Name: Ink & Saltwater
Author: Kayden Etter

Ink & Saltwater

Some lives are rewritten at sea.

Southampton, 1912. Thomas Bennett boards the RMS Titanic carrying a suitcase, a blank pocket-journal, and a name the world has never fully allowed him to keep. Traveling under his chosen identity for the first time, Tom leaves England hoping America might offer what home never could: the freedom to live openly and be seen as himself.

But life aboard the Titanic is anything but anonymous. In the crowded third-class corridors, among shared meals, late-night music, and endless Atlantic waters, Tom finds himself drawn into an unexpected friendship with Nora Walsh — a sharp-witted Irish immigrant who smokes on the deck at midnight, asks too many questions, and slowly pulls him out from behind years of careful silence.

As the distance between them deepens into something neither of them quite knows how to name, Tom begins to imagine a future he never thought possible. One built not on hiding, but on honesty. But aboard a ship celebrated as unsinkable, every dream carries the weight of the ocean beneath it.

Told through intimate prose and fragments of journals carried across the sea, Ink & Saltwater is a haunting historical fiction novel about identity, survival, love, and the quiet courage it takes to become yourself in a world determined to decide who you should be.

Praise for Ink & Saltwater

A quieter, more intimate historical novel… rich with character, identity, belonging, and resilience.

— Literary Titan

Anyone who knows Kayden personally knows he’s obsessed with Spider-Man, Wendy’s chicken nuggets, and the Titanic, so obviously his debut HAD to be a historical fiction about the Titanic.
I absolutely LOVED this book. It made me laugh, cry, and then laugh again because apparently I wasn’t emotionally unstable enough before (thanks Kayden).
I adored the found family, the love story, and watching Tom navigate life as a trans man in 1912 while learning to find acceptance, love, and comfort in both others and himself.
Such a beautiful, heartfelt debut from an incredible author! Bravo Kayden, I’m so proud of you!!!

— D. Downing

Oh gosh, what to say? I absolutely love this book. I lost sleep over it. I’ve gone through a box of tissues. I’ve spit out my drink from laughing at something happening/said. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

— R.A. Parvin

Anyone who knows Kayden personally knows he’s obsessed with Spider-Man, Wendy’s chicken nuggets, and the Titanic, so obviously his debut HAD to be a historical fiction about the Titanic.
I absolutely LOVED this book. It made me laugh, cry, and then laugh again because apparently I wasn’t emotionally unstable enough before (thanks Kayden).
I adored the found family, the love story, and watching Tom navigate life as a trans man in 1912 while learning to find acceptance, love, and comfort in both others and himself.
Such a beautiful, heartfelt debut from an incredible author! Bravo Kayden, I’m so proud of you!!!

— D. Downing

Interviews & behind the pages

Literary Titan · August 30, 2026

“What May Have Been” — Author Interview

A conversation about writing queer history in 1912, the making of Tom Bennett, and what it means to finally be seen.

Read the interview →

Literary Titan · August 28, 2026

Gold Book Award Review

“A quieter, more intimate historical novel… rich with character, identity, belonging, and resilience.”

Read the full review →