Bone of My Bone
A Chilling Queer Folk Horror Fantasy Novel
Published on 26. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-4642-7551-7 (ISBN)
Description
USA Today bestseller and Bram Stoker Award nominee Johanna van Veen unveils a sapphic folk horror tour de force-perfect for fans of The VVitch and The Salt Grows Heavy. A skull's grin is eternal...
The year is 1635.
Sister Ursula, a young nun fleeing the ruins of her convent, and Elsebeth, a sharp-witted peasant, escape a band of marauding soldiers and disappear into the Bavarian forest. War scorches the land, and no one survives it alone. Amid the devastation, they find something in the arms of a dying man: the gilded skull of a saint.
It is said that if you reunite the saint's skull with her body, a wish will be granted. Desperate for salvation, and each with secret desires of their own, Ursula and Elsebeth follow a ragged map across the blighted countryside. But darkness follows them. A necromancer, drawn to the relic's power. The saint herself, whispering at night. And as the lines between blessing and curse blur, the women must face a harrowing truth: the magic they seek comes at a cost.
At the journey's end, they'll face an impossible choice-one that could tear apart everything they know...or bind them to each other forever.
As beautiful and tender as it is dark and terrifying, Bone of My Bone showcases one of queer horror's most exciting writers in her most chilling tale yet.
Tropes
Folk Horror Fantasy
Dark Fairytale
Sapphic Love
Historical Fiction
Supernatural Books
LGBTQ+
Also by Johanna van Veen:
My Darling Dreadful Thing
Blood on Her Tongue
The year is 1635.
Sister Ursula, a young nun fleeing the ruins of her convent, and Elsebeth, a sharp-witted peasant, escape a band of marauding soldiers and disappear into the Bavarian forest. War scorches the land, and no one survives it alone. Amid the devastation, they find something in the arms of a dying man: the gilded skull of a saint.
It is said that if you reunite the saint's skull with her body, a wish will be granted. Desperate for salvation, and each with secret desires of their own, Ursula and Elsebeth follow a ragged map across the blighted countryside. But darkness follows them. A necromancer, drawn to the relic's power. The saint herself, whispering at night. And as the lines between blessing and curse blur, the women must face a harrowing truth: the magic they seek comes at a cost.
At the journey's end, they'll face an impossible choice-one that could tear apart everything they know...or bind them to each other forever.
As beautiful and tender as it is dark and terrifying, Bone of My Bone showcases one of queer horror's most exciting writers in her most chilling tale yet.
Tropes
Folk Horror Fantasy
Dark Fairytale
Sapphic Love
Historical Fiction
Supernatural Books
LGBTQ+
Also by Johanna van Veen:
My Darling Dreadful Thing
Blood on Her Tongue
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Sourcebooks, Inc
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
256 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4642-7551-7 (9781464275517)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
JOHANNA VAN VEEN grew up in the Netherlands with her two sisters. She received an MA in English Literature with a specialization in early modern literature, as well as an MA Book and Digital Media with a specialization in early modern book history. She enjoys spending time with her girlfriend, her sisters, and her dog, though not necessarily all at the same time.