Name That Author Contest--Day Four!

It's another week of Name That Author here at Novel Matters, our way of partying with you this Christmas holiday. We're glad you're here to play along. Read the passage from one of our works in progress below and guess which of us wrote it in a comment. If you guess correctly, your name will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate toward a George Popa sculpture. They're beautiful! And just so you know, the gift certificate will cover the cost of one of his sculptures. Amazing. Second and third places will win a hard copy of our cookbook, Novel Tips on Rice: What to Cook When You'd Rather be Writing.

Here are the contest rules:

1. One guess per post day. (You may play all six days. That's six chances to win a sculpture!)

2. Guesses will be accepted until 9:00 PM Pacific Time the day of the post.

3. Each correct guess wins you one chance in the drawing.

4. The winner will be announced on December 17, 2011.

Here is excerpt #4:

“Miz Branch?” a voice called. “It’s Eric Russo. There’s something I think you need to see.”

I opened the door and said hello to him through the screen. Eric was one of those polite boys with the acne and hair that needed washing and shoulders rounded like he was shielding himself from a blow. He held a paper in his hand.

“I think this might be yours.”

He briefly met my eyes and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand. I unlocked the screen and took the paper from him.

…and Sophie was not the type of woman to ‘go gentle into that good night’ without raging…

My name rested at the top left corner.

The page wasn’t even wet.

My voice came out pinched and accusing. “Just where did you get this, young man?”

He cleared his throat. “On the riverbank. There’s more, too. Thought you’d wanna know.”

“On the riverbank?” I asked, not comprehending.

“Yes, ma’am. All up and down both sides. I saw it on my way home from delivering the paper to the Jolleys.”

More pages. Not in the river. On the riverbank. On…The growing roar in my ears made it difficult to hear what he was saying, and it alarmed me when he opened the screen and reached out, but in the end he kept me from hitting the floor by carefully lowering me onto the rug where I sat with my head between my knees.

Hey, wait a minute! I want to read more! I'm sure you do, too. Okay, make your best guess and come back on Wednesday for another chance to guess and enter.