A young realtor becomes intricately involved with the evil and history of an abandoned mansion…
Title: The Siren’s Scream
Author: Thomas White
Publisher: Savvy Books
Pages: 492
Genre: Mystery/Horror
An old mansion sits atop of a cliff, overlooking the ocean, in Santa Cruz, CA. A young realtor, Darcy Wainwright, manages to sell the dilapidated old house to Henry Childs, an obese nebbish who is obsessed with the property. In the backyard is a pool. Not an ordinary pool but a giant tide pool. In the tide pool is a siren with an evil agenda for revenge.
The Thornton Mansion was a talisman for the death and mystery that surrounded it. Unoccupied for years until Henry Childs was summoned by the house. As directed, he reached out to unsuspecting, novice realtor Darcy Wainwright. Darcy finds herself intricately involved with the house, its history and the haunting tide pool that filled the backyard. It was the pool that beckoned her, and it was the pool that would decide if she lives or dies. The Siren’s Scream. Available on Amazon.
Release Date: October 5, 2022
Publisher: Savvy Books
Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1088067819; 480 pages; $21.14
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TEz7kx
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sirens-scream-thomas-white/1142494493?ean=9781088067819
Purchase your copy at the author’s website: https://thomas-white-author.com/
Book Excerpt
Henry Childs led a life of total inconsequence. He had no friends, no hobbies, no guilty pleasures. He had spent his thirty-eight years in the space behind his mother’s aggression, lacking the courage to reach for anything more than this pitiless world deigned to dish to him.Edith Childs screamed at Henry from the other room, “Henry, I’m bored. I want to go for a drive.”
Henry’s face scrunched in disdain, and the folds in his ample neck turned red. There was no denying her, not that he had ever had the backbone to attempt anything so drastic. Henry Childs had spent his thirty-eight years in the space behind his mother’s aggression, lacking the courage to reach for anything more than this pitiless world deigned to dish to him.
With a stoic exhale, he paused his video game, gulped down his cinnamon roll, lifted his considerable bulk out of the comfort of his reclining chair, and began the routine that would eventually get his mother from her bedroom to her wheelchair and into the car.
He grabbed her yellow sweater to be sure that she would stay warm.
“Henry, I’m not a child. I know if I’m cold or not.”
He held up the cardigan and attempted to help her into it.
“I can dress myself, thank you.”
Then there was the transfer from her sitting chair to her wheelchair.
“For goodness sakes, Henry, you would think this was the first time you’ve ever done this. Move the chair closer. I’m not an acrobat.”
...the parade out to the porch.
“Henry, don’t scrape the wall. You’re always so careless. We have gouges up and down the whole hallway.”
...down the ramp.
“Don’t go so fast. Are you trying to launch me into outer space?”
...across the walkway toward the car.
“Do you have to hit every bump on the walk? Wait, go back, I think you missed one.”
...then finally into the car.
“Be careful of my head. I don’t want to lose what sense I have left.”
By the time the car door was closed, with his disintegrating mother safely ensconced inside, Henry had sweat running down his forehead and was breathing hard. His double chins were dripping from each crevice, and his shirt was beginning to stain from the accumulating moisture. He dropped her chair into the trunk, wiped his brow on his sleeve, and embraced his final moments of silence before he opened the door and plopped behind the steering wheel of his Nissan Murano.
Thomas White began his career as an actor. Several years later he found himself as an Artistic Director for a theatre in Southern California and the winner of several Drama-Logue and Critics awards for directing. As Tom’s career grew, he directed and co-produced the world tour of “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming Out Of Their Shells”. The show toured for over two years, was translated into seven different languages and seen by over a million children. Tom served as President and Creative Director for Maiden Lane Entertainment for 24 years and worked on many large-scale corporate event productions that included Harley Davidson, Microsoft, Medtronic Diabetes, and dozens of others. The Siren’s Scream is Tom’s second novel that follows up Justice Rules which was nominated as a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association 2010 Literary contest.
Tom’s latest book is the mystery/horror, The Siren’s Scream.
Visit his website at www.thomas-white-author.com or connect with him at Facebook
1. Why do you write?
That is an excellent question. I have worked most of my life in the entertainment field as a director. The director’s main job is to tell a story. On stage we do it through actors and scenery. As a novelist I do it through words and description. Sometimes, things pop into my head and I write them down. Once I stew on an idea or an image for a while a story line starts to form and if I’m interested enough in the subject I’ll pursue it. Mostly, I can’t put it down if its intriguing enough to me.
2. Who or what inspired you to become an author?
If I had an inspiration it would have to be Stephen King. His easy, accessible style has drawn me in for decades. His non-fiction book ‘On Writing’ is my bible when it comes to storytelling. My favorite quote from that book is, “If you read something that a writer has done like this, ‘The sunset was indescribable.’ Tell that person to get another job. Their job is to describe the sunset.” I can’t tell you how many times I have been writing and when I re-read what I wrote I tell myself to go back and describe the sunset.
3. What is it about mysteries that gets your creative juices flowing?
I love the twists and turns. I like nothing better as a writer to lead the reader down a path only to have the path veer off into something totally unexpected. A good twist gets my juices flowing. On my latest novel, The Siren’s Scream, I had sent the final version to the editor and was due to get it back the next day. The night before, while watching television a character on the show said, “The devil has no friend.” I laughed and said, “That’s not true. Fire is the devil’s only friend.” (For you Don McClean fans). Then I thought, (spoiler alert) “Fire. Devil. Oh damn! I have to burn the mansion!” I re-wrote the final six chapters of the book which turned out to be a significantly better ending. The got me excited.
4. What do you think is the single biggest thing you’ve learned about writing?
As I said earlier, ‘Describe the sunset.’ The other thing I learned is that you don’t get to stand over the shoulder of the reader and explain what you wrote. If they don’t understand, or if they have serious questions, it’s not because they're stupid, it’s because you did a poor job of writing it. Listen to your readers. If they are lost or don’t understand, figure out why and fix it.
5. What qualities do you think are imperative for a writer to possess?
Imagination. To me, creating a scene requires a true imagination, the ability to see a scene or situation in your mind and then put it on paper. Then, persistence. I am not a very good writer, but I am an excellent re-writer. I probably re-write a scene three or four times before I finally get it totally filled in. And finally, the willingness to fail and not be defeated. Just keep writing. You’ll find the path to success, eventually.
6. Time to confess your secret writing rituals. We need details … including if it includes caffeine!
LOL. My biggest motivating factor for writing is boredom. If I have nothing else to do my mind starts to wander. Early on, when I was traveling a lot, my ritual was very different. I worked as a corporate event producer and creative director and did corporate events all over the world. That translates to a lot of time in the air. With the advent of the laptop it turned that upgrade onto a writing pod. I would pull out the laptop immediately after take-off, order a glass of wine and start in.
7. I notice there is a strong influence of the occult in many of your stories. Have you dabbled in the occult? What is your relationship to the supernatural in terms of your work?
I have peripheral experience with the occult. I would not really consider my work to be part of that genre. I have had experience as a guide on haunted town tours and dabbled a bit with ghost finding equipment and contact but wouldn’t consider it to be a contributing factor in much of my work.
8. Regarding your latest work THE SIREN’S SCREAM (which looks amazingly good by the way), what would you like readers to know about this psychological twister?
I wanted to explore the mermaid/siren genre in a new way. This story does not take place on the sea or in the ocean. The house overlooks the ocean but that’s about it. The origins of the siren and the lineage were intriguing to me. What’s the motivation for the sirens who sit on the rocks and call sailors to their death? Are they just mean and murderous or do they want something? I gave my siren an origin and a motivation. That’s what I want the reader to be intrigued by.
9. What’s next for you? Do you have any new books/projects in the works?
I do! I wrote a screenplay a few years back and while I had some interest, nothing ever materialized. I am now converting it into a novel called, The Edison Enigma. It’s a time travel piece, a genre that always fascinated me. A ripple in time that changes the course of history and needs to be corrected. I'm very excited about it.
10. Lastly, what would you like readers to take away from reading a Thomas White story? What would you most wish to convey?
I write what I like to read. I want to keep the reader guessing and intrigued. Mostly I want to entertain and tell a solid story that moves the reader emotionally in one way or the other. I have found too, that sometimes a reader takes away something that I didn’t expect. In one review I received for The Siren’s Song, the review said, “Be prepared for an Eyes Wide Shut ride.” That surprised me. I didn’t expect a comment like that. So, I went back and re-read some of the things I wrote and, I don’t know, you tell me. Here’s one paragraph:
"From the center of this funnel, a head appeared, and she rose slowly out of the water.
She was here: Henry’s vision of holiness. Roxanne to his Cyrano, this lovely creature rose full out of the water and beckoned for him. She floated in front of him, a testament to absolute beauty. She was naked from the waist up, and her long, flowing hair hung down well past her waist. Her breasts were full and firm, and rivulets of water ran between them. Henry caught his breath as she stood before him, and he fell into her as if she were his grave."
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