DAN, UNMASKED

Not all heroes wear capes in this heartfelt middle grade debut about a comic loving boy discovering grief, creativity, and the healing power of friendship while on a mission to save his best friend.

Whether they are on the baseball field or in Nate's basement, devouring the newest issue of their favorite comic book, Dan and Nate are always talking. Until they are not.

After an accident at baseball practice - an accident that Dan is certain he caused - Nate is stuck in a coma. Usually, Dan can rely on his and Nate's superpower the secret language that only they know, a language of raised eyebrows and subtle nose taps.

Now, if Dan ever wants to see Nate tap his nose again, he has got to figure out a way to wake him up. But for all the time he has spent reading about the adventures of Captain Nexus, Dan knows he is no superhero. Heroes have powers - and without Nate, all Dan has is a closet stuffed with comics and a best friend shaped hole in his heart. There is no way a regular kid can save the day all on his own. Right?

Chris Negron grew up outside Buffalo, New York, where he spent a huge chunk of his childhood collecting comic books and loving sports. But it was the hours of playing Dungeons and Dragons in friends' basements that first gave him the dream of one day writing his own stories. That dream kept him company through college at Yale University and years of programming computers for big companies. Dan, Unmasked is his debut novel, and he now lives outside Atlanta with his wife, Mary.