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Stillwater
"A modern ghost story."
Life was good for Beth, once. Now a car crash has left her confined to a wheelchair. To help her recuperate and rebuild her life, she s leased Stillwater, a house with a lake in the countryside. But her dreams of peace and quiet are thwarted when she realizes she s not alone. A girl who once lived at Stillwater until she drowned in the lake has never left, and she does not seem pleased by Beth s presence. Beth sets out to solve the mystery of Stillwater. But can she find a strength she doesn t know she possesses as she fights the fury of the dead girl, and tries to establish herself as the true mistress and keeper of the Stillwater house and lake?"
Life was good for Beth, once. Now a car crash has left her confined to a wheelchair. To help her recuperate and rebuild her life, she s leased Stillwater, a house with a lake in the countryside. But her dreams of peace and quiet are thwarted when she realizes she s not alone. A girl who once lived at Stillwater until she drowned in the lake has never left, and she does not seem pleased by Beth s presence. Beth sets out to solve the mystery of Stillwater. But can she find a strength she doesn t know she possesses as she fights the fury of the dead girl, and tries to establish herself as the true mistress and keeper of the Stillwater house and lake?"
- GenresHorror
211 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2015
48 people want to read
About the author
Maynard Sims
72 books36 followersMAYNARD SIMS www.maynard-sims.com
The DCI Jack Callum series of crime novels - No Evil,Prime Evil and For Her Sins with The Detective Jack Callum Trilogy. The Bahamas series of thriller novels - Touching The Sun, Calling Down The Lightning, and Raging Against The Storm. The Department 18 series of supernatural crime novels - Black Cathedral, Night Souls, The Eighth Witch, A Plague Of Echoes, and Mother Of Demons. The crime novels Let Death Begin, Through The Sad Heart, and Falling Apart At The Edges. The supernatural novels, Shelter, Demon Eyes, Nightmare City, Stronghold, and Stillwater. The erotic romance novels, under a pseudonym, - The Love Project and The Romance Project.
One screenplay, based on the first two Department 18 books, won the 2013 British Horror Film Festival Award for Best New Screenplay.
Numerous stories have been published in a variety of anthologies and magazines. Collections include, Shadows At Midnight, 1979 and 1999 (revised and enlarged), Echoes Of Darkness, 2000, Incantations, 2002, two retrospective collections of their stories, essays and interviews, The Secret Geography Of Nightmare and Selling Dark Miracles, both 2002, Falling Into Heaven 2004, The Odd Ghosts, 2011, and Flame And Other Enigmatic Tales, and A Haunting Of Ghosts, both 2012. Their tenth collection of ghost stories and strange tales – Death’s Sweet Echo – which includes all their recent and new stories, many of them previously unpublished, is 2016.
Novellas, The Hidden Language Of Demons, The Seminar, His Other Son, and Convalescence have been published in 2002, 2003, 2013 and 2015 respectively. All their stories and novellas have been reprinted in eight uniform volumes through The Maynard Sims Library in 2014. An erotic romance novella, First Time Love, 2015 and First Time Arousal, 2016. Devil is a 2016 crime novella..
They worked as editors on the nine volumes of Darkness Rising anthologies. They co-edited and published F20 with The British Fantasy Society. As editors/publishers they ran Enigmatic Press in the UK, which produced Enigmatic Tales, and its sister titles. They have written essays. They still do commissioned editing projects, most recently Dead Water, and the Capital Crimes anthology for the ITW. They do ghost writing commissions.
Email contact can be made at ms@micksims.f9.co.uk
Find Maynard Sims on most social media - links are on the website
The DCI Jack Callum series of crime novels - No Evil,Prime Evil and For Her Sins with The Detective Jack Callum Trilogy. The Bahamas series of thriller novels - Touching The Sun, Calling Down The Lightning, and Raging Against The Storm. The Department 18 series of supernatural crime novels - Black Cathedral, Night Souls, The Eighth Witch, A Plague Of Echoes, and Mother Of Demons. The crime novels Let Death Begin, Through The Sad Heart, and Falling Apart At The Edges. The supernatural novels, Shelter, Demon Eyes, Nightmare City, Stronghold, and Stillwater. The erotic romance novels, under a pseudonym, - The Love Project and The Romance Project.
One screenplay, based on the first two Department 18 books, won the 2013 British Horror Film Festival Award for Best New Screenplay.
Numerous stories have been published in a variety of anthologies and magazines. Collections include, Shadows At Midnight, 1979 and 1999 (revised and enlarged), Echoes Of Darkness, 2000, Incantations, 2002, two retrospective collections of their stories, essays and interviews, The Secret Geography Of Nightmare and Selling Dark Miracles, both 2002, Falling Into Heaven 2004, The Odd Ghosts, 2011, and Flame And Other Enigmatic Tales, and A Haunting Of Ghosts, both 2012. Their tenth collection of ghost stories and strange tales – Death’s Sweet Echo – which includes all their recent and new stories, many of them previously unpublished, is 2016.
Novellas, The Hidden Language Of Demons, The Seminar, His Other Son, and Convalescence have been published in 2002, 2003, 2013 and 2015 respectively. All their stories and novellas have been reprinted in eight uniform volumes through The Maynard Sims Library in 2014. An erotic romance novella, First Time Love, 2015 and First Time Arousal, 2016. Devil is a 2016 crime novella..
They worked as editors on the nine volumes of Darkness Rising anthologies. They co-edited and published F20 with The British Fantasy Society. As editors/publishers they ran Enigmatic Press in the UK, which produced Enigmatic Tales, and its sister titles. They have written essays. They still do commissioned editing projects, most recently Dead Water, and the Capital Crimes anthology for the ITW. They do ghost writing commissions.
Email contact can be made at ms@micksims.f9.co.uk
Find Maynard Sims on most social media - links are on the website
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 10, 2015
Review copy
This is my first time reading anything from Maynard Sims, so I thought I should check him out, turns out Maynard Sims is actually a "they." Len Maynard and Michael Sims have been writing together for more than forty years. In addition to supernatural thrillers, like Stillwater, they also write thrillers, mystery, and suspense.
Although, set in modern times, Stillwater, is an old-fashioned ghost story. This is not hit-you-over-the-head-until-you-bleed horror. Instead, it's a rather quiet story of a successful romance writer, wheel-chair bound after a terrible accident, who rents a somewhat secluded property to work on her next novel. What she didn't expect was the ghost that came with the house.
I enjoyed the way Beth Alvarini, the writer in the story, didn't run screaming from the property, but instead tried to learn everything she could about the circumstances leading to the death of the teen-aged girl who now haunts Stillwater.
There are a lot of twists and turns in this nice diversion from the hard-core horror I've been reading of late. Although, a bit slow out of the gate, Stillwater picked up the pace and finished strong and is definitely a ghost story I can recommend.
Published by Samhaim Horror, Stillwater is available now, both in paperback and ebook formats.
This is my first time reading anything from Maynard Sims, so I thought I should check him out, turns out Maynard Sims is actually a "they." Len Maynard and Michael Sims have been writing together for more than forty years. In addition to supernatural thrillers, like Stillwater, they also write thrillers, mystery, and suspense.
Although, set in modern times, Stillwater, is an old-fashioned ghost story. This is not hit-you-over-the-head-until-you-bleed horror. Instead, it's a rather quiet story of a successful romance writer, wheel-chair bound after a terrible accident, who rents a somewhat secluded property to work on her next novel. What she didn't expect was the ghost that came with the house.
I enjoyed the way Beth Alvarini, the writer in the story, didn't run screaming from the property, but instead tried to learn everything she could about the circumstances leading to the death of the teen-aged girl who now haunts Stillwater.
There are a lot of twists and turns in this nice diversion from the hard-core horror I've been reading of late. Although, a bit slow out of the gate, Stillwater picked up the pace and finished strong and is definitely a ghost story I can recommend.
Published by Samhaim Horror, Stillwater is available now, both in paperback and ebook formats.
December 12, 2014
I received an ARC copy of this e-book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
My first book by Maynard Sims and I was impressed. Stillwater is a classic ghost story in the English style with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. Written to entertain rather than disturb, there certainly is a place for novels like Stillwater and plenty of readers will enjoy their visit in this very strange house.
As a reader of M.R. James, Sheridan LeFanu, and others, I would consider this a modern ghost story with a strong sense of the tradition from which these stories originate.
Four stars and I will look for more of Mr. Sims' work.
My first book by Maynard Sims and I was impressed. Stillwater is a classic ghost story in the English style with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. Written to entertain rather than disturb, there certainly is a place for novels like Stillwater and plenty of readers will enjoy their visit in this very strange house.
As a reader of M.R. James, Sheridan LeFanu, and others, I would consider this a modern ghost story with a strong sense of the tradition from which these stories originate.
Four stars and I will look for more of Mr. Sims' work.
January 7, 2015
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/reviews/...
Stillwater is a great ghost story – not too scary, but it definitely provides a good paranormal mystery, and it did give me some chills. The story is reminiscent of classic ghost stories, yet original enough to be entertaining.
Beth, the main character, used to have it all. She had a successful career as a bestselling author, for one. Now she’s bound to a wheelchair, she hasn’t been able to write a new book in ages and her entire life is turned upside down. When we first meet her, she arrives at her new home, a rental for which she only rents the downstairs floor. The house has been altered to fit for her, but still it’s a struggle to get used to not being able to walk again. Yet as she settles in, she finds a routine, and starts writing again.
But as time moves on, Beth learns she’s sharing her house with ghosts. It starts out subtle, but grows increasingly threatening. The locals tell her a story about a girl who once lived at her house – Stillwater – and drowned in the lake. It seems the girl’s spirit still haunts the house, and has a message she desperately wants to tell Beth. Curious by nature, Beth sets out to solve the mystery of Stillwater, and to find out what really happend all those years ago.
The atmosphere is haunting from the start, and tension increases with every page. While not particularly scary, it definitely had it’s spooky moments, and ultimately, the book tells a strong, entertaining story. Beth is an amazing heroine. She has tremendous strength, and never backs down from a challenge. She’s very likeable, and I loved getting to know her better.
This is an atmospheric, creepy story and ideal for fans of ghost stories.
Stillwater is a great ghost story – not too scary, but it definitely provides a good paranormal mystery, and it did give me some chills. The story is reminiscent of classic ghost stories, yet original enough to be entertaining.
Beth, the main character, used to have it all. She had a successful career as a bestselling author, for one. Now she’s bound to a wheelchair, she hasn’t been able to write a new book in ages and her entire life is turned upside down. When we first meet her, she arrives at her new home, a rental for which she only rents the downstairs floor. The house has been altered to fit for her, but still it’s a struggle to get used to not being able to walk again. Yet as she settles in, she finds a routine, and starts writing again.
But as time moves on, Beth learns she’s sharing her house with ghosts. It starts out subtle, but grows increasingly threatening. The locals tell her a story about a girl who once lived at her house – Stillwater – and drowned in the lake. It seems the girl’s spirit still haunts the house, and has a message she desperately wants to tell Beth. Curious by nature, Beth sets out to solve the mystery of Stillwater, and to find out what really happend all those years ago.
The atmosphere is haunting from the start, and tension increases with every page. While not particularly scary, it definitely had it’s spooky moments, and ultimately, the book tells a strong, entertaining story. Beth is an amazing heroine. She has tremendous strength, and never backs down from a challenge. She’s very likeable, and I loved getting to know her better.
This is an atmospheric, creepy story and ideal for fans of ghost stories.
March 9, 2015
From the Description:
A modern ghost story. Life was good for Beth, once. Now a car crash has left her confined to a wheelchair. To help her recuperate and rebuild her life, she's leased Stillwater, a house with a lake in the countryside. But her dreams of peace and quiet are thwarted when she realizes she's not alone. A girl who once lived at Stillwater-until she drowned in the lake-has never left, and she does not seem pleased by Beth's presence. Beth sets out to solve the mystery of Stillwater. But can she find a strength she doesn't know she possesses as she fights the fury of the dead girl, and tries to establish herself as the true mistress and keeper of the Stillwater house and lake?
With Stillwater you get an eerie ghost story. The characters are believable and the atmosphere is creepy. I was hooked right away and couldn't wait to see where the story would go. I expected an exciting conclusion. Unfortunately I didn't get it. The ending was anti-climatic for me. I still enjoyed this novel but the final confrontation between Beth and the ghost that haunts her house just fell flat to me. I would still pick up another Maynard Sims book but this one only gets 3.5 stars.
March 9, 2015
I started this book at work today. Always in the market for a good English ghost story, I ran across this one while perusing the B&N site. I had not rad a book by Maynard Sims before but figured I would give it a try.
I have to say the house, lake and countryside made me envious. Can't tell you how often I have wished for a secluded place to spend a week or two writing. The house sounded lovely - a place I would enjoy staying in.
Quick moving without being scary, the story develops with twists and turns along the way. I will say the ending was disappointing to me but I'm not sure what would have made it better. My reaction to the main character were mixed - I found myself liking her but yet also rolling my eyes at how little research into the mystery she did even though she was a renowned writer.
Still, the story was interesting and the action didn't stop until the last page. I give the book a B and recommend it to anyone who would like a light, quick read.
I have to say the house, lake and countryside made me envious. Can't tell you how often I have wished for a secluded place to spend a week or two writing. The house sounded lovely - a place I would enjoy staying in.
Quick moving without being scary, the story develops with twists and turns along the way. I will say the ending was disappointing to me but I'm not sure what would have made it better. My reaction to the main character were mixed - I found myself liking her but yet also rolling my eyes at how little research into the mystery she did even though she was a renowned writer.
Still, the story was interesting and the action didn't stop until the last page. I give the book a B and recommend it to anyone who would like a light, quick read.
March 25, 2015
REVIEW STILLWATER by Maynard Sims
If you're looking.for classic English ghost story, look right here. Very scary, very twisty, pure evil--love it!
Author Beth exits a sad marriage with the kind of Narcissistic male who ought to be accompanied by a warning notice. Losing her family home in the process, Beth has.a vehicular crash and nearly loses her life, becoming a paraplegic. Her agent sets up a long-term lease in rural Sussex, at Stillwater, a house and extensive acreage. But oh, what a house! Although renovated to suit her wheelchair-bound needs, Beth quickly discovers that Stillwater is not empty after all, but is haunted by memories, long-ago pain and torment, and a very angry, talented ghost.
If you're looking.for classic English ghost story, look right here. Very scary, very twisty, pure evil--love it!
Author Beth exits a sad marriage with the kind of Narcissistic male who ought to be accompanied by a warning notice. Losing her family home in the process, Beth has.a vehicular crash and nearly loses her life, becoming a paraplegic. Her agent sets up a long-term lease in rural Sussex, at Stillwater, a house and extensive acreage. But oh, what a house! Although renovated to suit her wheelchair-bound needs, Beth quickly discovers that Stillwater is not empty after all, but is haunted by memories, long-ago pain and torment, and a very angry, talented ghost.
February 26, 2015
A good ghost novel
For a full review, please go to http://www.examiner.com/review/stillw... and follow me on Twitter @josenher
For a full review, please go to http://www.examiner.com/review/stillw... and follow me on Twitter @josenher
May 8, 2015
It's actually a 3.5 stars but you can't give half. I hate that about this site. I enjoyed the whole book except the ending. It wasn't awful, just felt quick. It was a very quick read.
May 14, 2023
A mystery mixed with haunt. A lady goes finds a new place to go write a book. From there a lot more develops with her and with the houses history.
Easy read. Not a bad read; maybe a few plot holes.
Easy read. Not a bad read; maybe a few plot holes.
January 13, 2019
I read this book quite a while back around its release date, and I throughly enjoyed it. I admired the main character, and enjoyed the descriptions for the place she was renting. I enjoyed the overall creepiness of the story as well as the coming together of the past events to bring things into light.
Good read...
Merged review:
You can view the book description after the review.
Review:
I read this book quite a while back around its release date, and I throughly enjoyed it. I admired the main character, and enjoyed the descriptions for the place she was renting. I enjoyed the overall creepiness of the story as well as the coming together of the past events to bring things into light.
Good read... Nice ghostly tale.
Description
A modern ghost story.Life was good for Beth, once. Now a car crash has left her confined to a wheelchair.To help her recuperate and rebuild her life, she’s leased Stillwater, a house with a lake inthe countryside. But her dreams of peace and quiet are thwarted when she realizes she’snot alone. A girl who once lived at Stillwater—until she drowned in the lake—has neverleft, and she does not seem pleased by Beth’s presence. Beth sets out to solve the mystery of Stillwater. But can she find a strength she doesn’t know she possesses as she fights the fury of the dead girl, and tries to establish herself as the true mistress and keeper of the Stillwater house and lake?
Good read...
Merged review:
You can view the book description after the review.
Review:
I read this book quite a while back around its release date, and I throughly enjoyed it. I admired the main character, and enjoyed the descriptions for the place she was renting. I enjoyed the overall creepiness of the story as well as the coming together of the past events to bring things into light.
Good read... Nice ghostly tale.
Description
A modern ghost story.Life was good for Beth, once. Now a car crash has left her confined to a wheelchair.To help her recuperate and rebuild her life, she’s leased Stillwater, a house with a lake inthe countryside. But her dreams of peace and quiet are thwarted when she realizes she’snot alone. A girl who once lived at Stillwater—until she drowned in the lake—has neverleft, and she does not seem pleased by Beth’s presence. Beth sets out to solve the mystery of Stillwater. But can she find a strength she doesn’t know she possesses as she fights the fury of the dead girl, and tries to establish herself as the true mistress and keeper of the Stillwater house and lake?
February 21, 2016
After a rough divorce and a debilitating car accident, romance author Beth Alvarini is left paralyzed from the waist down and desperately in need of a new look on life. Her agent finds her the perfect lease in rural Suffolk, Stillwater; a place to rest, recuperate and begin a new book. At first Beth is totally taken with Stillwater, and its property manager James. Things slowly begin to happen within the house, however, that leads Beth to believe something is amiss. When neighbors begin to relay stories of the past owners, Beth thinks that she has the mystery of Stillwater figured out; but the Stillwater ghost has other ideas for Beth.
Set in modern day England, this was a slow burning horror. Beth’s character, strong, brave and fiercely independent was the perfect person to attempt to figure out Stillwater’s brutal story. The mystery of the past family and the slight glimpses into what might have happened there kept me intrigued. While there wasn’t much outright horror or gore, there was plenty to keep me on the edge of my seat and keep reading. I really liked that almost everything that was happening to Beth could be explained by natural phenomenon, making her think that she was relapsing into a breakdown. With several twists and turns near the end, Stillwater ends with a different outlook.
This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.
Set in modern day England, this was a slow burning horror. Beth’s character, strong, brave and fiercely independent was the perfect person to attempt to figure out Stillwater’s brutal story. The mystery of the past family and the slight glimpses into what might have happened there kept me intrigued. While there wasn’t much outright horror or gore, there was plenty to keep me on the edge of my seat and keep reading. I really liked that almost everything that was happening to Beth could be explained by natural phenomenon, making her think that she was relapsing into a breakdown. With several twists and turns near the end, Stillwater ends with a different outlook.
This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.
May 22, 2016
I know I am coming off sexist, but what had attracted me to want to review this work was the description of the book and that the author was a man. I loved the storyline when I read the description of the book and figured the ghost aspect would be in the forefront of the story. What I found was that there was too much of a "romance dance" and emotional focus, eg the protagonist's paralysis, on the story. As a result, I found it very difficult to pick up the book...thus, the 7 month read time.
This book was not a horrible read or a horrible write, per se. I simply would have liked the book to be a bit more scary than it was. The 3 stars comes from the fact that I would recommend the book to friends that I know would appreciate the more emotional focus to the read.
This book was not a horrible read or a horrible write, per se. I simply would have liked the book to be a bit more scary than it was. The 3 stars comes from the fact that I would recommend the book to friends that I know would appreciate the more emotional focus to the read.
December 16, 2015
Maynard Sims has put together a classic ghost story, but with a modern twist. Readers will identify with Beth and her desire for seclusion and peace. Unfortunately, she finds she's not alone at the lakeside cabin. The Stillwater mystery provides thrills, chills and just the right dose of scariness.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews