about the book
King Wulfrun has a spasm in his liver which has travelled to his hip, a cantankerous belly, a headache, chest pains, and blurry vision. He is ALWAYS sick! This hypochondriac doesn’t even get out of bed to take care of his Underworld kingdom. That job falls to his harried daughter, Princess Decomposia. Talk about overworked and underappreciated!
From every direction, the Princess is hounded by her subjects and advisors. Braithwaite hands her letters that need answers. Aitchison insists she reads the Provincial forms. Cummings has to have approval for the arrangements for the Lycanthrope delegation. Burns wants her to go over the State Papers. Skull has an expedited delivery that has to be taken care of ASAP, and Clove, the scullery maid, needs her attention immediately. Seems the cook just quite! The King’s judgmental and picky demands were just too much!
Now on top of everything else, the pooped princess has to find a chef before the werewolf delegation arrives…and it has to be someone her father approves of! Luckily Clove has a list of possible replacements, and Princess Decomposia picks a pastry chef.
Count Spatula is a charming blood-sucking vampire and a real go-getter with a sweet tooth. Hopefully his yummy deserts can pull her father out of his funk. An awfully nice guy, the Count does whatever he can to help Princess Decomposia. The two ghouls are soon best friends…and more! Of course, King Wulfrun is not the least bit happy with his daughter’s new found interests…so he fires the Count!
Will Decomposia finally stand up to her father? And if she does, what will the King do?
about the author/illustrator
Andi Watson was a slow starter. There weren’t many books around his house and his brain read images much quicker than prose. Still he loved to read and draw. He especially enjoyed comic books like Beano, Star Wars and Tatin. He lived in West Yorkshire in the North of England where it rained a lot, giving him plenty of time with his books and pencils. Since there were two other Andrews in his classroom, he adopted the penname Andi and it stuck.
Andi was excited to go to art school, but his teacher said he wasn’t ready and told Andi to take a foundation course instead. Convinced he would wow the admissions people, Andie headed to the train station…and missed his train. His mother comforted her heartbroken son and promptly bought him another ticket. He had the last appointment of the day and he confidently spread out his art work for all to see. The admission guys glanced at pages and promptly told him to go home and take a foundation course. Crushed but undeterred, Andi took the course, reapplied, and got in! His advice-Never give up!
Upon graduating from Liverpool’s John Moores University, Andi realized that the rainy area he grew up in was the perfect place for a cartoonist, a career that requires a lot of lonely indoor time. He currently lives and works in Worcester with his wife and daughter. His studio is in his home and he quips that he is either going to have to buy fewer books or buy far more bookshelves.
For more than two decades, Andi has been writing and illustrating comics and graphic novels for both grownups and kids…and for those in between. He has worked for all the mainstream comic publishers, including DC, Dark Horse, Marvel and Image. His work has garnered much acclaim and has been nominated for three Eisners, a Harvey, and a British Comics Award.
His graphic novel Princess Decomposia & Count Spatula is a humorous goth horror tale. You’d never guess that his favorite author is Jane Austin and that he likes romantic stories!
Sources:
Author/illustrator website
Author/illustrator interview: Forbidden Planet
Author/illustrator interview: First Second Books
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