Saturday, December 19, 2015

Braxton Woods Mystique Cover Art

I'm very happy to reveal the amazing cover art for my upcoming novel, Braxton Woods Mystique. Robyn Diaz is the wonderful artist responsible for taking my wacky ideas and realizing them beyond my wildest expectations. Please check out more of her beautiful work over at her website.


Here is a brief description of the book from my literary agency, Trident Media Group

Adam Furgang's BRAXTON WOODS MYSTIQUE, following the tradition of THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY and FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER, in which two kids discover a buried and long-forgotten carnival, containing a mysterious and otherworldly carnival attraction of a portal to another dimension with eerie and deformed creatures—now they must journey underground to rescue their friends, face their darkest fears and confront the unknown (Ravenswood Publishing, 2016)

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Braxton Woods Mystique Teaser

Here is a little teaser graphic for my upcoming MG novel, Braxton Woods Mystique. This teaser graphic was made for Facebook, but I wanted to post it here too. As there is more news I'll be posting here, on Facebook, and Twitter.

Thanks for visiting.

—Adam



Monday, August 17, 2015

Braxton Woods Mystique has found a home!

I actually have news to post!

I'm happy to announce that my novel, Braxton Woods Mystique, has found a home at Ravenswood Publishing! Thanks to Trident Media and "special agent" Mark Gottlieb!


Thursday, February 19, 2015

My Latest Published Book: Snap and Share: Exploring the Potential of Instagram and Other Photo and Video Apps



My latest published book was also one of my favorite nonfiction projects. I've now worked for Rosen for many years, and the topics that I cover for them are always very interesting. Their Digital and Information Literacy series deals with many new technical topics and issues that are hitting the general population--as well as the youngest generation--for the very first time. The new titles in the current series are Bitcoins, Getting the Most out of Massive Open Online Courses, Incredible Projects Using 3D Printing, Making the Most of Crowdfunding, Snap and Share, and The Wonderful World of Wearable Devices.
I was lucky enough to get the project that was closest to my heart, the one about photography. I've now been taking pictures steadily for well over 30 years. My iPhone is with me wherever I go! Working on this project was a perfect match for me. I mentioned some obvious connections between Andy Warhol, Polaroids and Instagram's now famous filters, as well as the selfie phenomenon, and the nearly 1 trillion photos that were taken by people in 2014 alone.

Since I am a photographer as well as a writer, I was very lucky to have one of my Instagram photos chosen for the cover of the book. Here is the original shot which was taken at Hoffman's Playland in Albany, NY. Hoffman's just closed last season, so this photo is now a record of the famous amusement park that has been in operation in Albany since 1952.

The book can be found on Amazon.


Saturday, January 31, 2015

Some Early Influential Books

Here is a small grouping of books that had an impact on me when I was younger. Naturally there are way more. This is what came off the top of my head:


Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - Judy Blume

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - Robert C. O'Brien


My Side of the Mountain - Jean Craighead George


James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl


A Walk in Wolf Wood - Mary Stewart


Choose your own Adventure Books - Various Authors


Dungeons and Dragons - Gary Gygaxx


Splinter of the Minds Eye - Alan Dean Foster


A Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs




Friday, January 30, 2015

About Adam Furgang

MY STORY: 

First things, first. I did not start out as a writer. The path to get here was anything but direct. My youth was spent growing up in Queens, New York, on a steady diet of art, toys, comics, movies, and books. During high school, I took the subway to school each day to study illustration at Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. After graduation in 1988, I furthered my study of art at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, where I graduated in 1992 with a BFA in illustration. 

After college, I moved back to Queens and lived the life of a graphic designer, screen printer, illustrator, and web designer. I worked on Star Wars t-shirts for Episode I, along with countless other brand-name t-shirts during the six years I worked at the Queens-based apparel company, Changes. From there, I surfed the dot.com wave at a pioneering social networking website, TheGlobe.com, until the bubble burst and the company closed in 2001. By then, my first son was born, and I became a freelance graphic designer and a stay-at-home dad. Soon after, my wife started freelancing from home as an educational writer, and we decided to leave the big city for a life upstate in Albany, NY. 

While in Albany, I began helping my wife with some of her freelance writing projects, then eventually started taking on some assignments of my own in the middle grade nonfiction market. Throughout that time, I never lost my love of art and photography. After my second son was born, I spent years as a member and volunteer for a local gallery in Albany called the Upstate Artists Guild, and started many valuable friendships that continue to this day. And if you've ever been friends with a fellow artist, you know how encouraging they can be to friends pursuing a dream. And that's when I began pursuing my age-old desire to scratch a fiction writing itch that had been with me since childhood. 

As a dad of two boys and a writer for the middle grade children's market, I became nostalgic for my youth and began rediscovering role-playing games that I could share with my kids. This furthered my desires to create and write, and I started a gaming blog called Wizards Never Wear Armor. All along, I kept plugging away at fiction manuscripts.

After many years of hard work, rejections, and some minor self doubt, I reached a very important milestone as a writer when I gained representation for Braxton Woods Mystique. Eventually Braxton Woods Mystique, was published by Ravenswood, In April, 2016. 

Below are some key moments from my life to further illustrate how I got here: 

  • A few early shots. One with my first pop culture hero, Lee Majors, AKA The Six Million Dollar Man. Also, my red, white, and blue bike from the 1977 bicentennial. 
  • Here I am in high school. I still dress very much the same today as I did then. As you can see, I was into Hollywood-style theatrical makeup then. I'm the Terminator in the lower right. That was my Halloween costume!
  • This is the antique store my dad (and his dad) ran on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for over 50 years. It even made it on the cover of the Beastie Boys album, Paul's Boutique. I spent lots of time there. 

  • Here is a photo I took of the World Trade Center when I was 16. The photo is now featured on About.com, along with many other pictures documenting the city back before we lost the towers on 9/11. 

  • These are black and white pictures I took while in high school.
  • Here are some t-shirt designs, color separations, and illustrations of mine.
  • Here are some of my published nonfiction books.  

Friday, January 23, 2015

I Now Have An Agent!!!

I am thrilled to announce that my fiction writing is now being represented by Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group.

This has been a long time coming. All my hard work and persistence has finally paid off, and the first hurdle has been cleared. 




A Link to my My Gaming Blog

Here is a link to my gaming blog, Wizards Never Wear Armor...




Published Books

Here are some of my published nonfiction books: