The Boneless Mercies almost here! ????

To celebrate the release of this epic and elegant new fantasy novel, we’ve asked author April Genevieve Tucholke to answer some questions about her book.

What makes Frey Fierce?
Everything, from her unashamed quest for glory to the axe she carries at her waist.

What are the most interesting things you learned while researching The Boneless Mercies?
1. How to perform a decapitation cleanly and painlessly. (The details of Anne Boleyn’s beheading are grisly and moving—Henry the VIII hired a skilled French executioner for the task.)
2. Yew trees. They are highly poisonous, from the seeds to the needles to the bark. They were planted in churchyards to provide wood for longbows, and the branches were used for dowsing. It’s said that witches like to take shelter under their branches.

If you’d met Frey as a teen, would you have been friends?
Yes. I would have worshipped her. I would have followed her anywhere.

What’s one fun fact most people don’t know about you?
Here are four:

1. My favorite wild animal is the great horned owl.
   
2. Someone once gave me a real human skull as a present.
   
3. I’ve lived in nine states and two countries.
   
4. I had a very big tree house as a kid—it had a tower and a secret passageway. My dad built it for me and my siblings and I pretty much lived in it during the summer. It’s now slowly decaying into rubble.

Describe your book in 3 words.
Witches. Beasts. Glory.

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies—girls hired to kill quickly, quietly, and mercifully. But Frey is weary of the death trade and, having been raised on the heroic sagas of her people, dreams of a bigger life. 

When she hears of an unstoppable monster ravaging a nearby town, Frey decides this is the Mercies' one chance out. The fame and fortune of bringing down such a beast would ensure a new future for all the Mercies. In fact, her actions may change the story arc of women everywhere.

Full of fierce girls, bloodlust, tenuous alliances, and unapologetic quests for glory, this elegantly spun tale challenges the power of storytelling—and who gets to be the storyteller. Perfect for fans of Maggie Stiefvater, V.E. Schwab, and Heidi Heilig.

Start reading now.