Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Dead Man’s Float by Shawn Sarles, which is out September 5th.

Sometimes the truth hurts. Sometimes it even kills.

Seven years ago, Sam watched her friend drown. The water, and the fact that Sam couldn’t save her, has haunted her ever since. But what she didn’t see that day was the hand that had reached out for her friend, wrenching her beneath the water.

Now, as Sam gets ready for varsity pre-season on the school swim team, she vows once again not to let the fear of the water bring her down into its depths. But when the upperclassmen take the girls to the abandoned neighborhood pool called the Graveyard for their yearly hazing ritual, a seemingly harmless prank will set off a catastrophic chain of events. It will unleash a spirit, a ghost that has unfinished business both in the pool and outside of it, intent on finding its killer.

On this team, they all have a secret. They all have a motive.

The truth can set them three, if it doesn’t bury them first.

She could still conjure up that strange sensation, that new numbness. Like she’d been transported to a different dimension. She had been all alone, floating in a vast emptiness. Even Kasey had disappeared from her side. It was a horrifying place devoid of sights and sounds and all feeling, where she seemed to float on and on in an utterly black ocean, the fathomless nothingness more frightening than the pain she’d been in before.

Oblivion.

Sam crashed through the pool’s surface, the drop from the ten-meter platform over in only a couple of seconds. The impact stung the soles of her feet and jarred her back to the present. But as she let herself sink deeper under the water, she recalled how, just when she’d given up, her father’s arm had appeared out of nowhere and dug her from that lake grave. His strength had been enough to snap the reeds’ hold, to pull her to the surface and onto the dock, where she’d taken heaving breaths until she’d thrown up, her vomit green and chunky like she’d exorcised a demon.

But he hadn’t been able to get to Kasey in time.

While Sam was still throwing up on the dock, her best friend’s body had bobbed to the surface and floated there, face- down, lifeless. The empty shell of a girl. And even though Sam knew that there was nothing she could have done to save Kasey, that she’d barely made it out of that accident alive, she still blamed herself. She was only six years old then, but she should have been stronger. She should have been able to rip Kasey from the reeds’ grasp. She should have swum them both to the surface. To fresh air. To safety.

Sam’s toes grazed the bottom of the pool and she let herself settle. She exhaled a stream of air and sank deeper, tilting her head back and squinting to look up. The ten-meter platform seemed even farther away from down here, but it didn’t frighten her anymore. She felt calm and at peace. Powerful, even.

The water didn’t scare her like it had when she was six. She’d mastered that fear. Made it her dominion. She might have failed Kasey, but now, nine years later, she wouldn’t let that happen again. She wouldn’t let anyone else drown on her watch.

The shadows of her new teammates swayed above her, their bodies gathered around the edge of the pool, peering down at her, most likely looking for any sign of weakness. But Sam didn’t care what those girls thought about her. She wasn’t a coward and she’d proven that. Practice would start tomorrow, and she’d show them what she could really do. How fast she could go. No one would care about how long it’d taken her to jump off the high dive then. No one would whisper that she was chicken.

Feeling her lungs starting to cave, Sam blew out another stream of bubbles. Then she raised her arms and pressed them into a straight arrow. She bent her knees and pushed off the bottom of the pool, dolphin kicking to propel herself faster through the water until she broke the surface, sending up a spray in every direction. She breathed in and out as she treaded water, looking until she spotted the owner of the voice that had taunted her earlier—the girls’ team captain: Bailey Miller.

“What a rush,” Sam chirped, laying it on thick as she watched the girl squirm.

Bailey stood there with her arms crossed and a scowl contorting her lips into something unpleasant. She was clearly upset, and Sam had to dip her chin lower in the water to make sure she hid her grin. Because if Bailey was mad now, she’d only feel worse after practice tomorrow.

“We’ve all done it,” Bailey scoffed, uncrossing her arms and picking at her fingernails. “Now hurry up and dry off. We’ve gotta get out of here before someone catches us. We aren’t supposed to be in here.”

And they weren’t. But somehow Bailey had a key to the pool—probably something the outgoing team captain had passed on to her—which they’d used to break in after school. Every new swimmer had been told to strip down to their suits and jump from the ten-meter platform, a plunge in the dark that had taken some people longer than others, and that a couple of people hadn’t attempted at all.

“Let’s go.” Bailey clapped her hands together, everyone jumping into action as the crack echoed off the pool walls. She took one last disapproving look at Sam and then turned, making her way to the door without a glance back.

Sam watched as everyone started moving, and then she waded to the wall and pulled herself up in one motion. She grabbed her nearby towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, using it to dry off her hair, which she kept short so it’d fit under a cap more easily. No one seemed to notice her as they filed out, which was fine. She didn’t need to be the center of attention. She preferred to be left alone. She had one goal and didn’t like distractions.

She peered back at the pool, the waves she’d made smoothed over already so that the surface looked clean and clear and crystalline. Her fingers itched to slice through the water. Every pool was different. They had their own personalities. And she wondered what this one might hold.

Something dripped into the water, and Sam looked down, puzzling over the swirl of color there, the red fading to pink before it eventually dissipated. Another drop fell, this one crimson and impossible to mistake.

Sam’s hand flew to her face, and her fingers slid over the warm slick of blood dribbling over her lips and down her chin. Panic thundered in her ears, and she leaned her head forward, sniffling as she pressed her towel to her nose. A metallic tang still managed to seep down her throat and she gagged, choking on the bitter taste. Her eyes darted from side to side, but no one seemed to have noticed. Most everyone had already trickled out. Which was good. She could deal with this. She’d been getting nosebleeds for what felt like her entire life. She had a supply of cotton balls in her bag. She just needed to wash off real quick.

Sam startled as she caught sight of a reflection in the pool. It wavered in front of her, mirroring her shadow. But it wasn’t her. Its hair was too long. Its eyes red embers that glowed like drops of blood in the water.

Kasey, Sam thought, fear prickling the hairs on her scalp as her hand reached up to clasp the thin necklace pressed against the wet skin of her collarbone.

But then she remembered herself. Remembered that Kasey was dead. That her guilt was playing tricks on her.

With a quick motion, Sam dipped her hand in the pool and dispelled the reflection. She cupped a handful of water and splashed it against her face. She used her towel to pat her cheeks dry, and then jumped to her feet, her head tilted down, sucking in breaths through her mouth to keep the blood at bay. She waddled over to her bag and dug through it until she found the cotton balls, pushing one into her nostril and feeling almost immediate relief. Crisis averted.

Wiping her nose and chin again, Sam turned back to the pool. It’d look different tomorrow morning, with all the lane lines put in and the backstroke flags flapping. But it’d be home. Or, at least, a home away from home. Her new training ground.

She gave herself a final pat down, then pulled on her sweat- pants and a hoodie. She draped her towel over her wet hair, doing her best to hide the cotton ball stuck up her nose. She’d take it out when she got home. But right now she couldn’t afford to show any weakness. She wanted to get off on the right foot with these girls. She wanted them to know that she meant business. She didn’t play around in the pool. Hopefully, they’d respect that. Because she needed them to push her. She needed their help to make herself faster. And if they weren’t serious, then they better stay out of her way.

Excerpted from Dead Man’s Float by Shawn Sarles, Copyright © 2023 by Shawn Sarles. Published by Scholastic Inc.

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Hi, Shawn! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi. My name is Shawn Sarles, and I am a young adult horror writer. My first book, Campfire, came out in 2018, and my second book, Mary, Will I Die? is out on September 7th. I grew up in a small town in Kentucky and have lived in New York for the past ten years. I have a French Bulldog and two parrots.

When did you first discover your love for writing?

I started writing stories when I was in elementary school. I had this dog detective that I would create picture books for. He was always going up against a cat burglar, which I thought was so clever when I was eight. Then I didn’t write as much in middle school. But in high school I got back into it. In Kentucky we were required to complete writing portfolios for graduation. Having to do personal narratives and short stories for my portfolio got me back into writing and made me realize that I wanted to be an author one day.

Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!

Where the Red Fern Grows. I still have this memory of sitting in the front seat of the car at a random gas station while my dad is filling up the tank. And I’m finishing the book and I’m just balling my eyes out at the ending. I wasn’t even a dog person back then, but the story really moved me and it made me realize that I wanted to write stories of my own one day.

Your latest novel Mary, Will I Die? is out September 7th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Mirrors. Reflections. Chilling. Terrifying. Manipulation.

What can readers expect?

Readers can expect to be scared. They can expect a horrifying adventure. Bloody Mary will resort to anything to trick the four main characters into letting her out of her mirror prison.

Where did the inspiration for Mary, Will I Die? come from?

I was inspired by mirrors. By the idea that what we see in our reflections isn’t necessarily the truth. There’s a distortion that comes into play when we talk about how we see ourselves, and that can take a bunch of different forms. Throughout the book, Bloody Mary is in the main characters’ heads. She’s whispering to them and causing them to think and see different things. Many of us have our own insecurities we battle with, so I wanted to see what happened when our inner demons came out as real demons.

Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?

This was the first book that I’d written from multiple POVs, so that was definitely a challenge. I knew that I had to make Steph and Elena and Grace and Calvin all stand out. Usually I start with an outline of the plot and discover the characters as I write, but this time I put in that character development work early. Before I even sat down to write, I tried to be really clear with each of their stories. What were their motivations? What were their main traits? What was their relationship to Bloody Mary? How did she hold a pull over them? What were their relationships to each other? It was a lot more pre-planning than I’m used to doing, but it worked out for the best in the end.

Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I really enjoyed writing Steph. She’s the first LGBTQIA+ character that I’ve written, so I felt a connection to her arc and her struggles throughout the book. Also, I was an athlete in high school, so I enjoyed diving back into that competitive world and that never-lose mentality. The rivalry between her and Elena was a lot of fun to see evolve.

What can fans expect from your upcoming virtual tour events where you’ll be in conversation with Ryan La Sala and Grady Hendrix?

I expect it’s going to be lots of horror talk. And lots of fun! Ryan and Grady are both super talented writers, so I’m excited to get to sit down with them (virtually) and pick their brains. They’re both sure to be lively conversations!

What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?

Best: The first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. I can really get stuck in trying to make every word just right the first time through. But when I’m stuck, I’ve learned to move on to the next sentence and paragraph and chapter. The worst thing for me is to get stalled on one particular scene. I can spend days trying to figure it out. But then I remind myself that I can fix it later and I’m able to move on and finish. And when I do come back to it later, I find that the time away has given me fresh eyes and I’m able to see what needs to be fixed.

Worst: Write everyday. I know this one is thrown around a lot, but I don’t like the pressure it creates. You don’t have to write everyday to be a successful writer. For some people, it works. But for me, forcing myself to type out words every single day is a little destructive. I need breaks to keep my ideas flowing and so that I don’t burn out in the middle of a draft.

What’s next for you?

I’m actually just finishing up my next book now. It’s another YA horror that’s set in this eerily perfect town. It’s based on Ring-Around-the-Rosie, but with cults and rose gardens and a really scary Rosie. It’s been a lot of fun to write, and I think everyone will get to read it in Fall 2022.

Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

I’ve been working so hard on my latest project that I haven’t been able to read nearly as much as I wanted to recently. But there are a few books at the top of my TBR pile that I can’t wait to dig into.

• The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould
• They’ll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman
• Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour

Will you be picking up Mary, Will I Die? Tell us in the comments below!

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