Unbound

Max Devereux isn't ready to be the man of the house, but his older brother is dying on a mountain a half a world away. With his dad gone, and now Val, there's nothing Max can do but watch it unfold on the evening news. Then his little brother stumbles upon a discovery that changes everything.

Setting off a global chain of events, Max and JB turn a mysterious key that halts time and plunges them into the hidden world of the Unbound. While the rest of the cosmos is locked in a standstill, these rare few wander the streets of living statues. Some use it for good, others for greed, while many have a mission that's far more sinister. For Max and JB, it's a chance to snatch Val from the frozen jaws of death. But with countless miles, towering mountains, and the Atlantic Ocean standing in their way, the greatest danger is one they'd never imagine.

When fire doesn't burn, the wind won't blow, but falling off a mountain will still very much kill you, the boys have nothing to rely on but each other. If any of the Devereux brothers are going to make it back to the world of ticking clocks, Max and JB must truly make this moment count.

Ryan Johnson and Jared Branahl have been making up stories together since the days when they had to mail letters back and forth-with a stamp-and wait a week for the reply. Their process moves a little faster now, but they still have the same thrill every time they set off on a new fictional adventure together. By day, Ryan is a school administrator in St. Louis, while Jared is a school librarian in Chicago. Unbound is their first published novel.