[Dr. Drib]

It's possible you might be confusing these two titles. (Or perhaps he totally revised the earlier work.)

First few paragraphs [quoted]:

The Manor:
Mason Jackson stared at the large oil painting that hung on the wall above the fireplace. It stared right back, as severe as any of Mason’s former art instructors. The scowling face of the portrait dominated the room, ten times life-size. The flesh tones of the oils were so realistic that Mason could imagine the figure bursting free of the ornate wooden frame. A brass plate beneath the painting was etched with the name ephram korban.

Creative Spirit:
1898

If the fire is out, I’m dead.
As Sylva ran through the dark forest, the laurel branches slapped at her and wooden talons raked through her long, flowing hair.
But it wasn’t her fault. Momma had a fever and Daddy was off the mountain with a load of apples, Sylva had to take care of her two little brothers and she was only sixteen and stuck on this idiot mountain and life shouldn’t be so unfair.