The Reluctant Super Non-Hero

I've asked my friend, editor, and fellow Consortium Books author Jessie Sanders to visit and talk about her debut novel, Into the Flames. Several characters in the book, including our very reluctant hero, Rahab, have abilities that could be described as superpowers. This is obviously a subject that eats up an amazing amount of my waking hours. But Jessie brings a different perspective to the subject, one that denies capes, tights, and would-be worldbeaters but would nevertheless, I think, be at home in a low-key take on the X-Men or Runaways. Here's what she has to say.

Superheroes. Everybody loves 'em. Everybody wishes they could be one.

Or do they?

My first novel, Into the Flames, explores the character of the reluctant hero, the absent hero, the herodesperately trying to not be a hero. It's about a girl who happens to have superpowers and wishes with everything in her being that she was just plain normal.

Rahab Carmichael spends the majority of Into the Flames avoiding conflict. She doesn't want anyone to notice her, especially not the school bully, John Madison. When John teases her new friends, she's ashamed that she doesn't have the gumption to stand up to him. But how can she? She was teased relentlessly for being different at her old school, and she's not ready to revisit that experience.

Rather than stepping up and saving the day, Rahab's primary goal is fitting in. I think that's something all teenagers can identify with. We don't have to have superpowers to feel like we're all alone and misunderstood.

I created the world of Grover Cleveland Academy with the idea that my stories would be character-driven and just happen to include powers. I'm not saying that the use of powers should come out of left field and be unrelated to the story. But I was so tired of books where the author was too busy shoving their magic system down the readers' throats to actually tell the story. Instead I wanted to focus on subjects we come in contact with every day.  Something like an introvert starting at a new school.

Rahab Carmichael may have superpowers, but she by no means wants to be a superhero. She ran away from her old school to get a fresh start on life. She chose Grover Cleveland because it was a place that wouldn't allow her to use her powers.

But it seems as though no matter where Rahab goes, a destiny is waiting for her. What if these powers were given to her for a reason? What if they are the only way she can save her friends? We'd all like to think that we have a purpose in life. That we're meant to be part of something greater.

I think each of us has a purpose in life. We're each different, and our differences, though sometimes alienating, are what we can use to bring something new and better to the world around us. That's something I'd like my audience to come away with after they've read Into the Flames. I don't really think that there are kids out there with superpowers, but then, my goal is to mimic life, not reality.