Free Book Giveaway! I'm giving away one signed copy of my GLBTQ Teen novel, A Little Bit Langston, and two signed copies of my classic second poetry book, Zero Summer. CLICK ON THE COVER BELOW TO ENTER!!!
ANDREW DEMCAK'S BIG 23 BLOG
Showing posts with label Coming-Out. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coming-Out. Show all posts
Sunday, February 05, 2017
FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY - A LITTLE BIT LANGSTON & ZERO SUMMER BY ANDREW DEMCAK
Free Book Giveaway! I'm giving away one signed copy of my GLBTQ Teen novel, A Little Bit Langston, and two signed copies of my classic second poetry book, Zero Summer. CLICK ON THE COVER BELOW TO ENTER!!!
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Monday, April 11, 2016
FREE GIVEAWAY - A LITTLE BIT LANGSTON BY ANDREW DEMCAK - ENTER NOW!
My Goodreads book giveaway is now OPEN.
Enter now (below) to win a signed copy of my Teen GLBTQ Sci Fi novel, A Little Bit Langston.
Kirkus Reviews raved: "This book really ... takes its place in the marginalized-will-lead-us genre,
as popularized by The Matrix and the X-Men franchises."
Being different is a challenge, especially for James Kerr.
He’s no average teenager. James begins to channel a dead writer’s poetry and then discovers he has the power to manipulate electricity. At the same time, romantic feelings for his best friend, Paul Schmitz, make him realize he’s gay. But he has little time to explore the drastic changes in his life before heartbreak strikes at the hands of Paul’s violent father. James is sent to The Paragon Academy, an institute specializing in juvenile paranormal research. There he meets Lumen Kim, the mysterious daughter of a famous Korean actress. Lumen’s psychic ability might just be the thing that helps James unlock the secrets of both his poems and the origins of his supernatural talents.
He’s no average teenager. James begins to channel a dead writer’s poetry and then discovers he has the power to manipulate electricity. At the same time, romantic feelings for his best friend, Paul Schmitz, make him realize he’s gay. But he has little time to explore the drastic changes in his life before heartbreak strikes at the hands of Paul’s violent father. James is sent to The Paragon Academy, an institute specializing in juvenile paranormal research. There he meets Lumen Kim, the mysterious daughter of a famous Korean actress. Lumen’s psychic ability might just be the thing that helps James unlock the secrets of both his poems and the origins of his supernatural talents.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
A Little Bit Langston
by Andrew Demcak
Giveaway ends May 01, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
THE BEST REVIEW OF *A LITTLE BIT LANGSTON* BY ANDREW DEMCAK
A great review at Amazon of my Teen GLBTQ Sci-Fi Coming-Out novel, A Little Bit Langston:
Holding my breath for the sequel, December 29, 2015
By
This review is from: A Little Bit Langston (Kindle Edition)
A Little Bit Langston starts off in your head. No, YOUR head, the head of an LA teenager who has a learning disability and a demanding, self-absorbed mother and a bubbling volcano of feelings for his best friend. Or at least the book starts in the head of someone you love. James, the main character, is so engaging, so immediately present on the page, that I was willing to follow him right down the rabbit hole, no questions asked.
And it is quite a warren down there. I don’t want to spoil too much, but let’s just say if you’re a fan of alien technology, secret government agencies, and gifted young people who can probably kill you with their brains, you won’t be disappointed. Not to mention if you’re a fan of Langston Hughes, the Langston of the title. The author doesn’t use any excerpts of Hughes’ actual work; instead he paraphrases, or in some instances inserts original lines that are clearly intended to remind the reader of famous Hughes poems. But the spirit of the poet is there--in the multifaceted identities of the main characters, in the brave actions of young men who get beaten for being gay, in the expansively hopeful feeling of the story as a whole.
The plot fits into the classic “chosen one” style of tale. James appears at first to have trouble reading at school, but a bizarre talent quickly emerges when he begins to channel the writing of long-dead poet Montgomery Langston (Langston Hughes). At the same time, his electricity-related superpower shows itself. After a period of being persecuted at school, and some harrowing real-world complications involving his best friend/love interest, Paul, James finds himself at a special academy for gifted teens like himself. Which is when the alien + conspiracy questions really kick into gear. I’m glad the author set us up for a sequel, because the busy, scheme-filled underworld he created is way too big for just one book.
I love a YA story where the superpowers appear at adolescence, where they overwhelm the character and then through the arc of the story he masters them. That’s what growing up feels like: channeling electricity with no control, destroying all the lightbulbs in the house, knowing for a fact that no one can understand your side of the story. Even though James’ demanding mother claims she always knew he was special, we see James changing into his true self on the page, as his feelings for Paul blossom and he discovers who he really is. In this case that’s pretty literal; James gets a big surprise when he finds out who his father is. Good YA science fiction stuff.
The love story isn’t center stage here, and that’s a big strength of the book. There’s plenty already going on in this story, and not all YA stories or coming-out stories have to be love stories. Another significant strength is Demcak’s skillful, barely-there handling of race and ethnicity. Way too much science fiction is, historically, way too white. That’s started to shift in recent years, but slowly. In A Little Bit Langston, the love interest, Paul, is Filipino, while James is white. Hardly anything is ever said about that difference between them, but Paul never has that insert-diversity-here feeling as a character. He’s three-dimensional, with a complex family and history of his own, and his journey toward loving James feels very earned. When we meet Lumen, another student at the special school, James expresses curiosity about her Korean heritage, but when the two turn out to be half-siblings, no one misses a beat, because these characters live so easily in a multicultural world.
Don’t miss out on A Little Bit Langston. I will be holding my breath until the sequel comes out.
And it is quite a warren down there. I don’t want to spoil too much, but let’s just say if you’re a fan of alien technology, secret government agencies, and gifted young people who can probably kill you with their brains, you won’t be disappointed. Not to mention if you’re a fan of Langston Hughes, the Langston of the title. The author doesn’t use any excerpts of Hughes’ actual work; instead he paraphrases, or in some instances inserts original lines that are clearly intended to remind the reader of famous Hughes poems. But the spirit of the poet is there--in the multifaceted identities of the main characters, in the brave actions of young men who get beaten for being gay, in the expansively hopeful feeling of the story as a whole.
The plot fits into the classic “chosen one” style of tale. James appears at first to have trouble reading at school, but a bizarre talent quickly emerges when he begins to channel the writing of long-dead poet Montgomery Langston (Langston Hughes). At the same time, his electricity-related superpower shows itself. After a period of being persecuted at school, and some harrowing real-world complications involving his best friend/love interest, Paul, James finds himself at a special academy for gifted teens like himself. Which is when the alien + conspiracy questions really kick into gear. I’m glad the author set us up for a sequel, because the busy, scheme-filled underworld he created is way too big for just one book.
I love a YA story where the superpowers appear at adolescence, where they overwhelm the character and then through the arc of the story he masters them. That’s what growing up feels like: channeling electricity with no control, destroying all the lightbulbs in the house, knowing for a fact that no one can understand your side of the story. Even though James’ demanding mother claims she always knew he was special, we see James changing into his true self on the page, as his feelings for Paul blossom and he discovers who he really is. In this case that’s pretty literal; James gets a big surprise when he finds out who his father is. Good YA science fiction stuff.
The love story isn’t center stage here, and that’s a big strength of the book. There’s plenty already going on in this story, and not all YA stories or coming-out stories have to be love stories. Another significant strength is Demcak’s skillful, barely-there handling of race and ethnicity. Way too much science fiction is, historically, way too white. That’s started to shift in recent years, but slowly. In A Little Bit Langston, the love interest, Paul, is Filipino, while James is white. Hardly anything is ever said about that difference between them, but Paul never has that insert-diversity-here feeling as a character. He’s three-dimensional, with a complex family and history of his own, and his journey toward loving James feels very earned. When we meet Lumen, another student at the special school, James expresses curiosity about her Korean heritage, but when the two turn out to be half-siblings, no one misses a beat, because these characters live so easily in a multicultural world.
Don’t miss out on A Little Bit Langston. I will be holding my breath until the sequel comes out.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY @ GOODREADS - A LITTLE BIT LANGSTON BY ANDREW DEMCAK
Enter now to win a FREE signed copy of my new Teen GLBTQ Sci-Fi Coming Out novel,
A Little Bit Langston!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
A Little Bit Langston
by Andrew Demcak
Giveaway ends January 27, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
GREAT NEW REVIEW OF GHOST SONGS BY ANDREW DEMCAK ON GOODREADS
A great new review of my YA novel Ghost Songs on Goodreads.
From GRW in the UK:
"This is a great coming of age story, mixed in with the sort of ghost story that the Victorians used to do so well.
The characters are very well drawn, especially the lead, who it is near impossible not to like and route for. The same goes for his best friend, his mother (for all her faults), and even the teachers at his school, which is odd for this sort of book.
Of course their has to be some villains in the shape of a couple of bullies and two others, who I won't mention as it's a bit of a spoiler.
The ghost aspect is down nicely, without the shock and awe that some writers would have gone in for but what is most refreshing about this book is that although Todd is gay, that's not what the book is about. Meaning that for once we get to read a book about a gay teenager that is (just) about a gay teenager. He's even okay with it.
In fact, it's barely even got anything to do with the main plot/s all of which would have worked almost as well if Todd had liked girls.
All in all a great read."
Saturday, January 17, 2015
MY NEW TEEN NOVEL *A LITTLE BIT LANGSTON* COMING FROM HARMONY INK PRESS WINTER 2015
Here's my contract offer email from Harmony Ink Press:
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for your submission. We are interested in publishing A Little Bit Langston. You will be receiving your contract via Echosign shortly. Please review the contract, and if it is acceptable, sign and return it digitally. Let me know if it doesn't arrive or if you have any problems. A certified pdf version will be emailed to you upon receipt.
Thank you for your submission. We are interested in publishing A Little Bit Langston. You will be receiving your contract via Echosign shortly. Please review the contract, and if it is acceptable, sign and return it digitally. Let me know if it doesn't arrive or if you have any problems. A certified pdf version will be emailed to you upon receipt.
Publication with Harmony Ink Press includes:
- Thorough editing led by a senior editor
- Cover creation with author input
- Simultaneous release in print and digital to all major retailers
- Marketing and social media promotion
- Review coordination with dozens of sites and magazines, including School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and Booklist
- Custom blog tour
Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the contract or the process. We are excited to work with you on your new story.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
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