Welcome to our weekly special feature post, Author Of The Week!!

Each week we will be interviewing a different YA author and highlighting their upcoming release!

We will also be hosting a giveaway of the book we are highlighting!!

Introducing April Genevieve Tucholke , YABC's Author of the Week!!

April Genevieve Tucholke is the author of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Between the Spark and the Burn, Wink Poppy Midnight, and The Boneless Mercies. Her books have been published in thirteen countries, and have received five starred reviews. They have been selected for the Junior Library Guild, Kids' Indie Next picks, and YALSA Teens Top Ten. When she's not writing, April likes walking in the woods, exploring abandoned houses, and drinking expensive coffee. She currently resides in Oregon with her husband.

Website * Twitter * Instagram

Meet The Boneless Mercies!

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.

Amazon * B & N * Indiebound

~ Author Chat ~

YABC:  What gave you the inspiration to write this book?

I wanted to write a book that depicted the closeness of a group of young, female warriors—my love of Beowulf, and History channel’s Vikings, made me want to set the story in a similar world. I’ve read quite a few fantasies that feature a female main character who is a lone wolf—these are great—but I wanted to focus on the friendship and love between a band of female characters, and what could happen if they fought together to accomplish something daring and extraordinary.

YABC:   Who is your favorite character in the book?

Juniper, the sweet, mystical Sea Witch . . . no wait. I think it’s actually Ovie, the fierce, stoic warrior who smells like snow and likes to cuddle up beside the main character at night, beside the fire.

YABC:   Which came first, the title or the novel?

The title came first. But I actually never intended to keep The Boneless Mercies as the official title—it was a temporary stand-in. The word “Boneless” came from a character in the Icelandic Sagas: Ivar the Boneless. And the word “Mercies” just made sense, considering the nature of the service performed by my main characters (they are mercenaries who provide merciful deaths.) I always meant to change the title, but reader response was very positive to “The Boneless Mercies,” so I kept it . . . and now I can’t imagine it being anything else.

YABC:  What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?

SPOILER ALERT:

The scene with the hanged girl at the crossroads. Or the scene where the characters race through the prickly Thiss Thorns, on their way to the Sea Witches and their conical witch-huts high in the trees.

YABC:  What do you like most about the cover of the book?

Everything. Especially the font, and the double imagery of the howling wolf with the crescent-moon eye and the trail leading off into the forest . . .

My designer was Will Staehle. Look him up!

YABC:  What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2018-2019?

There are so many! I was lucky enough to read an early copy of Megan Shepherd’s The Grim Lovelies, and it’s absolutely marvelous. I’m also very excited about Laini Taylor’s next book Muse of Nightmares and Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree. And Kendare Blake’s Two Dark Reigns of course . . .

YABC:   What’s up next for you?

I’m working on a very loose companion book to The Boneless Mercies, set in the same world but with very different characters/themes. It will also be a genderflipped retelling of a classic story.

YABC:   Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?

The ending. Action scenes are always tough (I’d much rather write love scenes, honestly) and the ending for The Boneless Mercies is All. Action. I worked on it for months.

YABC:   Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or Revising?

Revising. Hands down. I’m a perfectionist.

YABC:   What would you say is your superpower?

If I could choose any superpower, I’d like to be able to touch historical objects and see visions of who held them last, and what kind of world this person lived in.

What is my actual superpower? Mixing potions. I’m certain I was witch in a previous life.

YABC:  Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?

Living Lands and Waters

The Boneless Mercies

By: April Genevieve Tucholke

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Release Date: October 2nd, 2018

*GIVEAWAY DETAILS* 

Two winners will each receive one signed HC of The Boneless Mercies, and one wolf pendant necklace.

*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*

a Rafflecopter giveaway