AUTHOR

After a strange, mute boy is found on the beach clutching a handheld video game, mass insomnia hits a Nantucket-like island. Denied the outlet of dreams, the unconscious surfaces; tourists and locals spiral into delusion, mob rule, murder and suicide, as a local doctor fights the effects of his own sleeplessness to find the cause and cure, and finally carry the mysterious boy through the chaos to safety.

"Cinematic... well-paced action thriller to shake readers awake."

-- Kirkus Reviews

"Chilling... unconventional scares.."

--Publishers Weekly

"This well-crafted debut packs a wallop." --Booklist

"The survivors of a gun massacre struggle with the aftermath in Freirich's stark, impressive debut. While emotionally charged, the narrative isn't weighed down with sentiment as the characters search for, but don't necessarily find, closure."  --Publisher's Weekly

All royalties to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Libretto co-written with Debrah Neal

Music and lyrics by Matthew Wilder

Commissioned by Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre

Based on Anne Rice's stunning third novel, Cry to Heaven brings to life the exquisite and otherworldly society of the 18th century castrati, the delicate and alluring male sopranos whose graceful bodies and glorious voices brought them the adulation of the royal courts and the grand opera houses of Europe. Cry to Heaven follows Tonio, a teenage boy betrayed by his brother and forced into a life he never expected-a public life of celebrity in the world of the castrati, and a private life devoted to revenge.