ABOUT
STRANGE COUNTRY DAY:
Title:
Strange Country Day
Publication
date: August 18, 2015
Publisher:
Tantrum Books/Month9Books, LLC.
Author:
Charles Curtis
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.
And here's an excerpt as Alex learns there is something a bit strange about Dex!
With my
team down by a few touchdowns (no thanks to blown coverage by yours truly) and
with about two minutes left in gym class, I had hit the tipping point. “I’m
QB!” I announced to whoever would listen. I heard everyone groaning and
protesting, but I told them, “Just one play, okay?” Eyes rolled in unison.
I turned to Dex and mouthed, “Go. Long.” He
nodded. We lined up, with most of the kids on both sides looking apathetic. No
one cared since it was the end of class, the end of the school day, and the game
was already decided. But this was my chance. I felt myself get nervous as I
began the play. That’s when I noticed Coach Schmick strolling over with a
whistle in his mouth. All that nervousness turned into total fear. The football
coach was watching me. He hadn’t looked at us once all game long and now here
he was, staring at me.
That’s when it hit me. For the second time
that day. Marshmallows. Blurriness.
Water
running through my veins.
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
I stumbled back and heard myself yell,
“Set-HUT!”
My eyes re-focused, and I could see that
nobody was doing anything, except for Dex. He was darting down the field as
fast as I’ve ever seen anyone run. I felt myself automatically go through the
motions. Right hand with football by my ear. Follow through with hips on the
release. Let go.
I heard
Coach’s whistle start to blow to signal the end of class, but he stopped mid-tweet
as the pass sliced through the air. It was a perfect spiral. I couldn’t believe
it myself as I watched it fly. To my horror, I had thrown it at least twenty
yards past Dex.
But he
streaked toward the little orange cones that delineated our endzone. The ball
was definitely headed way over his head and out of bounds.
That’s when
Dex did something shocking. Still in stride, he crouched down and leapt up. He
looked like a much smaller version of Michael Jordan, getting higher and higher
for what seemed like forever. At the top of his jump, which must have been at least
10 feet in the air, he reached out and the ball landed right in his hands. As
if he had wings to help him, he floated down and hit the ground nimbly on two
feet, just inside the back of the endzone.
Link
to Goodreads:
Purchase
Links:
ABOUT CHARLES CURTIS:
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.
Giveaway
Information: Contest ends September 11, 2015
· Five (5) winners will
receive a digital copy of Strange Country Day by Charles Curtis (INT)
Brought to you by:
No comments:
Post a Comment