Deprivation — Roy Freirich

Includes the bonus novella, Sarah

On a razor' s edge between speculation and reality, Freirich' s psychological horror Deprivation tracks the spread of the next epidemic -- insomnia. Over a week, as sleeplessness engulfs a New England summer resort island, the hapless Chief of Police struggles to keep order, a blurry doctor searches for the cause and the cure, and a teenage girl competes with her friends in an online game: who can stay awake the longest? Impaired judgment spirals into delusions, the island is cut-off, and hysteria descends into mob rule and murder. For some, suicide is the only way to close their eyes.

The new novella features cellist Sarah, caring for her comatose, former symphony conductor husband, Jeremiah. As sleeplessness spreads, Sarah is not immune -- nor Jeremiah, who awakens, weak, hoarse, but grateful. Suspecting he will relapse into coma if and when the strange epidemic of insomnia ends, they slowly make their way through the chaos of Carratuck to the far cove where he proposed to her, to dance in the shallows and make love a last time before sleep can find them again.