David A. Riley's Blog, page 16
March 2, 2024
Day Twenty-Four of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter
Day twenty-four of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter.
The Crabian Heart: A Synopsis
Irena and her thirteen-year-old son Aleš are refugees living in a lonely seaside town of Dover, England. Aleš has never seen an ocean, let alone one that glows purple when he’s nearby. On a local beach, he befriends the ostensible Mother of Crabs, an amputee with rigid demeanour and unequivocal warnings. Soon, purple crustaceans crawl behind his every step and women with pincers threaten to recondition his sensitive heart.
Erik Hofstatter is a dark fiction writer and a member of the Horror Writers Association. Born in the wild lands of the Czech Republic, he roamed Europe before subsequently settling on English shores, studying creative writing at the London School of Journalism. He now dwells in Kent, where he can be encountered consuming copious amounts of mead and tyrannizing local peasantry. His work appeared in various magazines and podcasts around the world such as Morpheus Tales, Crystal Lake Publishing, The Literary Hatchet, Sanitarium Magazine, Wicked Library, Tales to Terrify and Manor House Show. Other works include The Pariahs, Amaranthine and Other Stories, Katerina, Moribund Tales and Rare Breeds.
Starburst magazine by Jon Towlson.
"...the emotional tug that The Crabian Heart exerts on the reader is palpable. The Crabian Heart is also a coming-of-age tale, one that resonates with the pangs of unrequited love. And as such, it concludes, like all great coming-of-age stories, with a very difficult and painful realisation for the love-struck main character. By the end of its 100 pages you will find yourself both haunted and moved by Hofstatter’s evocative writing."
hellnotes
"I like this little collection a lot. Definitely a case of bigger not always being better. Hofstatter could have watered this down with more words, but that would have taken the impact out of the stories. I also like how he slips a lot of important messages into his work. For example “people are scared of what they don’t know…or understand,” says Enola, as she and Ales walk along the beach. Zsofia tells him that life is a gamble and his mother points out that the powers that be make the rules that govern us and we have to go where they tell us to. Ultimately, the decisions of what we do are ours, but I’d like to suggest that you try a copy of The Crabian Heart. That forward is going to be the icing on the cake!"
Hardback, paperback & kindle:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
You can order the hardcover version direct from us on this link, post free.
You can order the softcover version direct from us on this link, post free.
March 1, 2024
Day Twenty-Three of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Parlour Tricks by Carl Barker
For the start of a new month and day twenty-three of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications we have Carl Barker's collection of short stories: Parlour Tricks. The cover illustration is the work of talented artist Luke Spooner.
Devil worshippers stalk the ageing boards of Blackpool Pier, a scrap-yard automaton devours the souls of lost children, and a murderous priest hunts an ancient she-demon through the streets of New York.A selection of horror stories to chill the blood, featuring revenant felines, garbage-eating clairvoyants, flesh-eating magpies and a severed head with murder in mind. Unexploded Girlfriends (c) 2010 was first published in Dark Horizons, Issue 57, BFS Journal, Winter 2010.From Chatterton Hill (c) 2011 was first published in Estronomicon, October 2011.Old Loves Die Hard (c) 2012 was first published in Title Goes Here, Issue 12, July 2012.Eater of Lost Causes (c) 2011 was first published in Full Fathom Forty, BFS, October 2011.With The Band (c) 2013 was first published in Niteblade, Issue #25, September 2013.Fish Out of Water (c) 2011 was first published in Midnight Movie Creature Feature, May December Publications, October 2011.Kicks (c) 2013 was first published in Miseria's Chorale, Forgotten Tomb Press, November 2013.Why the Wild Things Are (c) 2010 was first published in Zombie Zoology, Severed Press, May 2010.The Man Who Came to Dinner (c) 2009 was first published in Midnight Street, Issue #12, April 2009.Things Lost in Fire (c) 2011 was first published in Dark Gothic Resurrected, October 2011.Junkyard Dog, The Certainty of Chance, The Cabinet of Ed Monroe, and Lemming Revolution (c) 2016 are all original to this collection.
Paperback & kindle:amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
February 29, 2024
Great review of my story An Oddity which was in Shlock! Webzine
Very pleased to see some kind comments about my story An Oddity, which appeared in Schlock! Webzine recently.
Day Twenty-Two of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Nightscape by Eric Ian Steele
Eric Ian Steele is a novelist and screenwriter from Manchester, England. He is the writer of the horrornovel The Autumn Man, as well as the thriller feature film TheStudent (2017) and the action/sci-fi feature film Clone Hunter(2010). He won the prestigious Writers on the Storm screenwriting contest in 2012and has had short films produced across the USA. He has also written for hireon a children’s sci-fi animated TV series. His short stories range fromscience-fiction to horror and fantasy and can be found in numerous anthologiesand magazines including Terror Tales alongside fiction by Neil Gaimanand Kim Newman, The Lovecraft E-Zine, Horror Without Victims, thesuperhero fiction anthology POW!erful Tales, and the zombie poetrycollection Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes! Some of his most recent films are the present day vampire thriller set in Manchester Boy #5 (available on amazon prime), Day of the Clones and 1942.
Nightscape includes eleven tales:
Charlie - first published in Terror Tales #4, edityed by John B. Ford and Paul Kane
The Musical Box - first published in Chaos Theory: Tales Askew #13, edited by A. A. Roberts
The Groaner in the Glen - first published in The Lovecraft eZine #29, edited by Mike Davis
City of the Damned - first published in In Bad Dreams II
Black Annis - first published in The Willows #1, edited by Ben Thomas
After the Fall - first published in Chaos Theory: Tales Askew #3, edited by A. A. Roberts
Moths - first published in Scifantastic
Cycle - first published in Terminal Earth
A Dahlia Among the Roses, Ars Armortia, and Indian Summer are original to this collection.
amazon.co.uk £20.00amazon.comFebruary 28, 2024
Day Twenty-One of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Benjamin Blake's Standing on the Threshold of Madness
For day twenty-one of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications it's the turn of the only book of poetry so far published by PUP, Benjamin Blake's Standing on the Threshold of Madness.
Respected Lovecraftian scholar S. T. Joshi had this to say about Benjamin Blake's collection, Standing on the Threshold of Madness:"I was most impressed with Standing on the Threshold of Madness. These dark, brooding vignettes do far more than send a shudder up one's spine (although they do that again and again, with elegance and panache). Benjamin Blake has found a way to infuse into his horrific lyrics a keen sensitivity to human emotions, an understanding of the fragility of life, and a bleak portrayal of the evanescence of all existence. This is a volume that aficionados of weird poetry will want to read over and over."
Other comments about Benjamin Blake and his poetry:“Benjamin Blake relishes funereal lyricismwith a spice of surrealism.” - Ramsey Campbell
“A plethora of dark and haunting poemsthat could be likened to a bone chilling symphony overall! Mood enhancinglanguage that will curdle the blood, and excellent, original imagery!” - MargeSimon, Bram Stoker Award winning poetBenjamin Blake was born in the July of 1985, and grew up in the small town of Eltham, New Zealand. He is the author of the poetry and prose collections A Prayer for Late October, Southpaw Nights, and Reciting Shakespeare with the Dead. His debut novel, The Devil's Children, was published in October of 2016. Find more of his work at www.benjaminblake.com
Paperback and kindle: You can order this book direct from us post free on this link.
amazon.co.uk amazon.com
February 27, 2024
Day Twenty of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Radix Omnium Malum and Other Incursions by Mike Chinn
Day twenty of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's Radix Omnium Malum and Other Incursions by Mike Chinn, published in February 2017.
Mike Chinn lives in Birmingham, UK, with his wife Caroline and their tribe of guinea pigs. In 2012 he took early retirement so he can spend more time writing (and not housework). Over the years he has published over sixty short stories, as well as editing three volumes of THE ALCHEMY PRESS BOOK OF PULP HEROES, and SWORDS AGAINST THE MILLENNIUM, also for The Alchemy Press. His own contribution to the Pulp Adventure genre, THE PALADIN MANDATES garnered two nominations for the British Fantasy Award in 1999. A second Damian Paladin book, WALKERS IN SHADOW, is to be published by Pro Se Productions; as is a Western: REVENGE IS A COLD PISTOL. In 2015, his Sherlock Holmes steampunk mash-up, VALLIS TIMORIS (Fringeworks), sent the famous detective to the Moon.
Radix Omnium Malum and Other Incursions includes the following stories:
“Radix Omnium Malum” originally published in THE GRIMORIUM VERUM ©2015
“Two Weeks Saturday” originally published in DARK HORIZONS 23 ©2004
“Kittens” originally published in READ RAW ©2009
“Blood of Eden” originally published in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF DRACULA ©1997
“Suffer a Witch” originally published in SALVO 7 ©2003
“Cheechee’s Out” originally published in SECOND CITY SCARES ©2013
“The Owl that Calls” originally published on WikiWorm ©2013
“The Pygmalion Conjuration” originally published in THE TENTH BLACK BOOK OF HORROR ©2013
“To Die For” originally published in BFS JOURNAL 10 ©2014
“Sons of the Dragon” originally published in kZINE 1 ©2011
“Only the Lonely” originally published in DARK VALENTINE 4 ©2011
“Rescheduled” originally published in FINAL SHADOWS ©1991
“Considering the Dead” originally published in DARK MUSES, SPOKEN SILENCES ©2013 “Wednesday Morning at Five O’Clock” originally published in PHOBOPHOBIAS ©2014
“The Streets of Crazy Cities” and “The Mercy Seat” are original to this collection. ©2017
Paperback and kindle:
You can order the softcover direct from us on this link, post free.
February 26, 2024
Day Nineteen of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Shades: Dark Tales of Supernatural Horror by Joseph Rubas
Day Nineteen of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications brings us to Shades: Dark Tales of Supernatural Horror by Joseph Rubas.
Joseph Rubas began writing in 2002 after reading Stephen King’s The Stand. His earliest efforts reflected his deep love of that novel; he tried again and again to write a rip-off, but finally gave up around 2006 and resigned himself to writing original fiction. His first short story was published in May 2010 on the now defunct Horror Bound Online website. His second story was published in September 2010 in a Pushcart Prize nominated literary magazine for new and beginning writers called The Storyteller. Since then, his work has appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies. His first collection, the now out of print Pocketful of Fear, was released by a small publisher in 2012. His second collection, After Midnight, appeared in 2014. His short fiction has appeared in: Nameless Digest; The Horror Zine; Eschatology Journal; Thuglit; Manor House; All Due Respect, and others. He has self-published three longer works: The Rocking Dead: Seasons 1-3 (a parody of the AMC series The Walking Dead); The Rocking Dead: Season 4; The Shapeshifter; and Dracula 1912, the latter a novel.
He currently resides in Albany, New York.
This Collection includes:Passing the Buck
Midnight
Aokigahara
Snowbound
Deja Vu
The Ghostly Hitchhiker
Just a Mask
Meeting Ray Bradbury
5051 Bartley Square
The Witching Hour
Potter's Field
The Warlock
Confessional
The Thing in the Woods
The Lake House
Chomo
The Traveling Show of 2016
Evildoer
A Perfect Life
Fury
Paint
Night of the Dog
Paperback and kindle: You can order this book direct from us on this link, post free.
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
February 25, 2024
Day Eighteen of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: The Chameleon Man & Other Terrors by David Williamson
Day eighteen of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications brings us to David Williamson's collection The Chameleon Man & Other Terrors.
This collection includes four tales that originally appeared in the Pan Books of Horror.
The ProcedureThe ScryerNo Room at the FlatThe SandmanThe Too Good SamaritanThe Not So Good SamaritanThe Chameleon ManThe SwitchRest in PiecesAshes to AshesBlind DateHerbert Manning's Psychic CircusThe BoyTen WeeksDin-Dins for BinkyA Reflection of the TimesAnd the Dead Shall SpeakBoys will be BoysA Night to RememberA Problem Shared
David Williamson has been writing horror stories for many years, and was first published in the prestigious Pan Book of Horror series, where he had a tale in number 28. This was followed by a further three stories in Pan number 30 which, sadly, turned out to be the last of that great series. It was not until he was contacted by Johnny Mains, a walking encyclopaedia in the field of Pan Horror and its authors, that his passion for writing horror was once more re-kindled, and Johnny introduced him to Charles Black, the editor of The Black Book of Horror. Since then, David has been a regular contributor to the wonderful Black Books series, alongside many other well known authors both from the Pan era and more recent times. He has also appeared in several other anthologies from publishers such as Hersham Horror, Gray Friar Press and Hazardous Press.
He lives in West Sussex near the sea.
Paperback and kindle:
You can order this book direct from us on this link, post free. amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
February 24, 2024
Day Seventeen of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: A Place of Skulls and Other Tales by David Ludford
Day seventeen of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications brings us to A Place of Skulls and Other Tales by David Ludford. This collection includes twelve tales of terror previously published in Schlock! magazine.
Contents are:
A Place of SkullsAin't No Grave Can Hold My Body DownAlmost HumanBonestaffBridesmaidsDummiesHeretics, Neophytes and NemesisKilling ClownsSkinnybonesSleepwalkerThe BoxThe Burning Tree
Paperback and kindle:
You can order this book direct from us on this link, post free. amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
February 23, 2024
Day Sixteen of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Haunted Grave and Other Stories by Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso
Day sixteen of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications brings us to Haunted Grave and Other Stories by Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso, "Eight Tales of Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction from the African Continent."
Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso is an MA graduate of Creative Writing, Swansea University Wales. His short stories, poems and non-fiction have appeared in a couple of journals, anthologies and magazines such as Emanation: Foray into Forever, Africa Roar Anthology, Open Road Review, Criterion Journal, ANA Review, Ground's Ear Anthology, Future Lovecraft, African Eyeball, Miracle e-zine, Episteme Journal, Texts on SAVVY Journal. He has been shortlisted in IdeasTap Inspires: Writers' Centre Norwich Writing competition, Ghana Poetry Prize, and Quickfox Poetry Competition.
Contents are:Eaters of FleshThe Last Man StandingExorcismHaunted GraveTo Love is StrangeA Cursed CityThe Game of AidsThe Green Race
Paperback and kindle:
You can order this book direct from us on this link, post free. amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
