David A. Riley's Blog, page 14
March 14, 2024
The Triptych of Hell in the latest issue of Lovecraftiana Magazine
It was good to see my story The Triptych of Hell in the latest issue of
Lovecraftiana: the Magazine of Eldritch Horror
, but it's a shame the picture referred to in the story wasn't able to be included. I was originally asked to write the story to accompany the illustration commissioned by a private buyer for a collaboration between Jim Pitts, Allen Koszowski and Dave Carson, renamed Johann Potts, Albertus Krakowski, and Desmond Cartier in the tale.
Day Thirty-Six of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Childe Rolande by Samantha Lee
For day thirty-six of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications, it's Samantha Lee's amazing mix of sword & sorcery and post apocalyptic science fantasy Childe Rolande.
Parallel Universe Publications is proud to announce that we have published Samantha Lee's groundbreaking post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel Childe Rolande as a paperback and kindle e-book.
Originally published by Futura Books in 1989, our new version includes an Introduction by the author and a brand-new cover by talented Scottish artistPaul Mudie, who will be familiar to many for the iconic covers he created forthe Black Books of Horror. There is also the added bonus of interiorchapter headings by award-winning artist Jim Pitts.
ChildeRolande has been optioned by Forlan Films for a proposedTV series and is currently in pre-production development.March 13, 2024
Day Thirty-Five of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: A Handful of Zombies: Tales of the Restless Dead
Day thirty-five of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's the turn of our first (and only) chapbook: A Handful of Zombies: Tales of the Restless Dead by David A. Riley, illustrated throughout by award-winning artist Jim Pitts.
What was intended as the start of a series of low-priced chapbooks, A Handful of Zombies: Tales of the Restless Dead included four previously published short stories by David A. Riley with illustrations by Jim Pitts.
All four stories in this collection cover a wide range of tropes withinthe zombie genre.
Dead Ronnie and I is a taleof high adventure by plane and sea, with an abortive escape by our protagonistto the as yet untainted Isles of Scotland. This was originally published in SanitariumMagazine No 44 in 2016.
His Pale Blue Eyes is probably the most traditional take of zombie stories today,featuring a young girl’s determined search for her parents during a zombieapocalypse. It’s a story, though, about conditioning and how what someone istaught can radically affect their behaviour. Is the horror in this the shamblingundead or the girl herself? See what you think. This first appeared in Bite-SizedHorror edited by Johnny Mains for Obverse Books in 2011.
By contrast Right For You Now, originallypublished in Weirdbook Zombie Annual No 3 in 2021, harks back to the originalconcept of the zombie in Voodoo-haunted Haiti, though this tale is set inpresent-day Britain. It’s a combination of a crime story, revenge, and a man’sobsessive fascination with age-old practices.
Our final tale, Romero’s Children, is morein the way of a science fiction story. The zombies here are certainly the mostdifferent. For a start off they are not dead but have been granted nearimmortality by a drug that swept the world with its promise to stop aging. Alasfor those caught up in the frenzied demand to use it, though, its side effectswere such that they would have been better off dead. This story appeared in2010 in The Seventh Black Book of Horror edited by the late CharlesBlack and was subsequently picked up by American editor Paula Guran for her2012 anthology Extreme Zombies.
March 12, 2024
Phantasmagoria Magazine Hellraiser Special
Very pleased to have a review in the latest issue of Phantasmagoria Magazine, which is a Hellraiser Special. Ironically, my piece is on what is almost certainly the worst Hellraiser movie ever made: Hellraiser: Revelations.
To order it from amazon follow this link: Phantasmagoria Magazine Hellraiser Special
Day Thirty-Four of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 5
Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 5 is available as a paperback and ebook (kindle) amazon.co.uk amazon.com The contents are: The Rotted Land by Charles GramlichSkulls for Silver by Harry ElliottFor the Light by Gustavo BondoniPeople of the Lake by Lorenzo D. LopezFree Diving for Leviathan Eggs by Tais TengThe Black Well by Darin HlavazDegg and the Undead by Susan Murrie MacdonaldThe Mistress of the Marsh by David DubrowSilver and Gold by Earl W. ParrishBridge of Sorrows by Dev Agarwal Prisoners of Devil Dog City by Adrian Cole
March 11, 2024
Floating Free to be published in September
I just received notification that a longish story of mine called Floating Free has been accepted for publication in September this year.
More details later.
Day Thirty-Three of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 4
Day Thirty-Three of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 4, published in June 2022. amazon.co.uk
Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 4 contains eleven tales:
In the Iron Woods by Dev Agarwal
My People Were Fair and Wore Stars in Their Hair by Andrew Darlington
At Sea by Geoff Hart
The Flesh of Man by Frank Sawielijew
City at the Mouth of Chaos by Adrian Cole
In the Belly of the Beast by Edward Ahern
The Tracks of the Pi Nereske by Wendy Nikel
Slaves of the Monolith by Paul D. Batteiger
The Green Wood by David Dubrow
Demonic by Phil Emery
The Whips of Malmac by H. R. Laurence
March 10, 2024
Day Thirty-Two of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 3
Day thirty-two of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's the turn of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 3, published in November 2021.
March 9, 2024
Day Thirty-One of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: A Grim God's Revenge: Dark Tales of Fantasy & Horror
Day thirty-one of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's A Grim God's Revenge: Dark Tales of Fantasy & Horror by David A. Riley, published in 2021.
A Grim God's Revenge by David A. Riley includes fourteen dark tales of fantasy and horror ranging from 1971 to 2020.
Dead Ronnie and I was first published in Sanitarium issue 44, 2016
Corpse-Maker was first published in Weird Window issue 2, 1971
The Urn was first published in Whispers issue 1, 1972
Gwargens was first published in Beyond issue 3, 1995
Retribution was first published in Peeping Tom issue 3, 1991
The Bequest was first published in Dark Horizons, 2008
They Pissed on My Sofa was first published in Malicious Deviance, 2011
Old Grudge Ender was first published in The Screaming Book of Horror, 2012
A Girl, a Toad and a Cask was first published in The Unspoken, 2013
Scrap was first published in Dark Visions 1, 2013
Lem was first published in The Eleventh Black Book of Horror, 2015
A Grim God’s Revenge was first published in Mythic issue 4, 2017
Grudge End Cloggers was first published in Scare Me, 2020
Hanuman was first published in Phantasmagoria issue 16, 2020
March 8, 2024
Day Thirty of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 2
Hot on the heels of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 1, our book being showcased today is Volume 2.
Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 2 is available as a paperback and ebook.The paperback is £11.99; the kindle version is £2.99
The contents of Volume 2 are:
Introduction by David A. RileyThe Essence of Dust by Mike ChinnHighjacking the Lord of Light by Tais TengOut in the Wildlands by Martin OwtonZale and Zedril by Susan Murrie MacdonaldThe Amulet and the Shadow by Steve DilksAntediluvia: Seasons of the World by Andrew DarlingtonA Thousand Words for Death by Pedro IniguezStone Snake by Dev AgarwalSeven Thrones by Phil EmeryThe Eater of Gods by Adrian Cole
Illustrations by Jim Pitts.
Amazon.co.uk £11.99 paperback/£2.99 kindle
