Tag Archives: Suspense

Writing Update: The White Nest

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With the exception of a couple of short stories, last year I took an extended break from fiction writing after finishing the first draft of a novel tentatively titled The White Nest. This story proved every bit as “personal” as Children of the Folded Valley. In fact, given the level of raw nerve jabbing involved, it’s safe to say I did something of a “Truman Capote”. What I mean by that is Capote was scarred to such a degree after writing his masterpiece In Cold Blood that he never finished another novel.

I am not comparing myself to such a literary giant, nor did I do anything as drastic as attend executions for my art, as he did, but the painful truth is that writing The White Nest affected me in ways I’m still coming to terms with. For some time, I wondered if my “voices” would ever return. I wrote a bit about that experience in this article on Medium. Thankfully I can report that the voices are back.

This year so far, I have written the first novel in a planned trilogy of fantasy stories that exist in the same Universe as my as-yet unpublished dark fairy tale novel The Faerie Gate. However, despite being pleased that I’ve managed to write another novel, I’m not yet convinced the quality is high enough to warrant being shared with the world. I feared the same for The White Nest, but having finally braved another look at the manuscript, I am pleased to report that is not the case.

The White Nest (I’m keeping the real title secret for now) is another gothic mystery, at least in part. It is also a coming-of-age story, a romance, a conspiracy thriller, and obviously it contains some strong horror elements. It deals in themes of complicated sibling relationships, parental fears, and false guilt. Reading it back, I can see why the process of writing it had such an effect on me, due to some of the painful personal experiences on which I am drawing. That said, I think readers will simply enjoy it as a vivid, gripping, page-turning mystery, which was always my primary intention. I think it might contain the best first act I’ve ever written. I can’t say if the ending is up to the same standard, as I’ve yet to reread it, but so far the signs are promising.

In terms of plot, The White Nest represents something of a departure from my previous gothic mysteries, in that the protagonist is male. I’m keeping the specifics under wraps for now, but I can tell you the story contains a full checklist of my favourite gothic tropes, including a sleepy south-west England village, haunted forest, eerie mansion, secret tunnels, dubious secret experimental facilities, occult secret societies, ghosts, demons, curses, mysterious disappearances, childhood memories buried by trauma, rug-pulling twist ending… you name it. You could even call this novel Now That’s What I Call A Simon Dillon Gothic Mystery if you really wanted to, as it is something of a compilation of my preoccupations, genre wise.

Here are some photographs of locations that inspired settings for certain sequences in The White Nest. The novel is predominantly set in Cornwall, but much of the landscape is based on the rugged North Devon coast. However, the first part of the novel is set in Oxford. One key scene takes place in Port Meadow.

Once I finish a second draft of The White Nest, I am moving on to a new gothic mystery, one that’s been gestating in my mind for some time. It is getting to the point where it is an itch I have to scratch, and I’m looking forward to developing it. In the meantime, I may well release a volume of short stories in the future, as I’ve now got quite a nice pile of these, and it would be nice to have them all together in one place. As ever, watch this space.

Phantom Audition: The Opening

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Here’s the first part of the first chapter of my recently re-released gothic mystery novel Phantom Audition:

What Mia noticed most was the silence.

She kept expecting to hear Steven’s voice, or the insistent thud of his feet, as he rehearsed his lines, pacing up and down. She expected to hear him on the phone to his agent, publicist, or to a director.

In the mornings, she no longer heard his absurd singing in the shower. His seat at the breakfast table stood empty. Mia would avert her eyes, unable to bear staring at the space he should occupy. He should be sipping his tea, scrolling through his phone, crunching his cereal… Silence chewed the room instead, like wind and rain gnawing an eroding landscape.

At nights, Mia would awaken and roll over, hoping to warm herself on his body. But Steven wasn’t there, and he wasn’t coming back. He had been replaced with the same terrible silence that screamed, clawed, and tore at her mind whenever she entered the rooms that still had his smell. The memory of her husband had stained the entire house.

Mia had always thought the mansion ludicrously big for the pair of them, but now more than ever she felt the size of the place. A curious unease lingered, as though the carpets, furniture, paintings, and ornaments had turned against her. She felt like a stranger in her own home, imagining everything around her glared in frowning disapproval. Perhaps her presence was a desecration.

One Monday morning a month after the funeral, the unpleasant sensation of feeling watched by the house became too much, and Mia yelled out into the silence.

‘It’s my bloody home too!’

The house responded without mercy, making every tiny tick of the clock an intolerable cacophony. Mia put her hands over her ears. She knew her behaviour was absurd, but the curious mixture of anger and fear that stirred within her had taken her by surprise. Sadness at Steven’s passing was to be expected, but she had not expected to feel so defensive or fearful. Perhaps bewilderment at the events leading up to his suicide by drug overdose still had her on edge.

Even though she still wore her dressing gown, Mia continued to sit in the morning room, on an ornate Elizabethan chair that matched other antique furniture in the room from the same period. Occupying this chair felt like a strangely defiant act, as though she were challenging the house itself. Steven’s ancestors glared down at her from portraits on the wall. His home was now hers, and sooner or later, the ancestors would just have to accept it.

‘It’s my bloody home,’ Mia muttered. ‘Deal with it.’

‘A-hem!’

Mia leapt out of the chair and spun towards the doorway. A middle-aged woman in a maid’s uniform stood there, her face unsmiling and severe.

‘Liza… Good God, you made me jump!’

‘Ma’am,’ said Liza. ‘I apologise for startling you. I know I’m a little early.’

‘Yes, yes, of course… Is it Monday already?’

Liza didn’t reply. Her eyes bored into Mia.

‘Of course it’s Monday.’

Mia looked down, avoiding Liza’s glare. Eventually the maid spoke again.

‘I can come back to this room later if you like, ma’am.’

‘No, no, that’s fine. I’ll get out of your way. I need to have a shower really.’

Mia scurried out of the morning room and headed back up the main staircase to the west wing. She locked herself in her bathroom, feeling very foolish. Her heart beat a little faster as she tried to get a grip on herself, staring into the mirror.

‘It’s my bloody home. Mine.’

But it didn’t feel like her home. Liza Richards, a hired cleaner who came in on most days, had been employed by the Yardley family for years, and her demeanour was more like that of a proud, old-school housekeeper. That Mia had leapt out of the Elizabethan chair when challenged by Liza, as though she were some disobedient child, underscored to Mia yet again that she felt threatened by Elm House, the ancestral home of her late husband, the renowned actor Steven Yardley.

Renowned actor.

Renowned.

Perhaps that was the problem. Steven had been renowned in many ways. Rich family. Successful acting career. What was she in comparison? Mia recalled the whispers when they had married three years previously, that she was little more than a gold-digging, hack bit-part actress. Such rumours never bothered her whilst Steven had been alive, for they were utterly false. She and Steven had loved one another with an enviable passion. Their marriage had been one made for the right reasons. What did it matter what anyone else thought?

However, since Steven’s death, after inheriting everything, it had been impossible not to feel this resentment amid icy stares at the funeral, and at the reading of the will.

‘My bloody home…’

Tears streamed down Mia’s face as she stared into the mirror. She felt utterly pathetic. A part of her wanted to return downstairs to the morning room. She wanted to place herself in that Elizabethan chair with her arms folded, reading the paper, and glaring at Liza as she went about her cleaning duties. But she felt so utterly defeated. Her stomach twisted, and she felt sick. She slumped to the floor, bent double, sobbing.

‘Steven… Steven…’

She allowed herself a moment to cry. But after a couple of minutes of anguish, Mia took a deep breath, wiped her face, and stood up again. She couldn’t allow Liza to see her like this. She had to be strong.

Mia took a shower then headed to her bedroom to get dressed. For a moment, she toyed with the idea of lurking upstairs until Liza had finished, but part of her despised such a cowardly notion. Why should she want to avoid Liza? She was an employee. Besides, the gardener was due to arrive soon, and she had to give him instructions.

Mia returned downstairs to the kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea and sat at the kitchen table for a few minutes. Still the silence taunted, but Mia ignored it.

Outside, the mid-February drizzle threatened to become a downpour. Staring out of the window towards the driveway, her eyes came to rest on a large horse chestnut tree amid the extensive gardens. The branches were stark and bare right now, but Mia recalled Steven’s fondness for that particular tree, and the significance it had held for him throughout his entire life. Mia briefly closed her eyes, remembering a summer’s day when they had sat beneath the horse chestnut tree in the warm afternoon sun, with the lingering scent of freshly cut grass and white roses. She could still taste the honey on her lips and his. She recalled the wasp sting that had rudely interrupted their passionate kiss. Placing her hand to her arm, she rubbed the place where the wasp had struck. Was it her imagination or was there still a scar?

For more, pick up your copy of Phantom Audition in paperback or ebook here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

The Irresistible Summons: Prologue

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My horror/supernatural thriller novel The Irresistible Summons has recently been re-released with a new cover. It’s probably the scariest of my ghostly gothic mysteries, particularly in the final section of the book. However, here’s the prologue, which I promise it’s safe to read even if your nerves aren’t up to reading the rest of the novel.

FIRE INVESTIGATION CONCLUDES: TRAGIC ACCIDENT

A tragic electrical accident started the fire that consumed 22 Bainbridge Close, fire brigade investigators have ruled. The inferno, which killed all members of the Lane family, shocked the local community to its core, on the 17th September 2001. In their concluding remarks, investigators once again reiterated the importance of fitting smoke alarms and urged for campaigns to raise awareness.

Naomi stood at Toby Lane’s grave, clutching the same tattered local newspaper article she had read again and again over the past year. Murky skies blocked out the sun and a chill wind blew in from the east. St Mary’s church – a medieval granite building with a pointed bell tower – loomed behind her. Tree branches creaked and blew in the wind, amid a light drizzle. Naomi’s eyes fell on the article again.

‘I know there were smoke alarms. I remember seeing them just before we…’

Her voice faltered. The memories were overpowering. She had been sixteen, Toby seventeen. Out of the corner of her eye, she had glimpsed said smoke alarms during a moment when she had been greatly distracted by other matters. But the alarms had been there, even if she had only seen them for a second before her eyes closed.

Naomi had been too overwhelmed with shock and grief to tell anyone about the smoke alarms. Nor did she have reason to think there was anything suspicious about the way the fire brigade had arrived at an incorrect conclusion.

For many months, Toby’s memory tormented the utterly broken-hearted Naomi. She half-expected to see him in the streets, on the beach, in the woods, or the other secret places they had visited together. When she was alone, Naomi imagined Toby’s spirit in the room with her. She would hold imaginary conversations with him, anticipating responses and acting as though he were really present.

Often these conversations were later followed by dreams. In these dreams, Naomi conversed with Toby, clinging to every moment they had together, willing herself not to wake up.

During one such dream, Toby spoke a single sentence that haunted her throughout the years that followed.

We can be together again.

For a long time Naomi wondered if this was a subconscious, suicidal urge to join Toby in death. But as months went by, she became less convinced, and eventually dismissed the dream as little more than a small, desperate part of her burning love that refused to be entirely snuffed out by the passage of time.

‘I miss you,’ she whispered.

Naomi welled up as she placed a handful of crocuses next to the gravestone, knowing Toby would have understood the significance.

A tall figure in dark robes ambled along the nearby path. Reverend Patrick Mortimer had presided over the Lane family funeral. His bony, severe cheekbones had frightened her as a child, but now she observed a comforting warmth in his hazel eyes.

‘A year to the day,’ said Reverend Mortimer. ‘Still hard to take in, isn’t it? Thousands of people die in New York. Then six days later, our community experiences a tragedy just as devastating, in its own way.’

Naomi nodded. ‘I feel like part of me is still missing.’

‘Part of you always will be. People talk about getting over the loss of a loved one, but that isn’t how it works.’

‘So what can I do?’ Fresh tears filled Naomi’s eyes. She didn’t know the vicar well, and she knew her parents would much prefer she had a conversation such as this with one of their own congregation rabbis. Yet she felt drawn to the Reverend, perhaps on account of his refreshing bluntness.

‘The distance of time will enable you to come to terms with it,’ said Reverend Mortimer. ‘Then you will see the life of the person as someone who entered your life for a season, and was important. But they will always be missing, so a part of you will be too.’

‘It hurts so much,’ said Naomi.

‘Of course it hurts. If I cut off your finger, that would hurt too. In time the skin and flesh would heal, and you would no longer feel pain. But you would still be missing a finger.’

The words Toby had spoken in the dream returned to her mind.

We can be together again.

‘Do you believe in life after death?’

The Reverend smiled. ‘I’d be pretty bad at my job if I said no.’

‘What about ghosts?’

‘I don’t believe the dead return to watch over the living. Yet there are spirits in this world of an altogether different origin.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean be careful what you wish for, Naomi Levinson.’

With those words, the Reverend turned and walked away. Naomi stared after him for a second and then returned her gaze to Toby’s headstone. 1984 – 2001. A short life for someone with such promise. What had God been thinking, allowing him to die in a house fire? Naomi’s parents had brought her up to believe in God, but right now she found it difficult to believe he cared about humans, especially someone as lonely as her. Toby Lane had understood her, and she had trusted him completely. Now that he was gone, the isolation felt all but unbearable.

Yet over time, Reverend Mortimer was proven correct. Although Naomi felt as though she had a spiritual missing limb, the pain eased. When she eventually came to terms with the loss of Toby, she no longer gave the Lane family smoke alarms a second thought. Only years later did the tragic events of the 17th of September 2001 cast their sinister shadow over the present.

Intrigued? Here’s the blurb from the back of the novel:

How far would you go to bring the one you love back from the dead?

Television producer Naomi Levinson makes documentaries debunking the supernatural. When asked to film a promotional video for computer game company Persephone, she considers the task beneath her talents. But as production gets underway at the Persephone office block on London’s Canary Wharf, a mysterious disappearance, ghostly sightings, and lingering tragedy from Naomi’s past lead her to believe she might have stumbled into a genuine haunting.

As Naomi continues to investigate, past and present collide in a horrifying conspiracy. Cutting edge technology and ancient evil meet, leading to the discovery of a shocking and terrifying secret that could change the nature of life and death as we know it.

To pick up your copy of The Irresistible Summons in paperback or ebook click here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

Spectre of Springwell Forest: First Six Chapters

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Here are the first few paragraphs of my recently re-released ghostly gothic mystery horror novel Spectre of Springwell Forest.

“These days, the run-up to Christmas feels bittersweet. As a young girl, I looked forward to the season with unclouded excitement. Upon reaching adulthood, I adopted a more cynical view. This ancient pagan festival that had once been appropriated by the Church now seemed dominated by capitalist interests. Yet, there came an all too brief time, during the early part of my first marriage, when these misgivings all but vanished, due to becoming a mother. Seeing festive celebrations through the eyes of a child triggered a temporary truce with the more commercial aspects of the season. Cynicism, in those years, took a back seat.

That was before the events of Springwell Forest.

I have long since come to terms with the past, but the way Christmas is here today and gone tomorrow has a melancholy bordering on cruelty, reflecting the cruelty of what took place all those decades ago.

Such thoughts lurked in my mind like background noise, amid the bustle of crowds in the busy pedestrianised streets at the centre of Exeter. A bitter frost clung to the pavements and windows, and I found myself shivering beneath the baubles, wreaths, and coloured lights decorating the streets. My husband, Andy, sped up a little as we walked; his gloved hand in mine, keen to get out of the cold.

Usually when driving to the centre of town, we park in one of the side streets, but on this occasion, the sheer busyness of the place rendered the usual benefits of local knowledge useless. We were forced to park in the multi-storey car park, which meant a brisk ten-minute walk to the cinema. Andy kept glancing at his watch, concerned we might miss the start of the film.

I didn’t particularly care if we did. It was only a silly Hollywood horror film, one of those daft supernatural possession stories with loads of jumpy moments. I find them funny rather than frightening, perhaps because they are so far removed from the horrible reality I once experienced…”

You can read the rest of Chapter 1, and indeed Chapters 2 to 6, in Illumination Book Chapters, a new Medium publication. Here are the links.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

I hope you enjoy these chapters. The full novel is available in paperback or ebook here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

New Covers: Spectre of Springwell Forest, Phantom Audition, The Irresistible Summons

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Three of my gothic mystery horror/thriller novels have recently been unavailable, for tedious legal reasons not worth wringing my hands over in this blog post. However, the good news is they are back, having received a make-over with new covers, courtesy of the brilliant Yasmine Nuoraho.

Here are each of the new covers, with an introduction to each novel, to whet your appetite.

Spectre of Springwell Forest

Exeter, 2010. Lily Parker learns that her daughter Olivia is to move to the village of Springwell, near Plymouth. To the surprise of her husband Andy, this sends Lily into terrified despair. She tells him that Olivia must not move to Springwell, under any circumstances. Andy wants to know why, and Lily tells him what happened to her many decades previously, in 1979, warning him that she has a horrifying secret that she had previously hoped to take with her to the grave.

In 1979, Lily and her then six-year-old daughter Olivia, along with her first husband Tom Henderson, move to the sleepy village of Springwell. Here they meet a tight- lipped community of secretive villagers who seem to have something to hide. Lily discovers a painting of an abandoned railway tunnel in her attic, by a local artist, Alison Merrifield. Lily is strangely drawn to the painting, particularly the dark maw of the tunnel, and ends up hanging the picture in her hallway.

After meeting her neighbour and other mothers dropping their children at the local primary school, Lily is surprised to learn they all have similar paintings in their homes, all of them painted by Alison Merrifield, all of them showing the same abandoned railway tunnel. The other mothers dismiss this as something of a village in-joke, and when Lily visits Alison in her local craft shop, Alison herself insists she cannot understand why the paintings of the abandoned tunnel are so popular. But Lily senses she is being lied to.

Shortly afterwards, when Lily and Olivia go for a walk in the local forest, they come across a fenced off area in the heart of the woods where the barbed wire has been mysteriously torn apart. Investigating further inside the fenced off section, they discover the very same abandoned railway tunnel of the painting and enter the tunnel. A disturbing incident follows (which I won’t spoil).

After this incident, back home, Lily starts to make out a mysterious figure emerging from the railway tunnel in the painting. As time passes, the eerie figure becomes more clearly defined, but Lily is disturbed to discover no-one can see it but her. Worse still, as the sinister figure is revealed, Olivia starts to behave in an increasingly alarming manner.

To pick up your copy of Spectre of Springwell Forest in paperback or ebook click here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

Phantom Audition

Small-time actress Mia Yardley, recently widowed wife of renowned actor Steven Yardley, grieves in his ancestral family home, Elm House, near Plymouth. Her husband’s inexplicable suicide left her in possession of a considerable fortune, but she is unsettled. Her sister-in-law Jemima is openly hostile, and Mia also senses disapproval from hired staff, especially de facto housekeeper Liza. Only Verity, a part-time maid, is friendly to Mia, seeming genuinely sorry about the death of Steven.

Mia discovers Steven’s secret acting diary. It details appointments made with a psychic medium, Etta, who advised Steven on which roles to take. Mia visits Etta to question her over mysterious diary entries that hint at a more supernatural reason for Steven’s demise. Etta rejects such claims, but Mia senses she is hiding something, and explains as much to her best friend Bronwyn, when they go out horse riding. Mia also begins to see manifestations of what she believes to be Steven’s ghost in and around Elm House, and also at a nightclub.

Mia’s therapist tells her the visions of Steven are psychological, not spiritual. But Mia isn’t convinced, and begins an investigation into her husband’s death that gradually becomes an obsession. She uncovers the alarming story behind the last role her husband took, but every answer leads to more questions, opening dangerous doors to a labyrinthine world of terrible secrets. The deeper Mia digs into they mystery, the deeper she disappears inside her own inner darkness, crossing thresholds from which there can be no return.

To pick up your copy of Phantom Audition in paperback or ebook click here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

The Irresistible Summons

Teenager Naomi Levinson laments the death of her boyfriend, Toby Lane. Toby and his entire family perished in a mysterious house fire, which Naomi comes to believe may have been started deliberately.

Several years later, Naomi is now an accomplished television producer making documentaries debunking the supernatural. When a shoot interviewing a possibly possessed killer in prison goes terribly wrong, the production company Naomi works for faces a lawsuit and possible closure.

Offered what could be her last job, Naomi is initially reluctant to take on filming a promotional video for computer game company Persephone. She considers the task beneath her talents. However, after production gets underway at the Persephone office block on London’s Canary Wharf, strange things begin to happen.

One member of staff inexplicably disappears. Ghosts are sighted, one of whom appears to be Toby. This re-opens old emotional wounds for Naomi, bringing back bittersweet memories of her strictly religious messianic Jewish parents, who disapproved of her teenage lover.

A horrifying conspiracy is gradually revealed. Cutting edge technology and ancient evil meet, leading to the discovery of a shocking and terrifying secret – one that could change the nature of life and death as we know it.

To pick up your copy of The Irresistible Summons in paperback or ebook click here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

New Cover: Spectre of Springwell Forest

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For complicated legal reasons I won’t bore you with, three of my gothic mystery novels, Spectre of Springwell Forest, The Irresistible Summons, and Phantom Audition, have been unavailable for the last three months. However, the good news is they are due for re-release this April, with new covers.

Here is one of the new covers, for Spectre of Springwell Forest.

All three of the new covers were designed by the excellent Yasmine Nuoraho. In this case, she prepared a splendidly unnerving image of the abandoned railway tunnel described in the novel. If you can make out something emerging from the tunnel, then… Well, read on and you’ll understand why you might want to be a little concerned.

The novel opens in Exeter, 2010. Lily Parker learns that her daughter Olivia is to move to the village of Springwell, near Plymouth. To the surprise of her husband Andy, this sends Lily into terrified despair. She tells him that Olivia must not move to Springwell, under any circumstances. Andy wants to know why, and Lily tells him what happened to her many decades previously, in 1979, warning him that she has a horrifying secret that she had previously hoped to take with her to the grave.

In 1979, Lily and her then six-year-old daughter Olivia, along with her first husband Tom Henderson, move to the sleepy village of Springwell. Here they meet a tight- lipped community of secretive villagers who seem to have something to hide. Lily discovers a painting of an abandoned railway tunnel in her attic, by a local artist, Alison Merrifield. Lily is strangely drawn to the painting, particularly the dark maw of the tunnel, and ends up hanging the picture in her hallway.

After meeting her neighbour and other mothers dropping their children at the local primary school, Lily is surprised to learn they all have similar paintings in their homes, all of them painted by Alison Merrifield, all of them showing the same abandoned railway tunnel. The other mothers dismiss this as something of a village in-joke, and when Lily visits Alison in her local craft shop, Alison herself insists she cannot understand why the paintings of the abandoned tunnel are so popular. But Lily senses she is being lied to.

Shortly afterwards, when Lily and Olivia go for a walk in the local forest, they come across a fenced off area in the heart of the woods where the barbed wire has been mysteriously torn apart. Investigating further inside the fenced off section, they discover the very same abandoned railway tunnel of the painting and enter the tunnel. A disturbing incident follows (which I won’t spoil).

After this incident, back home, Lily starts to make out a mysterious figure emerging from the railway tunnel in the painting. As time passes, the eerie figure becomes more clearly defined, but Lily is disturbed to discover no-one can see it but her. Worse still, as the sinister figure is revealed, Olivia starts to behave in an increasingly alarming manner.

Intrigued? You’ll be able to pick up the new edition of Spectre of Springwell Forest from Amazon and Smashwords very soon. Watch this space.

Best read in the run-up to Christmas: Spectre of Springwell Forest

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Gripping gothic horror mysteries are best read at this time of year, when leaves are falling, and nights are drawing in. As it gets colder in the approach to Christmas, nothing beats snuggling up in front of the fireplace with a mug of tea, and a sinister, nail-biting ghost story.

Concluding this two-part series, I pick the second of my published novels best read in the run-up to Christmas: Spectre of Springwell Forest.

The novel opens in Exeter, 2010. Lily Parker learns that her daughter Olivia is to move to the village of Springwell, near Plymouth. To the surprise of her husband Andy, this sends Lily into terrified despair. She tells him that Olivia must not move to Springwell, under any circumstances. Andy wants to know why, and Lily tells him what happened to her many decades previously, in 1979, warning him that she has a horrifying secret that she had previously hoped to take with her to the grave.

In 1979, Lily and her then six-year-old daughter Olivia, along with her first husband Tom Henderson, move to the sleepy village of Springwell. Here they meet a tight- lipped community of secretive villagers who seem to have something to hide. Lily then discovers a painting of an abandoned railway tunnel in her attic, by a local artist, Alison Merrifield. Lily is strangely drawn to the painting, particularly the dark maw of the tunnel, and ends up hanging the picture in her hallway.

After meeting her neighbour and other mothers dropping their children at the local primary school, Lily is surprised to learn they all have similar paintings in their homes, all of them painted by Alison Merrifield, all of them showing the same abandoned railway tunnel. The other mothers dismiss this as something of a village in-joke, and when Lily visits Alison in her local craft shop, Alison herself insists she cannot understand why the paintings of the abandoned tunnel are so popular. But Lily senses she is being lied to.

Shortly afterwards, when Lily and Olivia go for a walk in the local forest, they come across a fenced off area in the heart of the woods where the barbed wire has been mysteriously torn apart. Investigating further inside the fenced off section, they discover the very same abandoned railway tunnel of the painting and enter the tunnel. A disturbing incident follows (which I won’t spoil).

After this incident, Lily starts to make out a mysterious figure in the painting of the railway tunnel. As time passes, the eerie figure becomes more and more clearly defined, but Lily is disturbed to discover no-one can see it but her. Worse still, as the sinister figure is revealed, Olivia starts to behave in an increasingly alarming manner.

Intrigued? Here’s what a few Amazon reviewers had to say:

“As a horror fanatic, it takes a lot to scare me in writing. Very few books manage to do it, but Simon Dillon’s Spectre of Springwell Forest gave me nightmares! After reading this book, you will never look at a painting of a tunnel the same way again… I can’t recommend the book enough, if you want something well-written, believable, and scary for a cold, dark night.”

“You cannot shake off the feeling that something is constantly watching you… But the biggest pull for the book is the climactic revelation. Here, the author deserves full points.”

“A darkly intense and intriguing horror story full of mystery, Spectre of Springwell Forest will have you on the edge of your seat. My jaw literally dropped in shock. Enter Springwell Forest if you dare, but be prepared for the consequences.”

“A wonderful horror/thriller. Creeping sense of unease starts almost immediately. Even before you know what is to come, you are shouting at Lily to leave well alone. Dillon writes excellently and believably as a 1st person female protagonist. The story is tightly written with little preamble, which has a pleasingly sudden way of throwing you into this strange and disturbing village.”

“Spine-chilling, terrifying, absolutely gripping. A fantastic read.”

Spectre of Springwell Forest is available in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US).

Best read in the run-up to Christmas: The Birds Began to Sing

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Let’s face it: gripping gothic mysteries are best read at this time of year, when leaves are falling and nights are drawing in. As it gets colder in the approach to Christmas, nothing beats snuggling up in front of the fireplace with a mug of tea, and a sinister, spooky thriller.

In the first of a two-part series, I pick two of my published novels that are best read in the run-up to Christmas, beginning with The Birds Began to Sing. It concerns Alice Darnell, a struggling, not-yet published author, who has suffered the usual setbacks faced by wannabe authors, namely rejection from agents and publishers. Yes, I know this already sounds self-indulgent, but bear with me.

Alice is ambitious, but she isn’t an insufferable narcissist. Significant past trauma, including drug addiction, has left her with psychological scars, an occasional tendency to slip into delusion, as well as a peculiar bird phobia. A couple of incidents in the opening act – one involving an apparent stalking on the London underground, and a misunderstanding during a work performance review – underline her potentially fragile psyche.

When Alice finally acquires a literary agent, he enters her into a mysterious writing competition at Blackwood House on Dartmoor. Alice has been chosen, along with other candidates, to write the final act of an unfinished manuscript, penned by the late, great Sasha Hawkins; a bestselling author of popular thrillers, who died at a tragically young age, in a car crash. Blackwood House is the ancestral family home of Sasha Hawkins, and her former publishers have persuaded her family to host the competition.

The winner of the competition will have their ending selected for publication, as well as their own novel. However, a number of peculiar rules must be strictly observed. Competitors have to stay at Blackwood House for two weeks, where they must write the ending cut off from all contact with the outside world. Intrigued and somewhat bemused, Alice agrees to join in, excited at the potential opportunity.

However, once she arrives at Blackwood House, and the competition gets underway, strange things starts to happen. Alice is unsure who to trust, as she is drawn into a labyrinth of deceit, revenge, and perhaps even murder. But the biggest secret of all is more shocking than Alice could have possibly imagined.

The Birds Began to Sing draws inspiration from mystery classics such as Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, to Agatha Christie whodunnits, specifically Sleeping Murder, and also the gothic literature of the Bronte sisters, particularly Jane Eyre. There’s even a bit of Michael Crichton or Dan Brown style conspiracy thriller in the mix, and a dash of Arthur Conan Doyle, most obviously The Hound of the Baskervilles. But The Birds Began to Sing is also a unique and nail-biting thriller in its own right.

Intrigued? Here’s what a few Amazon reviewers had to say:

“I loved this! Absolutely awesome read clever plot and ruddy brilliant twist! If you love a good mystery and a bit of a thriller this is for you!”

“An excellent psychological thriller… kept me turning pages right to the end.”

“A maze of spooky encounters… Full of exciting twists and turns.”

“A memorable lead character, mystery, suspense, eerie settings, a couple of genuine surprises, all sprinkled in with a healthy dose of wit.”

“A terrific read for lovers of suspense and mystery.”

“A great read and I loved the twist. Did not expect it at all.”

I should add that the bulk of the narrative (from act two onward) is set during the run-up to Christmas.

The Birds Began to Sing is available in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US).

Coming Soon, Later, and Perhaps Never: October 2020 Update

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A couple of years ago, I posted an article with the same title, expounding on exactly where I was at with my novels, in their varying states of disrepair. Here’s a full update, sort-of divided by genre. Bear in mind one of these will be released very soon, almost certainly before the end of the year.

Fantasy

Ravenseed – This Dark Ages set fantasy novel is now on its third draft, having received largely positive feedback from various sources. It’s a brooding, melancholy tale of knights, sorcerers, and enchantment, simmering with love, lust, betrayal, and revenge. Alongside the Dark Ages story is a parallel framing story set in the present.

The Faerie Gate – My long-delayed, horror-story-for-children is now on its fourth draft. Originally written in 2015, it’s definitely the scariest novel I’ve written that is primarily aimed at children, and it really pushes the envelope in that respect. But this dark fairy tale is also a very compassionate story, about a young adolescent coming to terms with the separation of her parents. I’m also planning an epic sequel which may end up being more than one sequel, set in the same universe. The sequel(s) might be aimed at a more “young adult” readership. I’ll know more once I start writing this next year.

The Deviant Prophet – Another dark fairy tale, but this time for adults. Fantasy and reality clash in a disturbing tale of religious oppression, amid a vivid and surreal world parallel to our own. The initial inspiration for this came from a close friend’s extraordinary dreams. I finished a third draft earlier this year.

Goldeweed – This is an epic, three volume fantasy saga I have been shaping on and off for almost eighteen years. Set in a vast imagined realm on many different planes of reality, it details three love stories that play out against an apocalyptic backdrop at the end of an era. Currently longer than War and Peace, it’s a tale I have rewritten and tinkered with for some time, and I’m still not entirely happy with it.

Gothic Mystery Thriller/Horror

The White Nest – This novel is something of a culmination for me; a summing up of all the tropes, themes, and ideas I have explored in earlier gothic mystery novels. But although there is an element of Now-That’s-What-I-Call-a-Simon-Dillon-Gothic-Mystery about this novel, it is also radically different in two ways. Firstly, it features a male protagonist. Secondly, it is the most intensely personal novel I’ve written since Children of the Folded Valley. Yes, I know all writing is “personal”, but this one really jabbed raw nerves in an ultimately cathartic way, tapping into traumatic fears regarding siblings, parental fears, false guilt, and more. It is also something of a coming of age novel, despite the genre trappings. One more point: The White Nest refers to something sinister in the story, but it’s only a placeholder title. I’m keeping the real title secret for now.

Wormcutter – From something I wrote in 2020, to something I wrote in 2007 (from an idea I had researched on and off since 1996), this detective thriller/horror hybrid begins as an apparently open and shut murder investigation, then escalates into a humdinger of a conspiracy, involving the Freemasons and much more… until it ends up in the most disturbing territory I have ever explored in a novel (definitely 18 certificate stuff). Currently on its fourth draft, and due for another polish.

Miscellaneous

The Balliol Conspiracy – This somewhat old-fashioned, Hitchcockian romantic spy thriller is a conspiracy story of a different kind (much more PG territory, unlike Wormcutter), and proved a real change of pace for me when I wrote it. A strong, suspenseful central mystery results in an historic, fact-based treasure hunt, leading to a new lease of life for the bereaved protagonist. I don’t want to say too much more, except that yes, it does involve Balliol College in Oxford (see above picture). I also wanted to write a grown-up book that, for once, my mother would be able to read without having nightmares. Currently on its second draft, its actually grown on me quite a bit since I first wrote it, and my wife thinks I should attempt more stories of this kind. But I suspect it is a one-off. We’ll see.

Peaceful Quiet Lives – This dystopian tale imagines a bleak American future, satirising the worst fears of both sides in the so-called culture wars. At the same time, it is also a love story, featuring protagonists who fall foul of political extremists of all persuasions. This novel is currently on its fourth draft, and represents a real oddity for me, as it is quite unlike anything I’ve ever written. Like Children of the Folded Valley and The White Nest, it is also a highly “personal” novel.

A Statement of Disbelief – Another satirical novel, this time set in the dubious world of Christian television fundraising. It’s only had one draft, but quite honestly, I’m not sure it will ever see the light of day. However, I will confess it was great fun to write.

Short Stories – It’s also worth mentioning that I’ve written quite a collection of short stories, mostly horror and science fiction (including one of novella length). I may publish a volume of these at some point.

To reiterate, one of the above will almost certainly be released before the end of the year. Can you guess which one? Watch this space for an imminent announcement.