When I wrote The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy, I didn’t know for certain whether they would find a big enough audience to justify the publication of a third book. I had hoped and planned—SO MUCH PLANNING—to be able to share the twists and turns that I knew awaited Avery, but The Final Gambit only exists because of the incredible support the first two books have received from my publishing team, booksellers, librarians, and readers. I am truly grateful to everyone who made this book possible.
My editor, Lisa Yoskowitz, has been a tireless advocate for these books from the moment she first read The Inheritance Games. It’s hard to describe how valuable her editorial insights have been. So many of my favorite parts of The Final Gambit are the direct result of Lisa’s incredible instincts for what a story needs and her ability to inspire me to do everything I can to take the characters, plot, and world to the next level. Further, as grateful as I am for our creative collaboration, I am just as grateful for the grace, understanding, and support Lisa offers at every stage of the publishing process. I wrote this book during the first year of my new baby’s life, in the middle of a pandemic, while dealing with spotty childcare. Lisa, I could not have done it without you!
My agent, Elizabeth Harding, has been a champion for my books since I was barely more than a teenager myself. Eighteen years and twenty-three books later, I am so thankful for everything she has done and continues to do for me and for my books. Elizabeth, working with you is a joy.
I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my amazing team at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. I am in absolute awe of the creativity, vision, and work that has gone into getting this series into so many hands! Thank you to cover designer Karina Granda and artist Katt Phatt for creating the gorgeous cover for The Final Gambit. You have so perfectly captured this book, and the end result is nothing short of stunning! Another big thank-you goes out to production superstar Marisa Finkelstein, who helped work magic with our schedule to give me as much time with the book as I needed. Marisa, I appreciate all the work you did to make sure the book was what it needed to be when it needed to be—and under a tight schedule, no less!
Thank you also to Megan Tingley and Jackie Engel for their incredible support of this series; to Shawn Foster, Danielle Cantarella, Celeste Risko, Anna Herling, Katie Tucker, Claire Gamble, Leah CollinsLipsett, and Karen Torres for putting this book in front of readers everywhere; to Victoria Stapleton, Christie Michel, and Amber Mercado for everything they’ve done to connect libraries and young readers to the series; to Cheryl Lew, Savannah Kennelly, Emilie Polster, and Bill Grace for making and keeping these books so visible for so long; to Virginia Lawther, Olivia Davis, Jody Corbett, Barbara Bakowski, Su Wu, and Erin Slonaker for their help in getting The Final Gambit reader-ready; to Caitlyn Averett for her help at every stage of the process; to Lisa Cahn and Christie Moreau for their work on the audiobooks for the series; and to Janelle DeLuise and Hannah Koerner for finding such a wonderful UK home for the series! Thank you also to my UK publishing team at Penguin Random House, especially Anthea Townsend, Phoebe Williams, Jane Griffiths, and Kat McKenna.
My incredible team at Curtis Brown has done more for the Inheritance Games series than I ever could have imagined possible! Huge thanks to Sarah Perillo for helping to bring the Inheritance Games series to readers all over the world and to Holly Frederick for working her magic on the television front! I am also incredibly grateful for the help of Mahalaleel M. Clinton, Michaela Glover, and Maddie Tavis.
I have wanted to be an author since I was five years old, and one of the most incredible things about living this dream has been becoming a part of an incredible community of young-adult authors. Thank you to Ally Carter, Maureen Johnson, E. Lockhart, and Karen M. McManus for being lovely conversation partners at the virtual events that helped launch this series. Rachel Vincent is always there when I need to talk out a part of the book I can’t quite figure out, and I’m incredibly grateful for our weekly writing days! Thank you also to all my other writing friends; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen many of you in person, but you are all the reason that the community I’ve found in writing feels like home.
Finally, thank you to my family. For years, while I was balancing a demanding day job, writing, and being a mom to three young kids, people would ask, How do you do it all? And the answer has always been I’m not doing it all alone; I have so much help and support. Thank you to my parents for being the best parents a person could possibly ask for. They are my biggest fans, an incredible source of support, and the ones who will get in a car and drive two hours to watch my kids and bring me food when there just aren’t enough hours in the day. My dad, Bill Barnes, also helped proofread this book, and both my parents helped me create the world the Hawthornes inhabit by answering tons of questions on a whole range of topics!
Thank you to my husband, Anthony, who is a partner in every sense of the word. I cannot imagine a better husband or father, and I am so grateful for everything you do. Finally, thank you to my three small children, the oldest of whom was five when I started writing this book, for the cuddles, learning to sometimes entertain yourselves, and bringing so much joy to my life.