About the Author
Phyllis M Skoy has been writing throughout her life. However, it wasn’t until 2013 that she submitted her work for publication. Phyllis was named Discovery of the Year for “bosque, the magazine” for her short story, “Life After.” Her first novel, What Survives, was short-listed for the Santa Fe Writers Project.
A one-time song lyricist, Phyllis practiced the short form as she studied and pursued a career as a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst. While living in New York City, she studied American Sign Language and Seido Karate and established a karate program for the deaf in collaboration with her karate grandmaster, Kaicho Nakamura. Although she retired as a second degree black belt, her program continues.
Phyllis has a master’s degree in counseling from Fordham University, a master’s degree in social work from Wurzweiler School of Social Work (Yeshiva University) and a certification in the child and adolescent from Metropolitan Institute for Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.
In 2000, Phyllis and her husband relocated to Placitas, New Mexico, but Phyllis returned to NYC in 2001 to work as a volunteer for the Red Cross after Sept. 11.
“As They Are,” forthcoming in April 2022, is the prequel to her award-winning novel, “What Survives,” both of which are set in Turkey. She also is the author of “Myopia, a memoir.”
Phyllis is retired from a small private psychoanalytic practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Authors (Girls) Just Want to Have Fun
In November, Dr. Lynn Miller and I were at the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards with our spouses and our matching gold pants, fitting to celebrate this first book awards banquet for me (but not for Lynn). Her novel, The Day After Death, had been a finalist in the LAMBDA awards. My novel, What Survives, had been short-listed for the Santa Fe Writers Project. Both of us learned we were finalists in the NM/AZ awards, but on that night, we didn’t win. I was not unhappy with this, because What Survives, published in 2016, was my first novel. Being...
read morePleasant Encounters: A Great Book Club Session on What Survives
Due to the persistence of a neighbor I had never really met, Ruth Ives (front left in purple), I was invited to a “meet the author” at the Placitas Library book club’s meetings. It was Ruth’s turn to select a book, and I had just met Geri Verble at the Hoot Gallery (see her fabulous jewelry there) where she purchased my novel, What Survives. Geri told Ruth that if she chose my book, I lived right in the neighborhood and probably would agree to come to answer questions. What a smart and lovely group of women! I enjoyed this event...
read moreReading at Bookworks on Oct. 15: A Gift
October 15 was a great reading experience for me upon the Albuquerque debut of Myopia a memoir, where I read chapters from the book, including “An Awfully Hard Man to Kill” and “Lemon Meringue Pie in the Land of Keretaria.” (See photos from the event here.) The audience engaged in some invigorating questions, which is one reason I say Bookworks is a fabulous venue for writers and readers alike. The staff is intelligent, welcoming and supportive, and there is a warm and interested audience. Sadly, so many independent...
read morePrizes, Patriotism and Peace
Random Thoughts On Acceptance And Change The first prize I ever won for writing anything was in elementary school. The American flag was the topic. Innocent, and far beyond my immature imaginings, I wrote about what I thought were my father’s feelings for the American flag. As a Russian refugee, his patriotism was both sincere and strong. And even though I won the first prize, my father dismissed the whole event by saying I was too young to write about anything. In many ways, of course, he was absolutely right (but I did have to start...
read morePuzzling The Storms
When Hurricane Carol hit the Northeast coastline in 1954, I was five years old. My sister was 13. Our house was a sturdy one, built for sea captains and their wives and families in an historical courtyard of similar wooden three-story structures, erected on serious foundations to withstand just such storms and harsh winters. I would be starting school this year, but in those days, school did not begin until after Labor Day, and we were still in summer mode. There were sprinkles of sand in most of my shoes, fresh from long walks by the shore....
read morePrecious Sunsets: A Simple Meditation on Friendship, Love and Loss
The sunsets are remarkably breathtaking in Africa and in New Mexico. But sunsets are inevitable wherever we live. No matter how gorgeous, they remind us that another day has passed. We can never do the same day over again unless, of course, we have been snatched up and into the film Groundhog Day. I was reminded of this once again just a few days ago. Four of us, old friends now since my move to New Mexico 17 years ago, were having a reunion/birthday lunch at Farm & Table. There was a soft breeze; the clouds were puffy and dark in places,...
read moreWhen the Lion is Not Asleep: Thoughts On Writing a Prequel
In the jungle The mighty jungle The lion sleeps tonight While my husband and I were traveling in the bush of South Africa, we were told that male lions sleep about 18 to 20 hours per day. After eating a kill, most often obtained by the hard-working female, males might sleep a full 24 hours. The female is fairly close behind and sleeps somewhere between 16 to 18 hours. Contrary to the above song lyric, they hunt in the twilight, and they are more likely to be sleeping when you come upon them during the daylight hours. I have finally reached...
read moreNever Can Say Goodbye…
Just like the song, I struggle with goodbyes. Many of us do. But if we don’t say goodbye and instead say “see you soon,” we can end up having friends all over the country, as well as friends all over the world. This is how I have chosen to view my dear friend and sister and Turkish teacher Muhsine’s move to Dallas. Where will I go for iftar next year? Perhaps I will go just a bit further south of Placitas. That this would happen so soon after my right arm and publicity person, Carolyn Flynn, announced that she was moving to New York, may give...
read moreEasy Prey
The zebra is easy prey for lions, wild dogs and hyenas, among other predators. The zebras themselves are vegan, feeding almost exclusively on grasses. His or her stripes are unique to each individual. Like snowflakes, no two creatures are exactly alike. This is also the case for the markings on a giraffe. The giraffe is also vegan and susceptible to the same predators. For some reason, zebras and giraffes come to mind as I think of vulnerable groups living in totalitarian regimes or regimes that might be heading in that direction. Who is most...
read moreLetting the cat out of the bag
Thoughts on the recent publication of Myopia, a memoir In the first place, a memoir is not an autobiography, so that I was able to write about what I thought were important incidents that would emphasize the points I wished to make in writing the book. Secondly, I am in the process of retiring as a psychoanalyst and I think my patients have probably known me pretty well. They may not have had access to the details, but I’m guessing that I have, over the years, revealed much more about myself than I am aware, just by being who I am. This...
read moreRecent Awards
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