David A. Riley's Blog, page 102

Just Renewed My Membership of the BFS

For various reasons I was thinking of letting my membership of the British Fantasy Society lapse. It is after all £35 I could easily spend on something else. But, with a new invigorated committee, and some excellent-looking publications only just published, I've given in and renewed my membership for another year. Fantasycon 2014 is in York, too, which is not far away from where I live - and is also one of my favourite cities.

One of the new books recently published by the BFS:

Edited by Johnny Mains and with artwork by David Whitlam, The Burning Circus is an anthology for members of the British Fantasy Society.
Stories include:

Foreword – Johnny MainsIntroduction – Ramsey CampbellDoll Hands – Adam NevillDeath Walks En Pointe – Thana NiveauThe Burning Circus – Angela SlatterWhere is Uncle Phillip? – Alex HamiltonThe Queen in the Yellow Wallpaper – Lynda E. RuckerThe Peter Lorre Fan Club – Stephen VolkThe Garscube Creative Writing Group – Muriel GrayThe Sixteenth Step – Robert Shearman

I Am Providence

I started reading S. T. Joshi's biography of H. P. Lovecraft on my kindle yesterday. At first I expected to be thoroughly bored with all the ancestral details that obligatorily preface biographies, followed by all the equally tedious details of the subject's early years, their schooling, etc. I was pleasantly surprised to find, though there were the expected ancestral details, that these were relatively brief (possibly because few details are available) and Lovecraft, being Lovecraft, was a prodigious child who soon did things of direct interest with his later life, particularly his fascination, in turn, with all things Arabic (stirred by reading tales from the Arabian Nights), then his lifelong fascination with ancient Rome. Soon, influenced by dime novels, Edgar Allan Poe, and everything else he could lay his hands on to read, particularly from his beloved seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, he was writing short stories which he bound into small hand-made books for sale to his relatives and friends, complete with title pages and copyright details.

So, not far in and already Lovecraft's life is becoming increasingly more interesting.

First Review for The Lurkers in the Abyss

It was great to see a first review for my short story collection, The Lurkers in the Abyss, especially as it is by fellow writer, Shaun Jeffrey. I know that praise from him is praise indeed. Thanks Shaun!

The review can be found here on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

S. T. Joshi's Biography of H. P. Lovecraft, I Am Providence, Available on Kindle.

S. T. Joshi's monumental, two-volume biography of the great H. P. Lovecraft, I Am Providence, is now available at a much more affordable price on kindle. I'm looking forward to reading this.

Amazon.com for $10.14

Amazon.co.uk for £6.37

The Return

My Lovecraftian horror novel, The Return, was withdrawn by Blood Bound Books because the first copies had been printed at the wrong size. It's now available again, priced at £8.06 on Amazon.co.uk and $12.99 on Amazon.com. Kindle copies are also available on both sites, £2.54 and $4.11 respectively.

Reviewers can still get mobi copies from me by emailing me on rileybooks@ntlworld.com. If you prefer hard copies that too can be arranged. 

British Fantasy Awards

The British Fantasy Awards were announced at the World Fantasy Convention:

Best Horror Novel (the August Derleth Award): Last Days by Adam Nevill (Macmillan)

Best Fantasy Novel (the Robert Holdstock Award): Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce (Gollancz)

Best Novella: The Nine Deaths of Dr Valentine by John Llewellyn Probert (Spectral Press)

Best Short Story: Shark! Shark! by Ray Cluley (Black Static #29) (TTA Press)

Best Collection: Remember Why You Fear Me by Robert Shearman (ChiZine)

Best Anthology: Magic: an Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane edited by Jonathan Oliver (Solaris)

Best Comic/Graphic Novel: Saga, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Best Magazine/Periodical: Interzone, Andy Cox (ed.)

Best Small Press (the PS Publishing Independent Press Award): ChiZine Publications (Brett Alexander Savory and Sandra Kasturi)

Best Non-Fiction: Pornokitsch, Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin (eds)

Best Screenplay: The Cabin in the Woods, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard

Best Artist: Sean Phillips

Best Newcomer (the Sydney J. Bounds Award): Helen Marshall, for Hair Side, Flesh Side (ChiZine Publications)

British Fantasy Society Special Award (the Karl Edward Wagner Award): Iain Banks / Iain M. Banks

Launch for The Lurkers in the Abyss at the World Fantasy Convention

My collection of short stories from Shadow Publishing, The Lurkers in the Abyss and Other Tales of Terror, was launched at the World Horror Convention on Friday the 1st November at 2.00 p.m.
Stephen Jones and David A. Riley David A. Sutton, Carl Ford and David A. Riley The launch gets under way One more book signed!

Off to the World Fantasy Convention

In a few minutes Lin and I set off for the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, so there'll be no more blogs till we get back. Early next week I'll be publishing a detailed report here of our experiences, including loads of photos.

Getting Ready For the WFC

My last day at work this week and it's all about getting ready for going to Brighton tomorrow morning for the start of the World Fantasy Convention. The weather looks good today, and I hope it stays that way for the next few days!

Other than attending various program events as a member of the audience and taking photos, I only have one commitment, and that's the Shadow Publishing book launch on Friday afternoon at 2.00 p.m. for, amongst others, my short story collection The Lurkers in the Abyss and Other Tales of Terror. Sorry to have just learned that the only other author who was due to be there, Samantha Lee, won't be able to make it. That just leaves Dave Sutton and me.

Getting Read For the WFC

My last day at work this week and it's all about getting read for going to Brighton tomorrow for the start of the World Fantasy Convention. The weather looks good today, and I hope it stays that way for the next few days!

Other than attending various program events as a member of the audience and taking photos, I only have one commitment, and that's the Shadow Publishing book launch on Friday afternoon at 2.00 p.m. for, amongst others, my short story collection The Lurkers in the Abyss and Other Tales of Terror. Sorry to have just learned that the only other author who was due to be there, Samantha Lee, won't be able to make it. That just leaves Dave Sutton and me.