A horror novel about an old mansion harboring the soul of its creator artist, Creative Spirit tells the story of a group of artists there on retreat whose souls are desired by the long departed owner. A little bizarre, not terribly scary, I think I was looking for a bit more that never appeared. There were some good scenes, though. I ended with some questions that went unanswered. ( )

In Creative Spirit, a group of artists from a variety of fields are brought to a remote Appalachian retreat where they are staying at the Korban Manor. The manor is a place that has trapped numerous spirits over the years, all under the power of former master of the estate Ephram Korban, who has transcended his human body and stays alive inside of the manor. Now he wants to be made flesh once again and needs the help of the guests from the retreat. Parapsychologist Anna Galloway is dying of cancer and is led to the manor because she has dreams where she sees her own ghost at the manor. Meanwhile, Mason Jackson, a sculptor is using this retreat as a go-for-broke attempt to realize his dreams. Unbeknownst to him, Ephram Korban has more devious plans for him in an attempt to sculpt him back to life, while he plans on using Anna’s psychic power to accomplish his nefarious goals.

One of the things that I enjoy about Nicholson’s novels is how he makes use of setting. In this case, the remote part of the Appalachian Mountains in which the story takes place is a perfect setting. It delivers the right mood and atmosphere for what is to follow. The story is a bit complex and not always easy to follow, but things come together by the end of the novel, where the individual storylines are woven together in a fiery finale. This is an enjoyable novel that I would recommend.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street ( )

Author Scott Nicholson does a credible job of telling a story. The plot is nicely paced, there are a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming and the ending was satisfying. The problem that I had was with the dialogue. It was so flat and unnatural that the characters never came to life. I can’t get fully engaged in a horror story if I don’t care what happens to the main character. For $2.99 on the Kindle I felt like I got my money’s worth, but I wasn’t overly impressed ( )

Artists from all over the country come to awaken their muse as a historic countryside mansion that some say is haunted by the long dead owner. Little do they know just how haunted the mansion and surrounding lands really are. Who can and cannot be trusted? Who's dead and who's alive? Is it the artists doing the creating or something far more evil and powerful?

Another great story by Scott Nicholson. It's full of detail, imagination and creepy goodness. Well done. ( )

I really wanted to like this book as I typically love all of Scott Nicholson's work, but I found it hard to finish. The main characters were fleshed out, but I just did not find myself caring what happened to them. It was a good ghost story with a foreseeable twist at the end. I will continue reading this author's work as he is a great writer. ( )