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Death's Sweet Echo
Thirteen ghost stories and strange tales - only three previously published, so ten brand new - and all are recently written.
There is a scratching at the door, but surely no-one is there. The house is empty, so the footsteps on the stairs
must be in my imagination. The way that shadow just moved, like breathing, must be a trick of the light.
In thirteen new ghost stories and strange tales Maynard & Sims prove they are masters of subtle unease, shifting from reality to distorted nightmares with a few deft words, creating an atmosphere of dread with superb characterisation, pacing and plotting.
“Maynard Sims’ work is superbly detailed, and very well written.” British Fantasy Society.
“I wish Maynard & Sims were more prolific short story writers, because every collection they publish is a veritable feast for dark fiction lovers.” Mario Guslandi.
“Proof of what these much underrated writers are capable of producing when at their best.” Peter Tennant.
“Maynard and Sims revitalize the traditional thrills of haunted houses, ghosts, and witches by emphasizing the psychological turmoil of character’s minds.” Cemetery Dance.
There is a scratching at the door, but surely no-one is there. The house is empty, so the footsteps on the stairs
must be in my imagination. The way that shadow just moved, like breathing, must be a trick of the light.
In thirteen new ghost stories and strange tales Maynard & Sims prove they are masters of subtle unease, shifting from reality to distorted nightmares with a few deft words, creating an atmosphere of dread with superb characterisation, pacing and plotting.
“Maynard Sims’ work is superbly detailed, and very well written.” British Fantasy Society.
“I wish Maynard & Sims were more prolific short story writers, because every collection they publish is a veritable feast for dark fiction lovers.” Mario Guslandi.
“Proof of what these much underrated writers are capable of producing when at their best.” Peter Tennant.
“Maynard and Sims revitalize the traditional thrills of haunted houses, ghosts, and witches by emphasizing the psychological turmoil of character’s minds.” Cemetery Dance.
239 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 3, 2015
1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Maynard Sims
65 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 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 12, 2015
13 creepy ghostly stories that kept me thoroughly entertained from beginning to end. In this memorable collection, Maynard and Sims have created vivid atmospheres that reminded me, on more than one occasion, of the great M.R. James. There were plenty of twists, turns, scares and surprises and mysterious things happening in shadows. These are tales of ghosts, hauntings and disturbing events where tension builds with every page. This is one to read with all the lights on and preferably not in a house where timbers creak, the wind howls down chimneys and windows rattle. Unnerved? You will be. But in a thoroughly enjoyable way.
March 26, 2016
Review: DEATH'S SWEET ECHO by Maynard Sims
Don't do as I did, and read this collection at night, alone. You might find yourself looking behind you, afraid to check the locks on your doors and windows, wondering if that creak overhead is wind, or the house settling--or footsteps. Read in the daylight, in your garden, or on the beach. When the writing duo that comprises Maynard Sims sets out to terrorize, they bring their best game...and their best is as good as it gets. These stories will amaze, confound, and terribly frighten you. I an still trying to recover my peace of mind.
Don't do as I did, and read this collection at night, alone. You might find yourself looking behind you, afraid to check the locks on your doors and windows, wondering if that creak overhead is wind, or the house settling--or footsteps. Read in the daylight, in your garden, or on the beach. When the writing duo that comprises Maynard Sims sets out to terrorize, they bring their best game...and their best is as good as it gets. These stories will amaze, confound, and terribly frighten you. I an still trying to recover my peace of mind.
October 7, 2016
Death’s Sweet Echo is the 10th collection of stories from legendary horror writers Len Maynard and Mick Sims under their pen name, Maynard and Sims. These thirteen tales are not just your average bland ghost stories but a masterful blend of thought-provoking, chill-producing paranormal fiction.
The collection includes stories, such as “Glorious Dilapidation,” a tale about an abandoned house in the woods that only comes back to life when it’s time to claim a new unfortunate victim. “Hoping He Wouldn’t Be Too Late” redefines the old adage you can’t go home again to maybe you shouldn’t even try, while the mind-twisting tale of “I’m Here” will leave you scratching your head and wondering was it all real or just a fantasy.
“The Sweet Decay of Youth” highlights the petty shallowness of its characters, who, while each is sunk in their own thoughts, allows one young man to make sure his friends will always stay together, forever. “Silver” is a cautionary tale about a young girl who just can’t help falling for bad boys and her poor father who is left with the sorrow of her choices, whereas “And It Goes Like This” spins a sad tale of talent lost and endless possibilities cut short. “Just the Way It Is” begins with two widowed friends sharing cigars and telling the tale of a fallen politician who should not have made a fool of his wife. Not only does Richard Randolph lose his wife, his kids, his home and his political career he also loses his mind then his life. This lovely little cautionary tale of a woman done wrong raises the questions was Randolph the victim of a vampire, his own or his wife’s witchcraft, or maybe he just went mad with guilt.
“The Waltzer King” spins another cautionary tale of women and witchcraft – when Gloria Cooper tells young Judd Harrison to stay away from her granddaughter, he really should have listened. “Cold Comfort” tells the tale of Amrit, who makes energy cold calls and was unfortunate enough to dial David’s number – Amrit can only listen in growing horror to David’s story.
“Restitution” is the final cautionary tale about listening to your elders, in which a well-meaning social worker unwittingly returns the one hundred and fifty year old angry spirit of a sixteen year old girl to the home she was supposed to live in with bloody consequences.
Some of my favorites in this collection included “Another Bite of the Cherry,” a well told, devilishly twisted tale about love betrayed. It features a man so dedicated to his love that he has searched through the centuries for the perfect woman to revive her, only to find out that his resurrected lover is fickle. Women can be very touchy about their ages especially when a man doesn’t get that part as nearly as right as she would have liked. “I Hear His Footsteps Drawing Near“ is the terrifying story of a woman wronged and the vengeance she takes on any man unfortunate enough to cross her path. For years her spirit has wreaked its vengeance, until she meets one woman who believes in the man she loves enough to uncover the truth. It’s a true horror story featuring an angry spirit and possession but it’s the additional surprising emotional factor of the loss and perceived betrayal of a loved one that makes this tale a real stand-out. “Guilt Casts a Long Shadow” is about Martin, a flat out rat, who’s gotten people fired, broken up relationships and even slept with his own brothers wife, but now his lifetime of guilt has built up and is starting to leak out of his subconscious as he sleeps. So Martin tells all of his evil deeds to the vicar of St. Andrews thinking that if he tells someone it will make more room inside him and the guilt will stop leaking out. Martin thinks of himself as a survivor and that all the evil things he’s done has been because he had to; he has no regret for what he’s done and cares nothing at all for penance. I love this one for two reasons: first, because who doesn’t like the satisfaction of someone get just what they deserve? And secondly, the idea of using one’s own guilt as shadows to get revenge is such an original and aptly cunning idea.
All in all, the thirteen tales in Death’s Sweet Echo are sure to have a little something to make everyone cringe in horror and will leave you well satisfied.
The collection includes stories, such as “Glorious Dilapidation,” a tale about an abandoned house in the woods that only comes back to life when it’s time to claim a new unfortunate victim. “Hoping He Wouldn’t Be Too Late” redefines the old adage you can’t go home again to maybe you shouldn’t even try, while the mind-twisting tale of “I’m Here” will leave you scratching your head and wondering was it all real or just a fantasy.
“The Sweet Decay of Youth” highlights the petty shallowness of its characters, who, while each is sunk in their own thoughts, allows one young man to make sure his friends will always stay together, forever. “Silver” is a cautionary tale about a young girl who just can’t help falling for bad boys and her poor father who is left with the sorrow of her choices, whereas “And It Goes Like This” spins a sad tale of talent lost and endless possibilities cut short. “Just the Way It Is” begins with two widowed friends sharing cigars and telling the tale of a fallen politician who should not have made a fool of his wife. Not only does Richard Randolph lose his wife, his kids, his home and his political career he also loses his mind then his life. This lovely little cautionary tale of a woman done wrong raises the questions was Randolph the victim of a vampire, his own or his wife’s witchcraft, or maybe he just went mad with guilt.
“The Waltzer King” spins another cautionary tale of women and witchcraft – when Gloria Cooper tells young Judd Harrison to stay away from her granddaughter, he really should have listened. “Cold Comfort” tells the tale of Amrit, who makes energy cold calls and was unfortunate enough to dial David’s number – Amrit can only listen in growing horror to David’s story.
“Restitution” is the final cautionary tale about listening to your elders, in which a well-meaning social worker unwittingly returns the one hundred and fifty year old angry spirit of a sixteen year old girl to the home she was supposed to live in with bloody consequences.
Some of my favorites in this collection included “Another Bite of the Cherry,” a well told, devilishly twisted tale about love betrayed. It features a man so dedicated to his love that he has searched through the centuries for the perfect woman to revive her, only to find out that his resurrected lover is fickle. Women can be very touchy about their ages especially when a man doesn’t get that part as nearly as right as she would have liked. “I Hear His Footsteps Drawing Near“ is the terrifying story of a woman wronged and the vengeance she takes on any man unfortunate enough to cross her path. For years her spirit has wreaked its vengeance, until she meets one woman who believes in the man she loves enough to uncover the truth. It’s a true horror story featuring an angry spirit and possession but it’s the additional surprising emotional factor of the loss and perceived betrayal of a loved one that makes this tale a real stand-out. “Guilt Casts a Long Shadow” is about Martin, a flat out rat, who’s gotten people fired, broken up relationships and even slept with his own brothers wife, but now his lifetime of guilt has built up and is starting to leak out of his subconscious as he sleeps. So Martin tells all of his evil deeds to the vicar of St. Andrews thinking that if he tells someone it will make more room inside him and the guilt will stop leaking out. Martin thinks of himself as a survivor and that all the evil things he’s done has been because he had to; he has no regret for what he’s done and cares nothing at all for penance. I love this one for two reasons: first, because who doesn’t like the satisfaction of someone get just what they deserve? And secondly, the idea of using one’s own guilt as shadows to get revenge is such an original and aptly cunning idea.
All in all, the thirteen tales in Death’s Sweet Echo are sure to have a little something to make everyone cringe in horror and will leave you well satisfied.
May 12, 2016
Maynard and Sims' new book, Death's Sweet Echo, is a terrific, old-school (we're talking very old school) collection of ghost stories sure to send chills down your spine. The tales combine the subtle touch of M.R. James with modern psychological foibles and sociopathic characters. Of course as with every collection, some of the stories worked better for me than others, but reading's subjective after all. But with Maynard and Sims' lush, superior writing, every story's worth a read. For those of you who don't like gore slathered on your horror, the book comes very highly recommended. I'll definitely be checking out some of their other titles.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews