Master Of One - Jaida Jones Page 0,167

precious pal and magical Yukito, Ligia, for inspiring us nonstop in terms of sheer talent, sharp humor, and work ethic; to Studio Muscat in Shinjuku, specifically Asao and Haruka, for giving us our first machine tattoo experiences; and to Courtney, who gave us our first tattoos in her kitchen a couple of years before that, thus beginning our tattoo journeys, showing us the way.

Thank you to all our freaking amazing friends—those who stuck with us for the long haul as well as the new ones we made while in the trenches. You teach us every day how to better show up for the people we love. The best part about publishing a book may be getting to write as many of their names as we can, so here goes: Miranda, we adore you; Marc, we adore you; Alain, we adore you; Cressa and Julia, we adore you; Amy, we adore you; Helen and Robin and Anthea and Tommy, coworkers at the Art & Writing office once and future, we adore you; little Lily L., we adore you; National Student Poets, you angels, artists, dreamers, darlings, we adore you; Sky, we adore you; Nycki, thanks for all the incredible haircuts, we adore you; Tara and Claire and Gregory and all the rescuers of Brooklyn Animal Action, we adore you.

To Kelsey of I Do Declare and the team at Blood Milk (especially Jess, Miguel, and Jen): Thank you for being eternal inspirations and such real, great friends. Kelsey and Jess, your creativity and vision as artists are matched only by your kindness and generosity as people. We are so grateful and lucky to know you. And to Ana of Nuit Clothing Atelier too, for your art, your warmth, your internal and external beauty. Mia of Plutonia Blue, you and your work are utterly captivating. Thank you all for creating the fashion, the adornments, and the fantasy we were always seeking.

Sarah Potter, you gave us readings that allowed us to trust and look forward to the possibility of selling this book. And then it happened. You’re pretty magical.

Thank you to our amazing families in New York and Victoria and everywhere between—putting up with us writing through reunions, dinners, obligations, conversations. You endured a lot for our fiction aspirations, even during the lean times, and most of you didn’t disown us, and we’re greatly grateful.

Thanks to our therapists! Wow, this gratitude can’t be overstated enough.

To Colleen and Michaela, early readers who gave invaluable feedback: Thank you for taking the time and the care to make sure this book was saying what we wanted it to say. To Clare: You have been outright magnificent throughout this whole process. To the copy editors, who fought their way through the constant tangle of our sometimes-it’s-the-British-spelling-sometimes-it’s-the-American-one inconsistencies: Thank you for your careful eyes and awe-worthy attention to detail.

To Tamar, our agent, who believed in us through years of rejections, as we got closer and closer and still, it seemed, further and further away from actually getting another book out there: Thank you for never giving up on us, for helping us with every idea fully baked and half-baked and not-baked-at-all, for championing our stories, and for keeping our hope fires alight when we were too weary to stoke them, when we were all burned out.

To Alice, our editor, who is literally perfect: Thank you for taking a chance on us, for getting excited with us, for showing us how to shape this book into the one we actually wanted to write. Obviously, without you, this book would not exist—not in its current form, its final form, the form it always wanted to take. You allowed us to mold this story into its truest self and, more than that, you showed us the way. You lit the darkened path. You mapped the maze. We’re your servants for life, and you will never be rid of us.

About the Authors

Photo by Bridget Badore

JAIDA JONES & DANI BENNETT are married coauthors (without wanting to divorce yet) who live in Brooklyn with eight cats. Dani is from Victoria, British Columbia, and works freelance as an independent editor, proofreader, and plagiarism checker. Jaida is a native New Yorker. Their published work includes four novels from the Volstovic Cycle in addition to their many Twitter rants on intersectional feminism and the NYC subway system. Master of One is their young adult debut, and you can find them at www.jonesandbennett.com.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

Books by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett

Master of One

Back Ad

DISCOVER

your next favorite read

MEET

new authors to love

WIN

free books

infographics, playlists, quizzes, and more

WATCH

the latest videos

www.epicreads.com

HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

MASTER OF ONE. Copyright © 2020 by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett. Map art © 2020 by Anka Lavriv. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

www.epicreads.com

Cover lettering by Corina Lupp

Cover design by Catherine Lee & Sarah Nichole Kaufman

* * *

Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-294147-3

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-294144-2

* * *

2021222324CPIG10987654321

FIRST EDITION

About the Publisher

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.