Welcome to Once Upon a Retelling! I'm a huge fan of retellings, and I'm really interested in hearing about authors' own love of the original stories, and what inspired them to retell those stories. And so Once Upon a Retelling was born, a feature in which I interview authors about their versions of well-loved tales.
Today, I'm really excited to have April Genevieve Tucholke stopping by the blog to discuss her retelling of Beowulf, The Boneless Mercies.
Can you tell us a little about The Boneless Mercies? What kind of a retelling of Beowulf is it?The Boneless Mercies is a reimagining of Beowulf, with four female warriors taking the place of the one male main character of Beowulf. It is a book about death-traders--female mercenaries who are doomed to roam Vorseland killing the old or the sick. Frey and her band of Mercies dream of a bigger life...so when Frey hears that a beast is slaughtering people in a northern jarldom, she decides that killing it is the Mercies’ one chance at fame and fortune.
