Song to the Siren

Overview:

When two young documentary filmmakers start investigating the enigmatic death of the infamous Reed Sinclair, founder of the never-quite-made-it indie rock group The Big Carnival, they interview Reed’s former girlfriend, photographer Samantha (“Sam”) MacNamara– who tells them the story of herself, Reed, and a frightening entity named Belle.

Belle may have simply been how Reed’s troubled mental state interpreted multiple tragedies and coincidences in his life… or she may have been a supernatural being.

As the filmmakers begin to uncover the frightening truth, Sam must face the riddle of her relationship with Reed if she wants to step into the light, away from the specter of Belle and the shadow that was cast over Sam’s life.

Praise for Song to the Siren:

“As soon as I jumped into this book it was hard to put down. When I wasn’t reading it, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up again and often found myself thinking about Reed. The authors did a wonderful job of making this a gripping tale . . . fascinating, creepy, and heartbreaking all at once. Reed has earned a spot in my [list of] favorite characters. He is broken, flawed, but still so caring. I finished this book days ago and I still think about his character. That’s how much I love the guy. Amazing character development . . . The ending was hauntingly beautiful and moving . . . A book I will not soon forget.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”

–IndieBookAddict.com

“As soon as I started reading Song to the Siren, I was taken away to another time and place, namely the midwest United States in the ’60s.The storytelling is so immersive, it was easy to feel that I was actually in the environment, watching the events unfold. Every character is someone that the reader cares about, the background to the main story is full of stories of its own– the tension around changing gender roles in the ’60s– teenage angst and the desire to be in control of your destiny– suburbanites labeling people who are “different.”  But the main story is what draws the reader in. How many will suffer due to the appetite of a malevolent, insatiable force? If you LIKE entertaining books but LOVE to think, this book is for you.”

–Carol Seufert, Educator

“Captivating, entertaining, and thoughtful . . . SONG TO THE SIREN is a must-read paranormal and mythological story. From the utilization of the indie-rock scene as a setting to emotional character growth and the mystery of ‘Belle’ . . . one novel readers won’t want to miss. Rating: 10/10”

–reviewer Anthony Avina

“It’s old school, with a lot of the creepiness appearing in the shadows . . . Could we be witnessing a mental breakdown and delusion, or are we seeing something truly supernatural? Honestly, this book could appeal to the romance crowd equally as much as it could to any lovers of quiet horror. What it is, is a damn good story. It is engaging, entertaining . . . well-written . . . You really could suspend disbelief and think this was a true transcript from a real magazine or documentary. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed it.”

–kendallreviews.com

​”​In spite of the deep and often dark themes in Song to the Siren, the writing style is light and easy to read. The storytelling is intimate and personal in spite of the long span of time it covers. We get to know the characters of Sam, Reed, and Pete quite well, as they face good times, bad times, and the disturbing secrets of growing up. It reminded me of The Babadook in that both involve a dread that stems from grief, except the horror in Sam and Reed’s story doesn’t really come from the wrong sources like so many “horror” stories do these days– not blood nor gore nor sexual titillation, and that’s sadly extremely rare these days. Lien and Cooper make you genuinely care about the people that the scary things happen to. Song to the Siren is a very spooky romance that’s creepy and suspenseful only in all the most fulfilling ways.”

–Rakesh Malik, WinterLight Studios

From the Authors:

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson was kind of instrumental in the writing of Song to the Siren. I remember saying to my husband while we were re-reading Hill House (he likes to read out loud to me) that my next novel was going to be my Shirley Jackson novel, but that probably no one would realize it. I grinned at him and said, “All I need now is a plot, characters, character conflicts, settings, themes, and so on. I don’t know where I’m going, but I have a hunch that it’s going to be a good book.” About a month later, I came up with the idea of an ambiguous horror story involving what my husband calls “scares, drugs, and rock-and-roll.” Song to the Siren is about a lot more than that, too, but I don’t want to spoil anything.

I wrote the character of Song to the Siren‘s Samantha MacNamara, an older woman who is a professional artist, while thinking of Jamie Lee Curtis. I needed a narrator character that the audience would totally trust and believe, someone who was strong, likeable, and spoke in a straightforward manner, as well as a beautiful older woman with short hair, so I immediately thought of Jamie Lee Curtis.