Gina Rae Mitchell

Review: Summer’s Dark Waters by Simon Williams is a wonderful action/fantasy novel that is sure to entertain ages pre-teen through adults. It definitely makes you think about the world around you.

Title: Summer’s Dark Waters

Author: Simon Williams

Genre: Children’s fantasy and adventure

Synopsis from Amazon:

But Joe starts to see things. Impossible things. Specks of dust in the air, shaped into a human form. Eyes that stare back at him from the mirror- eyes that are not his own.

Joe’s best friend Amber is torn between her conscience and her instincts when Joe tells her of the messages he begins to receive in his dreams. But when she walks with him one day into the middle of the woods, something happens that changes their whole world and everything they believe in.

The reality they know will be shattered forever- and their lives will never be the same again.

“I have many secrets. Some of them I’ll never speak of. They’re mine, and they mean nothing to anyone else. But I still have a heart that beats. I can still laugh and cry- not that I laugh very much here as you can imagine- and every now and then I even feel a faint hope in my heart. It leaps at me from out of the dark.”

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Review: Summer’s Dark Waters by Simon Williams

E-Book Details:

• File Size: 6846 KB
• Print Length: 204 pages
• Publisher: CompletelyNovel.com; 1 edition (August 17, 2014)
• Publication Date: August 17, 2014
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00MU30N1G
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Word Wise: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Screen Reader: Supported

Summer's Dark WatersShop on Amazon

Review: Summer’s Dark Waters by Simon Williams

Paperback Details:

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: CompletelyNovel (August 19, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1849145008
• ISBN-13: 978-1849145008
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches

Summer's Dark WatersShop on Amazon

Summer’s Dark Waters is also available on Barnes & Noble.

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My review: Summer’s Dark Waters by Simon Williams

What a fascinating story. 

Summer’s Dark Waters is an intriguing story for all ages. It is marketed towards middle-grade but is certainly enjoyable for everyone. Joe and Emma are typical eleven-year-olds at the opening of the story. That quickly changes as they discover hidden powers, other worlds, mysterious creatures, and more.

I like the way the author hints at violence without actually graphically describing it. I find this appropriate for the suggested readers’ ages, as well as myself.

The suspense and intrigue build page by page toward the finish. The final chapter lets us know that a sequel is coming. 

I recommend this to anyone, regardless of age, interested in science fiction, paranormal, or supernatural.

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Comments are greatly appreciated. Please scroll to the bottom to find the comment section!

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Biography:

Simon Williams is an author of dark fantasy with elements of science fiction and horror, and a rather shapeless male of indeterminate age who seems intent on writing about himself in the third person.

If you’re especially lucky you may see him half-shambling, half-rolling along the street in his home town of Trumpton. You’ll catch the best view from the other side of the road, which is probably where you’ll be anyway. Small children will point excitedly and turn to their parents to exclaim, “It must have been *one hell of a* spade to do that!”

He is the author of the Aona series (five books in all, and the series is complete) and Summer’s Dark Waters, which is a fantasy/sci-fi adventure aimed more at children and teens although judging by the reviews a lot of adults seem to like it too.

[socialpug_tweet tweet=”Read Gina’s review of Summer’s Dark Waters by Simon Williams. It’s perfect for middle-grade & up! #Fantasy #Adventure #Paranormal #Action #Reading #ReadingCommunity #ScienceFiction @SWilliamsAuthor” display_tweet=”Click to share this review of Summer’s Dark Waters on Twitter. I bet you know someone who would love this story!”]

Interview:

How long have you been writing?

Since I was able to hold a pen (or as was the case back then, more likely a crayon…)

What inspired you to write in this genre?

Without doubt, the books I read when I was around 8 or 9 onwards. In fact, they made me decide that this was the only thing I was going to do… as it turned out I wasn’t good at anything else anyway!

In which genre does your life story belong?

I’m not sure there’s a genre boring enough for a fictionalization of my life! That’s why I write fantasy.

Do you have a set writing schedule?

No- I do it as and when I can. I do try to write a minimum amount per day though.

Do you need silence to write, or can you work in any environment?

Oddly enough I prefer a certain level of sound around me- this can be (and often is) music, but I can work just as well with the background noise of a busy cafe

What is your most unusual writing quirk?

I always have to have a working title before I can start on any new work…

Were you an avid reader growing up?

Always!

Do you snack while writing and if so, what is your favorite snack?

Quite often. The desk is consequently filthy. There isn’t much I won’t eat. Pork scratchings, slabs of pate, burgers, pizza, curries… I’m thinking I may need to cut a semi-circle in my desk so I can get to the keyboard.

Who has influenced your writing the most?

Not sure whose influences are the strongest, but all of the following have inspired me: Clive Barker, Alan Garner, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, CJ Cherryh, Tad Williams, Neil Gaiman, CS Lewis, and so many others…

Is there anything you would like my readers to know about you and your book?

Summer’s Dark Waters is a YA fantasy/sci-fi adventure for older kids and adults. There’s also a sequel, The Light From Far Below.

Author’s contact info:

More reviews by Gina

• Blood Awakens by Jessaca Willis
• The Devil’s Apprentice by Kenneth B. Andersen
• The Legend of Jake Howell by Charles A. Reap, Jr.
• The Deprived: Innocent on Death Row by Steffen Hou
• Always Gray in Winter by Mark J. Engels

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