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A twisty, lyrical, and tragic retelling of the Bluebeard fairytale, Schultz has written a sapphic haunted house story that will be perfect for fans of Ava Reid’s A Study in Drowning, Roshani Chokshi’s The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, and V. E. Schwab’s Gallant.
Davi says, “Claire’s book stole our hearts as soon as we read the premise. It gives a tantalising hint at the core of this outstanding story, but it’s the sumptuous prose, delicious atmosphere, and powerful imagery that demand your attention and deliver a book that will stay with you long after reading.”
Claire adds, “I could not be more delighted to have found a UK home for my work with Daphne Press. Even Your Bones Would Do is a book about survivors, a book about self-sacrifice and self-preservation, and, ultimately, a book about hope: the hope we can find in ourselves and in our human connections. I am so thrilled that Davi and the entire team love it as much as I do. To join a list with this history of championing exciting new voices—and making some of the loveliest books around—is an honor, and I know that I couldn’t possibly be in better hands or better company. I want to thank my amazing agent, Clara Foster, and the team at ACM UK for making this happen. I cannot wait for readers to enter Thornwood House and meet April, Marie, and the other women who haunt its corridors.”
Clara Foster, Claire’s agent, says “As agents, we always hope that a submission will live up to its brilliant pitch. Claire had me at ‘Bluebeard with lesbian ghosts’—and then surpassed it utterly with her writing, which demonstrates not just extraordinary poise and storytelling, but an aching, roiling emotion at its core. It blew me away. I cannot wait for readers to have that same experience.”