Words.” Go read it and comment and if you’re on Twitter, say congrats to Cory!

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*drumroll* HEAR YE! HEAR YE! Tis time again for that ever popular FanFav contest on Twitter. If you are not on Twitter, I hereby recommend you create a free account. Go on. I’ll wait.
Okay, now that you are on Twitter I will fill you in on this fun and fast-paced contest. All you need to participate is a free Twitter account.

This FanFav contest involves the entries of the Once Upon a Time Writing Contest (tag #ouatwriting).

First, go and read the 88 entries for the #OUATWRITING contest. Or just read your favorites. Or the authors who have the best thumbnails. Then choose your three favorite. I’ll see you in 72 hours when you are done. (Just kidding, the contest starts tomorrow, 5/2/12).

Contest Details:

* The contest is only open on Twitter. No other form of entries will be accepted.

* Each person can vote for a maximum of three stories.

* The contest is open for 12 hours ONLY, from 8 am EST to 8 pm EST on 5/2/12. All entries included in this time will be counted. All entries outside of that will be discarded.

TO CAST A VOTE:

* People will vote by tweeting the author’s name of their favorite story, followed by tags #fanfav and #ouatwriting. Both @SJIHolliday and I will be tracking and auditing votes separately for accuracy.

TO AUTHORS, I highly recommend you canvas for votes by tweeting your links, cajoling your followers, bullying, begging and earning votes by any (legal) means necessary in order to win this most amazing prize.

(And no, you cannot vote for yourself. Sheesh)

THE PRIZE:

Oh yes, this is what you were wondering about, wasn’t it? Remember that amazing contest I ran just a month or so ago: the Fairy Ring Contest?

The prize is a glorious professional audiobook recording of The Fairy Ring by Mary Losure (Candlewick 2012), narrated by Nicola Barber.

The audiobook is a brand-new release (List: $19.99) and 2 world-transporting hours away from our grey reality.

Are you ready for some hijinks? See you at 8 AM!