In Deeper Waters F.T. Lukens (acx book reading txt) 📖

Jake Bible—for all their amazing advice and encouragement. Special thanks to Beth for writing a wonderful blurb. I’d like to thank Malaprop’s bookstore in Asheville, which is my local amazing indie store and has been so kind to me the past few years. The booksellers are awesome, and if you are ever in the Asheville area, please drop by and say hi to Katie.

It wouldn’t be my acknowledgment section without thanking my fandom life mate and fandom twitter pals, who are the greatest when I need a name suggestion or need help deciding on a detail. My Internet family always comes through, and I can’t thank them enough for sticking with me this past decade.

I’d like to thank my family, especially my spouse, Keith, and my three kids, Ezra, Zelda, and Remy, who bring joy and excitement into my life every day. Sometimes I’d be okay with a little less excitement. That might be a nice change for next time. I’d also like to thank my brother, Rob, and my sister-in-law, Chris, who account for most of my sales since they seem to purchase multiple copies of my books and then hand them out to their friends. Thanks for that, y’all. Also, Rob is the only person I know who actually reads the acknowledgments. (Hi, Rob!) Also, I want to thank my sisters, Christy and Amanda, who have made the pandemic a little more interesting via memes in our sibling group chat. I would like to thank my niece, Emma, who is always willing to be my assistant at conventions, as well as my other nieces and nephews, who tell their school librarians about their aunt’s books and talk them up to their teachers and friends.

Lastly, I’d like to thank everyone who reads this book, whether you purchased it or borrowed it from a library. Thank you for allowing me to entertain you for a few hours. I’m very appreciative of your time. I hope you enjoyed reading Tal and Athlen’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time, I hope you stay safe and happy.

Thank you.

F.T. Lukens

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

F.T. LUKENS is the author of five young adult novels published through Interlude Press, and her book The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic was a 2017 Cybils Award finalist in YA Speculative Fiction and the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Gold Winner for YA Fiction, won the Bisexual Book Award for Speculative Fiction, and was recently named to ALA’s 2019 Rainbow Book List. F.T. lives in North Carolina with her husband, three kids, three dogs, and three cats.

Visit us at simonandschuster.com/teen

www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/F-T-Lukens

Margaret K. McElderry

Simon & Schuster, New York

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MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Text © 2021 by F.T. Lukens

Jacket illustration © 2021 by Sam Schechter

Jacket design by Rebecca Syracuse © 2021 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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Interior design by Irene Metaxatos

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lukens, F. T., author.

Title: In deeper waters / F. T. Lukens.

Description: First edition. | New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, [2021] | Audience: Ages 14 up. | Audience: Grades 10–12. | Summary: Sixteen-year-old Prince Tal is on his long-awaited coming-of-age tour when he meets the intriguing and roguish Athlen, and when he is kidnapped by pirates, Athlen is his only hope of escape.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020032400 (print) | ISBN 9781534480506 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534480520 (ebook)

Subjects: CYAC: Coming of age—Fiction. | Princes—Fiction. | Magic—Fiction. | Kidnapping—Fiction. | Pirates—Fiction. | Gays—Fiction. | Fantasy.

Classification: LCC PZ7.1.L843 In 2021 (print) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020032400