Friday Freebie: The Book of Laney by Myfanwy Collins

Congratulations to Jim Mastro, winner of last week's Friday Freebie: Happily Ali After: And Other Fairly True Tales by Ali Wentworth.

This week's book giveaway is a copy of the new novel by Myfanwy Collins, The Book of Laney, generously provided by her publisher, Lacewing Books. If you've been following The Quivering Pen this week, you'll know how much I want you to read this book. Roxane Gay (author of An Untamed State) agrees: "In The Book of Laney, an unsettling and redemptive novel, Myfanwy Collins fuses heartbreak and empathy to explore uncomfortable truths about teenagers, violence, and survival. An unforgettable book." Myfanwy has graciously allowed me to reprint some of her essays here at the blog these past few days. Please give them a look:

      I wrote this book because...
      Do you know who I am?
      Self-promotion, bookselling, blah blah blah

 If you don't win the contest, I highly recommend you run out to your local bookstore or library and get your hands on The Book of Laney. Here's why...

      Here and now I am in this place far away from my home. Here, with the cold wind blowing down from the north and the stars piercing through the cloudless sky. Here I am.
      But my story does not start here.
      My story starts months ago and hundreds of miles south of where I am now. My story starts in the place I used to call home. My story starts with violence and heartbreak.

After her brother is involved in a grisly murder-suicide, fifteen-year-old Laney is sent to live with her grandmother in the Adirondack Mountains. Laney gradually warms to her new home—especially her relationship with a mysterious neighbor—but before she can appreciate her new life, she must uncover the secrets that have haunted her family for decades

If you’d like a chance at winning The Book of Laney, simply email your name and mailing address to

thequiveringpen@gmail.com

Put FRIDAY FREEBIE in the e-mail subject line.  One entry per person, please.  Despite its name, the Friday Freebie runs all week long and remains open to entries until midnight on June 11, at which time I’ll draw the winning name.  I’ll announce the lucky reader on June 12.  If you’d like to join the mailing list for the once-a-week 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 blog, your Facebook wall or by tweeting it on Twitter.  Once you’ve done any of those things, send me an additional e-mail saying “I’ve shared” and I’ll put your name in the hat twice.