Friday, January 20, 2012

Friday Freebie: Hystera by Leora Skolkin-Smith


Congratulations to Ken Olsen, winner of last week's Friday Freebie, The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen.

This week's book giveaway is Hystera by Leora Skolkin-Smith, which is described as "a timeless story of madness, yearning, and identity."  Here's the plot summary from the publisher:
[Hystera is] set in the turbulent 1970s when Patty Hearst became Tanya the Revolutionary. After a fatal accident takes her father away, Lillian Weill blames herself for the family tragedy. Tripping through failed love affairs with men, and doomed friendships, all Lilly wants is to be sheltered from reality. She retreats from the outside world into a world of delusion and the private terrors of a New York City Psychiatric Hospital. Unreachable behind her thick wall of fears, the world of hospital corridors and strangers become a vessel of faith. She is a foreigner there until her fellow patients release her from her isolation with the power of human intimacy.
And, to further whet your appetite, here are the opening lines from the novel:
      Inside the locked ward on Payne Whitney’s fifth floor, Lilly stepped onto a steel platform. The examination room was harshly lit, the bulbs behind plastic squares on the ceiling, fluorescent and burning. The metal examining table sparked from too many electric darts and moonbeams.
      It was an April evening in 1974. The city’s night lights streaming in from the window would have been enough to illuminate the room, Lilly thought. The arrows of the moon pierced her blue-jeaned legs.
If you'd like a chance at winning a copy of Hystera, all you have to do is answer this question:

What's the name of the late great writer who edited and published Skolkin-Smith's first novel, Edges?  (You can find the answer by visiting Skolkin-Smith's website.)

Email your answer to thequiveringpen@gmail.com

Put FRIDAY FREEBIE in the e-mail subject line.  One entry per person, please.  Please e-mail me the answer, rather than posting it in the comments section.  Despite its name, the Friday Freebie runs all week long and remains open to entries until midnight on Jan. 26--at which time I'll draw the winning name.  I'll announce the lucky reader on Jan. 27.  If you'd like to join the mailing list for the once-a-week Quivering Pen newsletter, simply add the words "Sign me up for the newsletter" in the body of your email.  Your email address and other personal information will never be sold or given to a third party (except in those instances where the publisher requires a mailing address for sending Friday Freebie winners copies of the book).

Want to double your odds of winning?  Get an extra entry in the contest by posting a link to this webpage on your Facebook wall or by tweeting it on Twitter.  Once you've done either or both of those, send me an additional e-mail saying "I've shared" and I'll put your name in the hat twice.

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