On Writing and Riding: Author spotlight - Charles Curtis #M9BFridayReveals #mg #giveaway

Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!

This week, we are spotlighting

Charles Curtis

author of

Strange Country Days

a Middle Grade title from Tantrum Books, coming August 2015!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Twitter or Facebook?
I use both, but I'm plugged into Twitter every day for eight hours (I swear, it's for my job as a sportswriter! - http://connect.nj.com/staff/CharlesCurtis/posts.html).

Favorite Superhero?
I was hooked on Wolverine as a kid. Who doesn't love a sarcastic hero with a murky origin tale, claws and all the best one-liners?

Favorite TV show?
Current: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. All-Time: Seinfeld. Guilty Pleasure: Food Network Star

Sweet or Salty?
I will eat something sweet like a peanut butter cup and follow it up with a salty snack. It's a yin/yang thing I started doing as a teenager.

Coke or Pepsi?
Coke and it's not even close.

Any Phobias?
Three words: Big hairy spiders.

Song you can’t get enough of right now?
I just discovered an artist named Jacob Collier who does these incredible, mostly a cappella arrangements of songs and I'm hooked on his take on the jazz standard "Fascinating Rhythm." Amazing! [link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K28H04Y2IdE]

What are you reading right now or what's on your TBR?
I just started "The Maze Runner" and plan on reading Andy Weir's "The Martian" next.

Fall Movie you’re most looking forward to?
I've watched the Star Wars trailers about 80 times each and geek out. Every. Single. Time.

Charles Curtis is a writer and journalist based in New York City. He has reported and written for publications including NJ.com (where he is currently the site’s sports buzz reporter), The Daily, ESPN.com, ESPN the Magazine, Bleacher Report, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. Charles has covered the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, golf, tennis and NASCAR. He has also written about television, film and pop culture.
In addition, Curtis has also written, produced and was featured in videos for ESPN.com and The Daily. He has made radio appearances on stations including 92.9 The Ticket in Bangor, Maine, WLIE 540 AM in Long Island and on morning shows across Canada via the CBC.
He can be reached on Twitter: @charlescurtis82.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Alexander Graham Ptuiac, the son of an inventor, wants to play for the school’s football team. During tryouts, and under the watchful eye of the team’s coach, he suddenly manifests mysterious superhuman powers. Alexander makes the team, but not before the some ill-intended adults take notice, putting his life in danger.

Alex struggles to suppress and control his strange new abilities, worried about exposing his secret and being kicked off the football team. Then he befriends Dex, a diminutive classmate who can somehow jump as high as ten feet in the air. Seems Alex isn’t the only one at school with a secret.

As the school year unfolds, Alex will find himself the target of bullies, holding hands with his first crush and discovering the shocking truth about himself and his parents.