MOTHS / IN THE MIRROR

A 20,000 word novella, reprinted by Cosmos Books in 2001
ISBN 1-58715-4056

An interesting pairing of novellas, both of them published by us. we're delighted to say that Sarah Singleton is now an award winning author with many young adult titles to her name.
Visit her here www.crowmaiden.plus.com  

Excerpt

Simon Desborough stared out through the leaded glass of the bedroom window at the approaching car as it meandered slowly along the lane. Soon the occupants would see the lights of the house and the lights would draw them in, a beacon in the early evening twilight. On the bed behind him something moved sensuously under the sheet, silky, fluid movements that betrayed growing anticipation and rising excitement. Desborough turned away from the window and threw a desultory glance at the bed. "They're here. You'd better get ready." Then he walked from the bedroom, closed the door behind him, and prepared himself to greet his guests.

            In the battered BMW, Heather Grant turned to her boyfriend of just three months. "Are you sure Simon won't mind you bringing me along?"

            David Aylwin negotiated a pothole in the lane, allowing the power steering to do most of the work for him. "Of course he won't mind, he's expecting it. I told him I was bringing you, remember?" 

            Through a stand of elms Heather caught brief glimpses of a house, a mighty structure that called upon influences from several different architectural styles. A solid Victorian, redbrick building that boasted Gothic elements in its towers and turrets, yet finessed by the Regency portico and windows that presented a more refined appearance to the world.  An annexe stood on the west side of the house, connected to the main building, but seeming to stand alone in its Edwardian simplicity.

            "Is that the house?" she asked.

            "Desborough Hall," David said.

            "Rather grand isn't it?"

            "You'll get used to it after a while."

            The car crunched onto the gravel forecourt, and David stopped the engine as Simon opened the front door and came down the steps to meet them.

            He regarded David coolly for a moment then a huge grin spread over his face and he hugged his friend. "It's been too bloody long," he said warmly.

            "Two years and only one letter, you uncommunicative bastard," David said, and threw a mock punch. "How the hell are you?"

            "Fine, just fine," Simon said, and turned to Heather. "Well, for once you didn't exaggerate, David. She's as beautiful as you said she was."

            Heather felt her cheeks flush. To hide her embarrassment she leaned forward and kissed Simon on the cheek. "David's told me so much about you, I feel that I know you already," she said. "I can't wait to see inside the house either. David tells me you have an amazing collection of art."

            Simon laughed. "If no-one's warned you yet, let me be the first. David exaggerates wildly about most things. It's part of his charm."

            "Nonsense," David said. "The house is a bloody museum."

            "Come inside, then. You can judge for yourself." He led them up the steps to the front door. "You both look done in," he said affably. "I'll show you to your rooms and you can freshen up. Drinks at seven in the morning room, dinner at eight, black tie. The others should be here soon."

            David paused on the top step. "Others?"

            "Just a few friends and neighbours, nothing too elaborate. They wanted a get together to welcome me back to the country. I thought tonight would be as good a time as any."

            They followed him into the house. The entrance hall was huge, its marble floor laid out in a chess-board of black and white squares, so brightly polished it squeaked under their feet.

            Heather looked about her with excitement and something close to awe. The only time she had been in a house as impressive as this she had had to pay for a guided tour. As a former art student her eyes consumed the details of the hall greedily. From the Frederick Leighton original at the top of the sweeping horseshoe staircase, to the cabinet containing a breath-taking collection of Lalique glass; from the gilt and crystal chandeliers, to the deceptive simplicity of the Tiffany lamp that shared a small walnut table with a, decidedly 'fifties style, black bakerlite telephone. An eclectic assembly of art, untrammelled by one dominant style or trend, revelling in the disparate nature of its own randomness. A sheer delight. And this was just the hall. She could not wait to see the rest of the house.

            An old man appeared from one of the rooms leading off from the hall; small, stooped, with an oriental cast to his features.

            "Akira will fetch your bags in and take them up to your rooms," Simon said, then barked an order in fluent Japanese at the old man. Akira kept his eyes downcast but acknowledged the command with a slight inclination of his head. With shuffling steps he progressed to the open front door.

Excerpt ends

“Succeed in terrifying where some other more graphic authors fail. The pacing is near perfect.”
Masters Of Terror, UK.

"Not content to simply revise ancient lore or occult traditions, Maynard and Sims prove themselves modern mythmakers in their own right, creating believable, larger than life embodiments of evil no less breathtaking than the deities found in cross-cultural sacred texts.  Perhaps nowhere is their singular ability of crafting new night terrors from universal elements of our condition more apparent than in "Moths," a novella deservedly recognized by the horror and fantasy community.  Their conceptualization of "The Tashkai," a demon capable of draining the talents from those vulnerable human beings it infatuates with its presence, is as fascinating as it is evocative of people in our own world who do the same, using sheer force of personality to drain from admirers the very thing that makes them individuals. 

In this novella the danger of losing the internal traits that define us is emphasized.   Psychic-like vampires of mind and talent, the "Tashkai" are at once exotically captivating and repulsive. Beneath the refined manners, unblemished skin, and appearance of grace lurks corruption, decay, and the absolute hunger of greed – if one has to foresight or ability to peel back surface illusion and stare.  The creatures themselves stir within the reader mixed, conflicting emotions of lust and envy, fear and welcome, mirroring the appeal of the supernatural genre itself, and specifically pointing out Maynard and Sims talent of assaulting us with terror at the very same time that they titillate us with it.  I wonder if something of the "Tashkai" doesn't lurk in them, cleverly using our own expectations, fears, and desires to give their fictions such immediacy and lustrous power." WILLIAM P SIMMONS, USA Reviewer.

"MOTHS is one of the most entertaining novellas I have read in the past couple of years. Maynard & Sims write with a fluid graceful style and know how to involve the reader in their story. Although MOTHS appears to be set in the present day, it harks hack to both an era and story telling style that appeared to have gone. The story is set primarily in Desborough Hall and the worlds of affluence and influence. David and his fiancée go to visit his friend Simon, who owns Desborough Hall after not having seen his very best friend for some time. Shortly after their arrival David becomes concerned about the influence that Simon's Japanese bride to be and her family may be exerting on him. Wrapped in Far Eastern mythology MOTHS is a treat. If you are led to thinking that perhaps because of its setting and style MOTHS is a bit of a slow, old fashioned story - you couldn't be more wrong. MOTHS contains the sex and violence present in modern day horror and when the chills come they are startling and effective. Maynard & Sims succeed in terrifying where some other more graphic authors fail. The pacing of the tale is near perfect and it was a shame to reach the end. Top class fiction from Maynard & Sims and based on this tine story surely their hour of glory must be nigh ....."
MASTERS OF TERROR, UK.

"Briefly. Moths concerns a well off and happy young couple, Heather and David, who make their way to a stately old hall in deepest Wiltshire to visit David's childhood friend Simon. But all is not as it seems... The authors have a grasp of craftsmanship, which many a writer might envy, alongside an eye for detail and a knack for unobtrusive but telling characterisation. Subtle notes of menace sound within the first few lines, and continue to grow in volume and resonance right up to a marvellous climax. All in all, a superb piece of fiction that augurs well for the future. Devotees of James, Aycliffe or Campbell, take note." ZENE, UK.

"Ooh, ooh, ooooh, get this one. We're talking seriously wow here. It digs its claws into you then drags you willingly through a tense tale of secrets and Japanese style mythos and you can practically taste the impending doom in the air.
     The scene is set at a dinner party held by Simon Desborough at his ancestral home to which David, one of his oldest friends is invited. Now, it's been a couple of years and they're bound to have a bit of catching up to do - introducing significant others and so forth but as Simon's fiancée gets to know David's girlfriend and David starts finding out certain things about the whole twisted family, the portents start flying unmindful of who they hit.
     There are night time beasties, hidden temples, a thousand elephants. . . moths, I meant moths. . . and prophetic dreams with thin sensuous threads winding the whole caboodle together into a rich weaving of ancient evil and helpless desire. Absolutely loved it."
PRISM - BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY, UK.

" Maynard and Sims are familiar names to those who know. Not only have they set up and run the superlative Enigmatic Press, but they have a very fine reputation for supernatural tale-telling of their own. Moths is a very fine example of this duo's gift. Unpredictable, creepy and disturbing, the tale deals with the strangeness of David Alywin's old friend Simon Desborough, recently returned from Japan with a new fiancée. Visiting the Desborough estates deep in Wiltshire, David notices a strange tension in his friend. Something disturbs him also about bride in preparation Anna Otani, and her oriental family. When he discovers, to his horror, that the Otani’s are now owners of the Desborough assets, he digs deep to find out just what is going on. What he finds underlying events, the monstrous Tashkai, are beyond all imagining.

Slow building; the novella paints clearly the culture clash between the Otani and the British players. Menace seeps through the pages, and it is the oppression of niggles that turn up the heat. A thing not right here, something just off-kilter there - the effect is quite beautiful in its understated power. When plot lurches forward, there is a real sense of unpredictability; neither the main players nor we have time to gather ourselves for the explosion. Among the triumphs of this spooky little piece are the villains in question, the Tashkai. Maynard and Sims have reached into Japanese culture to create a unique and disturbing monster in the classic tradition. Though they share some traits with the vampire, there is a real originality at work here, a discontentment with tired motifs, and the creation of something startlingly new. It’s easy to forget how terrifying the unknown really is. If only more writers worked so hard to take our comforting nightmares away from us, to replace them with such horrifying creatures as this.

In tone and mood, it is easy to see why the work of this partnership is often compared to M R James. If James had a crown for the passing, to Maynard and Sims it would have to go."
RICHARD WRIGHT, UK Writer.

Copyright © 2008 L.H. Maynard & M.P.N. Sims