Infinity Son(81)

Brooks Sherman got to geek out extra hard with me with this transition into the fantasy genre. We’ve talked about comics and superheroes for YEARS, and I’m so happy we’re adding the Spell Walkers and co. to the canon.

My HarperCollins family: Rosemary Brosnan, Sari Murray, the epic Michael D’Angelo, Audrey Diestelkamp, Jane Lee, Tyler Breitfeller, Suzanne Murphy, indie queen Kathy Faber, Liz Byer, Caitlin Garing, and Bria Ragin. And so much love to my cover designer, Erin Fitzsimmons, who worked with artist Kevin Tong to give me a glorious and iconic cover that brought legit tears to my eyes. Thank you everyone for all you’ve done and all you do.

Thanks to my international publishers for making my stories more accessible to readers across the world and to my agencies for being that bridge.

Jodi Reamer was instantly charmed by my magical crew and flew right into this world with me as if she’d been here all along.

Julianne Daly very generously managed my website and so many requests so I could focus on writing.

My mom, Persida Rosa, never judged me as I cast spells with fake wands, drew demons in my Book of Shadows, and mixed potions with whatever we had in the fridge. And she always, always, always made sure I had notebooks and a computer to write my fan fiction so I wouldn’t burst into flames.

Even though this is a work of fantasy, my contemporary crew helped me out so much along the way. Becky Albertalli’s insta-love for Emil and Brighton made sure I never lost their humanity within all the magic happenings. David Arnold continues to out-David himself, and I love him more than he loves using GIFs. Jasmine Warga is a blast of sunshine who reminds me to love my art and live my life. Nicola and David Yoon are the greatest neighbors ever, and they’re mine, all mine! Angie Thomas pushed me to write the book that Little Adam never had and would’ve loved, and I believe I did that. Corey Whaley believed in this story back when it was going to be a dark fairy tale for kids. And Court Stevens pushed me to “Go for it!” with my ending, and I’m so happy I listened.

I would’ve never gotten through this draft without my New York crew. Arvin Ahmadi is the ultimate hype man. Dhonielle Clayton has always supported my Infinity dreams. Zoraida Córdova always checked in with my mental well-being. Patrice Caldwell made sure I didn’t hold back on anything, especially the glory of being queer and powerful. Mark Oshiro hit me with expert notes. Laura Sebastian’s high word counts during sprints motivated me to up my game. Emily X. R. Pan inspired me time and time again as we wrote (and rewrote) our heart-books.

So grateful for the friends who came outside their own fantastical worlds to check in on me as I created my own. Sabaa “Slytherin Hermione” Tahir always kept it super real with me because we didn’t have time to pretend my story was great when it wasn’t. Marie Lu’s early passion for this story in 2015 was a powerful stamp of approval. Amie Kaufman Skyped me in a Hogwarts T-shirt to help detangle this story’s many threads. Alex London is my literary wingman with his own remarkable sibling story with fierce birds. Kiersten White generously—and hilariously—helped me brainstorm titles years before “Infinity Son” struck me like lightning one day. Victoria Aveyard inspired me and entertained me and ate tacos with me. Tahereh Mafi and Ransom Riggs have been so lovely and supportive since my bookselling days. Brendan Reichs grounded me when I was losing sight of the real work. Victoria Schwab’s tweets and DMs kept the fire alive. Jay Kristoff kept asking me where the phoenix book was. Daniel José Older offered to guide me through the fantasy trenches like some foul-mouthed Yoda. Sasha Alsberg: YouTube icon who is way chiller than Brighton. Susan Dennard’s summer sprints and writing tips were invaluable. Alexandra Bracken gave me a much-needed pep talk about the market—which I still think about. Roshani Chokshi quelled my fears about my writing my truth in this series. And huge thanks to Leigh Bardugo who kindly gave me her blessing to open this book with the perfect quote from Crooked Kingdom.

Thank you to Cassandra Clare for being the first author to show me that queer boys could save the day.

Amanda Diaz, Michael Diaz, Cecilia Renn, Luis Rivera, Sandra Gonzalez, Lestor Andrade, and Keegan Strouse have all championed me and this book for as long as we’ve known each other. And Elliot Knight came late to the game, but he’s proven to be an invaluable player who kept me sane and happy and fed and loved, and helped me act out my favorite Emil/Ness scene so I could write it right. (Maybe we’ll get more right in another lifetime, El.)

Infinite thanks to the booksellers, librarians, reviewers, and readers who’ve given me this life. Extra hugs to all the indie booksellers who united to help me reveal this gorgeous cover.

Lastly, I’m forever grateful to Harry Potter and the Charmed Ones and the Winchesters and the X-Men for helping this Bronx boy find magic.