And with that statement Johanna knew exactly what she had to do.
Acknowledgments
An author writes a story, but it takes an enormous team to publish a book. I owe a huge thanks to all the folks who made this novel happen!
My publishing team—editor Dani Young, publisher Justin Chanda, copy editor Brian Luster, designer Michael McCartney, managing editor Bridget Madsen, and the rest of the crew at Margaret K. McElderry Books—made my dreams come true! Thank you for encouraging me to stretch my characters and make this story into something more.
Without my fantastic agent, Jennifer Laughran, The Storyspinner would be a measly two chapters at the bottom of my WIP folder. Jenn picked my first manuscript out of the slush and stuck with me till I started writing what I love. Thank you!
So many writerly friends helped turn this pile of words into a book-shaped thing. I’m so grateful to Nicole Castroman who read every page at least six times, and her beautiful daughter, Sophia, for being my first teen reader. Jessica Lawson loved my characters and sent emails with slightly inappropriate subject lines exactly when I needed them. Lynne Matson and Diana Wariner offered incredible insight on how to fix this plot and make it sharper and more interesting. And to my awesome readers, Trisha Leaver (my very first reader ever!), Lindsay Currie, and Mary Waibel. Thank you, thank you!
Several noncyber friends knew about my secret wish to be an author and helped me along the way. Stacy Sorensen is the world’s best faux assistant and a better friend than I deserve. Jen Wegner, aka Perfect Friend, offered unflagging support from the very beginning. Lezlie Evans set me on the right writing path. Brynn Hansen lent me her name and enthusiasm.
My parents, Dave and Ardy Vallett, taught me to love reading and to never fear hard work. Thank you for every single thing. To my grandma, Edie Winkelman, for thousands of phone conversations and hundreds of sandwiches with chips on them. To my siblings, Lizzy Standiford, Joel Vallett, and MeChelle Anderson, and their spouses for cheering me on and keeping me sane. And to my inlaws and outlaws—Rick and Olivia Wallace, Brandon and Elizabeth Wallace, and Jarod and Brianne Stewart—for babysitting and for not going glassy-eyed when I start talking about books.
My little family has been so patient when I disappear into another world, and can’t hear them even when we’re in the same room. Thank you for loving me even when I’m not entirely present. To my husband, Jamie, for walking me through fight scenes and taking my work seriously. To my babies Gavin, Laynie, Audrey, and Adelynn for being everything I’ve ever wanted. Love you all!
About the Author
In second grade, Becky Wallace had to sit in the corner because she refused to write anything besides princess stories and fairy tales (and because she talked too much). Her time in isolation gave her plenty of opportunities to dream up the fantasy worlds she’s been dabbling with ever since. She was lucky enough to find her own real-life prince charming. They have four munchkins and live in a happy little village in Texas.
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MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
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 copyright © 2015 by Becky Wallace
Jacket photograph copyright © 2015 by Jill Wachter
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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The text for this book is set in Kepler Std.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wallace, Becky.
The storyspinner / Becky Wallace.—1st edition.
p. cm.—(The Keepers’ chronicles)
Summary: The Keepers, a race of people with magical abilities, are seeking a supposedly dead princess to place her on the throne and end political turmoil but girls who look like the princess are being murdered and Johanna Von Arlo, forced to work for Lord Rafael DeSilva after her father’s suspicious death, is a dead ringer.
ISBN 978-1-4814-0565-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4814-0567-6 (eBook)
[1. Fantasy. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Identity—Fiction. 4. Princesses—Fiction. 5. Murder—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.W15472Sto 2015
[Fic]—dc23 2014015912
Contents
* * *
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter
85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Acknowledgments
About the Author
The Storyspinner Page 31