Richard is forty-seven. His wife, Ria, is forty-three. After years of saving every coin, they trade the noise of the city for a crumbling house hidden deep in the forest, a place where they can finally live among animals, birdsong and silence. The house is abandoned, damp and worn by time, but to them it is perfect. It is theirs. Their dream lasts only a few days. It begins with a drip. Then a whisper behind the walls. Then water begins to rise through the floorboards, cold, dark and impossibly patient, filling the kitchen, the hallway, the bedroom. There is no leak, no broken pipe, no storm outside. There is only something ancient that does not want them there. Richard and Ria soon understand that the house is not empty. The Spirit of Water has lived here far longer than any owner, and it will drown their new life before it even begins unless they find a way to stop it. As the level climbs and the doors refuse to open, the couple must face a terrifying truth: the forest has been watching them since the day they arrived. The Tide Beneath the Floorboards is the first book in a haunting three-part series about love, courage and the price of chasing a dream. Some dreams begin with a key. This one begins with a flood.

Lio Stan is a horror author fascinated by isolated houses, ancient forests, and the spirits said to linger within them. Inspired by real folklore and the unease of the unknown, Lio writes stories where ordinary people face extraordinary, elemental forces. Lio Stan believes the scariest stories are the ones that feel like they could be true.