Tag Archives: horror

The Washerwoman

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(This story appears in my book, Seasons of Imagination. An earlier version was posted here years ago.)

“Careful, we don’t really need a drink now, do we? Gotta pay more attention.”

Stan stood shivering with delayed reaction as he watched the raging river flow by just below his feet. A week of unusually warm temperatures and pouring rain had melted most of the remaining snow creating a torrent in place of the usual babbling stream.

“They don’t call it ‘mud season’ for nothing,” Stan said out loud as his attention was drawn to the slick spot that had almost tipped him into the rushing water. The bank had eroded into the river taking a good chunk of the path with it. The mud around the cave-in made this collapse doubly dangerous. He’d only just caught his balance in time, his momentum carrying him to the edge of the void.

The reaction of his near fall had shaken him more than he cared to admit so he stood watching the water, waiting until his nerves had settled down. Mount Nodbadigat, which appeared to rise directly out of the river, caught his attention.  He had seen this small mountain a thousand times but never noticed its unique shape. It looked like something but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Trying to puzzle it out he unconsciously took his jacket off and tied it around his waist. Feeling calmer, Stan shrugged his shoulders and turned down the path away from the river and mountain.

The conditions were perfect for an early spring hike. Technically it would still be winter for a few more days, but how often does New Hampshire see 70 degree weather in the middle of March? Stan had played hooky from work to get out and walk off some of his cabin fever. He loved to see the seasons change and it wasn’t often he got a chance to walk in Nodbadigat State Park quite this early. He was glad he did, for it was beautiful, a monochromatic masterpiece built largely of browns and grays. The pines supplied splashes of green, but it was a dark green that tended almost to black in the distance. Many of the trees were beginning to bud and some shoots were sprouting, all of which added spice and accents to the stark and dramatic play of dark trunks and golden sunlight.

Stan stopped.

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Martha Goode – The Old Mill

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Martha Goode, and that is the First Martha, was the very first resident of the brand new, ultra-modern Goode Mansion.  Her mother, Abigail, was rushed out of the heavily damaged farm house while in labor (“no child of mien will be born in this house of fire and death”) and gave birth to Martha less than an hour after being moved.

Martha grew up to be a very intelligent woman.  At 18 she gained control of the Goode Mill, the old mill, and took the burnt-out hulk and created the most efficient, most profitable mill in the region, all the while paying the workers at her mill a third more than anyone else paid their labor.

She later lost the mill, a victim of a highly patriarchal society, but kept the mansion, the mansion defined by her; the mansion that defined her.

As she aged, she grew stranger and stranger. Who could blame her after all she had seen, experienced and dealt with, from an extremely violent and abusive “father” to the death threats as her legal battles got stretched across many years. Towards the end, few remembered the remarkable woman who had saved the town, only the eccentric who lived up the hill in the ancient house.  Legends grew around her, even while she was still alive.

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Galvin – The Old Mill

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Galvin is… Well, Galvin is Galvin.  There is no better way to describe him than that.  Some would say he is “a character” or “a bit of local color”.   Others might shake their head and mumble “eccentric” or “oddball” while still others would say “every town has their Galvin.”  Gill isn’t so sure – he has never met anybody quite like the strange, little old man. 

Strange, of course, is a matter of opinion, but “little” fits to some extent.  Galvin is small and wiry, perhaps 5 foot 6 and 115 pounds, maybe less, but surprisingly strong.  In ways, “old” is more attitude than age.  Galvin is in his mid-60s, but has always tried to put himself up as older and more experienced.  And there is something about him that if you didn’t know, you might place him closer to 80 than 60.  Yet he is active and agile, spry as a 22-year-old.

Galvin loves to tell tall tales and can spin quite a yarn.  On the other hand, doing a little research you might find that some of his most outrageous claims about the town’s history are true.

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The Old Mill – Released!

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A stench lies on Avebury, New Hampshire. It isn’t something that one can smell, it is more of a psychic soot polluting everybody’s mood. No one recalls when it arrived, but there does seem to be a connection with the Old Mill and its mysterious new owners.

*

Following the trail of the local legend, the ghost of Martha Goode, Gill Baxter is driven to discover the truth behind the events of 1821 and, hopefully, prevent another “time of dying.” That trail, though, leads directly to The Old Mill.

***

The Old Mill was released today! You can find it on Amazon with the links below:

Kindle
US
UK
France
Canada
Australia
India

Paperback

US
UK
Canada
France
Germany
Italy

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Lyndsey Wallace – The Old Mill

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Lyndsey Wallace is living the dream.  She love, loves her job and is zipping her way up the org chart like nobody’s business.  She gets up every morning raring and restless to get started and yet looks forward to when she might achieve her true dream, being the head of research.  And that goal now seems within her reach.  Only…

Only…

She isn’t sure what’s wrong.

It has to be the move.  The move is frazzling everyone’s nerves. Ripping everything down and rebuilding it.  Reworking every process imaginable.  Ugh.  Her last few weeks have been a nightmare!

Yes, yes, she always loves the challenge.  The sense of accomplishment when she solves the impossible, well, there is nothing quite like it, is there? And there is that energy she gets from doing it all, slaying one daunting task after another.

In many ways, the move has been a test, and she has been acing every problem. She felt fantastic.

Maybe it’s not the move.

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Gill Baxter – The Old Mill

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Gill is the quintessential computer nerd.  He is an extreme introvert, a bit shy and more than a little insecure in his personal life.  Sure, he is super competent and confident where work is concern, and with his hobbies he is a whiz, but where women are concerned?  Forget it.  “That’s what a bitter divorce does to you,” he would say, though he had to admit that he had always been like that.

Which brings up his biggest weakness, his reaction to women.  He is very much a modern man that understands equality, is 100% behind the “Me Too” movement and treats his female colleagues with the same respect as the males.  And yet, he reacts to females in a physical way.  Or, as his friend Wayne would say, “Just the thought of a soft curve or a scent of perfume and he is off his rocker.” Part of that, unfortunately, is that he is easily embarrassed and, again in Wayne’s words, Gill can “blush like a 10-year-old girl, which he does at the drop of a hat.”

In his defense, it usually takes someone knowing how to push his buttons to get him to turn red, something his flirtatious housekeeper, Jessica, has down to a science.

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Kindle Pre-Order – The Old Mill

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A stench lies on Avebury, New Hampshire. It isn’t something that one can smell, it is more of a psychic soot polluting everybody’s mood. No one recalls when it arrived, but there does seem to be a connection with the Old Mill and its mysterious new owners.

*

Following the trail of the local legend, the ghost of Martha Goode, Gill Baxter is driven to discover the truth behind the events of 1821 and, hopefully, prevent another “time of dying.” That trail, though, leads directly to The Old Mill.

***

As I said last week, I have set the release date of The Old Mill! It will be released on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 – one week from today!

Do you own a Kindle and want to see it as soon as it is released? Well, if so, you can pre-order the Kindle version! Here are a few links. If you don’t see your normal store, try searching for it on your Amazon, or letting me know and I’ll try to find a link (I chose the countries where I have sold in the past).

Kindle Pre-Order
US
UK
France
Canada
Australia
India

If you pick it up, I hope you enjoy!

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Release Date – The Old Mill

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A stench lies on Avebury, New Hampshire. It isn’t something that one can smell, it is more of a psychic soot polluting everybody’s mood. No one recalls when it arrived, but there does seem to be a connection with the Old Mill and its mysterious new owners.

*

Following the trail of the local legend, the ghost of Martha Goode, Gill Baxter is driven to discover the truth behind the events of 1821 and, hopefully, prevent another “time of dying.” That trail, though, leads directly to The Old Mill.

***

As you might guess from the blurb, there is a mystery about the Goode family, their mill (one of the first in New Hampshire) and their Federalist mansion. In 2018, computer nerd Gill Baxter is set to solve the mystery. Or, perhaps mysteries, as the more he digs, the more he finds out about Avebury’s premiere family.

Of course it isn’t that simple. There are a lot of people, past and present, that are working to help and to hinder.

Anyway, it has all been worked out, edited, revised, revised again and again, edited more, kneaded, prodded, torn-up and put back together and finally, after almost four years, it is finally here!

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Beta Readers Wanted!

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Old Mill on two Rivers

Hi!  I’m looking for one or two beta readers for my WIP, The Old Mill.  I have just finished the third draft and am pausing for feedback before I start the copy editing; you know, the fixing typos, wrong words, etc., to make it publish ready phase.  Why am I looking for beta readers before cleaning up the manuscript?  Just in case some of the feedback warrants a rewrite of entire sections.  I want all of the big changes (larger than correcting words and sentences) completed before I worry about those little details.

A little history

I posted The Old Mill as a serial story back in 2017.  It is possible you may have read that very rough draft already!  Early last year I began a complete rewrite.  The basic story is the same, but I added detail and filled out the characters.  I also changed POV, which is why it had to be a rewrite. Continue reading →

Web #writephoto

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Photo by Sue Vincet

Mr. Stevens said his goodbyes and left me alone in the ancient manor house. This would be my first night in my ancestral home, and, unfortunately, I’d be spending it alone since Margret was stuck in New York for at least another week.

Father had told me of the existence of the manor, but I had never really thought of it as a real place or ever dreamed I would be the last of my breed and so inherit the place.

Actually, for the most part, Father, didn’t mention his old homeland, but I had once asked him about the manor, being a bit more persistent than usual. He only said that it was owned by Hugh, as was any occupant. He had hated his visits to the ancient house and called his uncle cruel. “Though related by blood, he was no relation to me or my parents.”

I also discovered Father had spent a lot of time there as a child, though he grew up in in distant London. Beyond that cryptic remark about Hugh, he said absolutely nothing about the visits. He had moved to America as a young man and never returned. He hinted that the Alntic Ocean was barely big enough to separate him from his uncle.

Sso this was not only my first night in the old castle, but my first trip over the pond. Continue reading →