Jen Finelli – författare

A Puerto Rican engineering student battles Multiple Sclerosis--and experiments with dangerous body modifications. A girl in a red hijab leaps into the flames of a rotting convenience store--to save someone who hates her. An Asian-American 9th-grader catches a doctor poisoning his city's water supply to "cure" cancer. An Irish-American kid scarred by his alcoholic father turns his own broken, twisted psychology into a super-weapon. A restless Black girl from the South uncovers a human trafficking ring, and as she navigates the complexities of police-victim relationships, she roots out a conspiracy that could change her planet forever.

This neurodiverse, ethnically open anthology uncovers the origins of the Guardian superhero team from the highly-anticipated Becoming Hero comic-within-a-novel. Based on real teen struggles, these stories follow the team's creation as new heroes are born, built, broken, and forged.

SKYE is the storm-tossed comic character out for revenge on the author who murdered his family. JACE is the math-loving #blerd trying to escape his father''s deadly legacy. When their worlds collide, Jace must choose between the real world he''s always hated, and the comic book world he''s always loved - and Skye must decide if killing his author will save his world...or damn his soul.

Inside each copy of this gritty, expanded text edition, you will find the unsolved literary cipher of the century, designed by mathematics PhD Daniel Weingard; BECOMING HERO was a semi-finalist in the nationwide cinematic novel competition, and both of the voice actors for the audiobook have won performance awards.

Why so meta? Skye''s a comic book superhero with a gun in his hand and a gripe against his author. Every girl Skye''s ever dated is either dead or trying to take over the world, and in the series finale, Skye''s best friend kills him.

Or so he thinks. The weapon meant to disintegrate Skye lands him in his author''s universe. With a shot at revenge.

Skye, meet Jace. Jacen Howard''s a brilliant #blerd math whiz and comics aficionado-but at his West Baltimore high school that''s a bad thing, and if the bullying isn''t bad enough, Jace''s cop-father regularly pisses off the neighbors. Jace doesn''t see himself as a hero; he''s just trying to survive.

Jace might be just the hero Skye needs.

But Skye won''t open up when Jace tries to ease him out of PTSD, and the author''s still torturing his friends. As Skye''s mood swings and nightmares escalate, Jace realizes that if he doesn''t uncover his roommate''s real identity soon, Skye will hurt someone-and Skye''s still deciding if murder will save his world, or damn his soul.

Rayn''s heartbeat may literally kill him.

When an ethereal energy sprite kidnaps Rayn, drags him through space, and dumps him in a nuclear wasteland, Rayn''s not exactly happy about leaving the warm, living city-organism he calls home. The wasteland''s crawling with armed brutes enforcing order for ''the Prince''--and waifs who talk in riddles about an Invader they hope dethrones him. Quite frankly, Rayn thinks they''re all creeps.

Then there''s Nina: a bad-ass in black leather with a head for philosophy, and best of all, she''s politically neutral. Rayn''s infatuated. But when he discovers the Prince is using their heartbeats to fuel a war machine, Rayn chooses sides. Nina refuses to join him--but if he follows his heart for her, he may lose his heart altogether.

At least this means Rayn doesn''t have to go in for work on Monday.

Buy now for a 2-hour audiobook mini bonus linked inside!

OR:

Buy 4 or more PAPERBACKS in bulk for an exclusive launch deal! Forward your receipt to heartbeatinthehallways@gmail.com to get $70 MORE bonuses: 

- 5 hours of heart-themed relaxation audio and ASMR

- A bonus video experience and mp3 set in the same universe

- The audiobook-mini narrated by the author

- The entire BECOMING HERO digital library (cookbook, dating guide, BECOMING HERO with and without comics, THE GUARDIAN ANTHOLOGY, Valentine''s illustrations, and more)

Pick up 4 or more paperbacks as gifts to claim your bonuses now--before these digital collections disappear.

“Fascinating characters matched with inventive biological details makes this an adventure that’s sure to enthrall. Space opera fans should snap this up.” —(Publishers Weekly)   Lem’s a mace-wielding teen space-ninja in a universe of sentient insectoids, purple jungles, and insane electromagnetic fields. She solves most problems by hitting harder, and never plays by her enemy’s rules—until Jared Diebol captures her.   Diebol’s the rising leader of an army uniting the galaxy by force. He believes the violent energy being Njande has “contaminated” Lem and her friends from another dimension, infiltrating their EEG signals to conquer the matter-based universe. Diebol’s army usually kills contaminated people—but Diebol vows to cure Lem. When Diebol kidnaps Lem’s family, he forces her to choose between the matter beings she loves and the energy person she adores. If Lem rejects Diebol's cure, her family dies—but if Lem cuts out Njande’s energy, she opens our universe to a much darker thermodynamic attack.   The fate of the Universe, or the ones she loves?   Read now to join Lem’s sweeping saga about the structure of society, the meaning of suffering, and the character of love.   “An epic conflict over the very structure of society, and battles both stealthy and dramatic combine to make an entertaining, quick read set in a lightly sketched but intriguing world.” —Booklist