David A. Riley's Blog, page 28

Leafing through The Ever More Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts

 

Here is a short video of me leafing through the latest proof copy of The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts which will be published later this month in hardcover. 

Pre-order copies are available for £25 plus postage and packing. After publication the price will rise to £30.00 plus p&p. 

Since we brought out The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts in 2017 Jim has been constantly busy, including interior artwork for Elak: King of Atlantis and After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales, covers for Phantasmagoria magazine, and a host of other projects, with new techniques and fresh designs. 

The Ever More Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts will be a fitting sequel to the first volume, published in hardcover and packed with black and white and full-colour illustrations.

 

My story The Psychic Investigator to be published in the Halloween issue of Lovecraftiana magazine

Very pleased to have woken up this morning to find that my latest "Lovecraftian" story, The Psychic Investigator, which stands at just over 12,000 words, has been accepted for inclusion in the Halloween issue of Lovecraftiana magazine.

Submissions for Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 4 open today until 31st May

Submissions for Swords & Sorceries Volume 4 open this year from the 1st April until 31st May

Payment is £25 per story regardless of length, plus a contributor's copy. The book will be published as a paperback and ebook. If a hardcover version is published we will pay an additional £25. Contributors can also buy extra copies of the book through us at cost price. 

Please send your submissions as attachments (doc or docx) headed "Submission - Swords & Sorceries 4" to:

paralleluniversepublications@gmx.co.uk

You can send in more than one submission, but we will not accept more than one story per writer.

Although we prefer original stories we are prepared to consider reprints. Please inform us where and when it was previously published. 

You can send in simultaneous submissions, but please let us know at once if your story is accepted elsewhere.

There is no limit on the size of submissions.  

All rejections and acceptances will be sent out by email at the end of the first week in June. Please don't enquire about your submission before then.

And good luck!

In the past we have received a number of stories that may be fantasy but are not swords and sorcery. If you are unsure what the swords and sorcery genre is, why not get a better idea by checking out volumes 1 - 3:

Also check out our dedicated facebook group:  Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy

   

The contents of Volume One are:

THE MIRROR OF TORJAN SUL - Steve Lines

THE HORROR FROM THE STARS - Steve Dilks

TROLLS ARE DIFFERENT - Susan Murrie Macdonald

CHAIN OF COMMAND - Geoff Hart

DISRUPTION OF DESTINY - Gerri Leen

THE CITY OF SILENCE - Eric Ian Steele

RED - Chadwick Ginther

THE RECONSTRUCTED GOD - Adrian Cole

The cover and all the interior artwork is by Jim Pitts.  amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

The contents of Volume 2 are:

The Essence of Dust by Mike Chinn

Highjacking the Lord of Light by Tais Teng

Out in the Wildlands by Martin Owton

Zale and Zedril by Susan Murrie Macdonald

The Amulet and the Shadow by Steve Dilks

Antediluvia: Seasons of the World by Andrew Darlington

A Thousand Words for Death by Pedro Iniguez

Stone Snake by Dev Agarwal

Seven Thrones by Phil Emery

The Eater of Gods by Adrian Cole 

Illustrations by Jim Pitts.

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

 

 
The contents of Volume 3 are: Sorcerous Vengeance by Lorenzo D. Lopez  Seal Snatchers of Jorsaleem by Tais Teng When the Gods Send You Rats by Chadwick Ginther  Mother's Bones by Carson Ray In the Lair of the Snake-Witch by Darin Hlavaz The Rains of Barofonn by Mike Chinn Wardark by Craig Herbertson The Foliage by Rab Foster  In the Lair of the Moonmen by Jon Hansen  Sailing on the Thieves' Tide by Adrian Cole Illustrations by Jim Pitts. 

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

 

An ambition achieved

Ever since getting this August Derleth anthology in 1966 with its fabulous front cover I have wanted to write a story about a Gorgon's head, but have never thought up an appropriate plot in which to use it - not till I recently completed a tale I have titled An Oddity. 

One ambition achieved, though it did take 56 years!

My review of Robert Aickman: An Attempted Biography by R. B. Russell to be on Big Hits Radio UK tomorrow

My review of Robert Aickman: An Attempted Biography by R. B. Russell will be read out by Trevor Kennedy on his weekly Sunday show on Big Hits Radio UK tomorrow between 12 noon and 2 p.m.

The review will also be published in the next issue of Phantasmagoria magazine. 

 

New fantasy story finished

Well, that's a new ten thousand word fantasy story finished. 

Still undecided on the title. It's a choice between The Beautiful Homunculus or Ossani the Healer and the Beautiful Homunculus.  

Ossani the Healer is a rarity for me - a character who has appeared in more than one of my stories. He was previously in The Storyteller of Koss which will be published in Summer of Sci-Fi and Fantasy later this year.

 

My short story collections

I have five short story collections in print, one published by Shadow Publishing, two  originally published by Hazardous Press, (which no longer exists) and now reprinted by Parallel Universe Publications, and two published by PUP straight away. All of the stories in these collections were first published in magazines or anthologies, sometimes several times over.                                                                                                                                      

The Lurkers in the Abyss and other Tales of Terror is published by Shadow Publishing. Published in 2013. 277 pages with 17 stories.

 

 

  Hazardous Press
His Own Mad Demons was originally published by Hazardous Press. It is now available through Parallel Universe Publications. First published in 2012. 175 pages with 5 stories.

  Parallel Universe Publications

Their Cramped Dark World & Other Tales was first published by Hazardous Press and is now available with the same cover by Luke Spooner from Parallel Universe Publications. First published 2015. 185 pages with 10 stories.

After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales was specially illustrated throughout by Jim Pitts. First published 2021. 196 pages with 9 stories.

A Grim God's Revenge: Dark Tales of Fantasy & Horror, with a cover by Jim Pitts. First published 2021. 221 pages with 14 stories.

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Dredd - Why Dredd is an Underrated Superhero Movie for Adults

An excellent article on one of the best superhero movies of recent years - and definitely one that's underrated.

Why Dredd is an Underrated Superhero Movie for Adults

Book Review: Black Dust and Other Stories by Steve Dilks

My review of:

BLACK DUST AND OTHER STORIES

By Steve Dilks

Carnelian Press 2021

223 pages

Black Dust and Other Stories is a new collection from talented fantasy writer Steve Dilks. Four of the seven stories have previously been published in Weirdbook, Startling Stories, Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 2, and Savage Scrolls.

They range from dystopian science fiction lightly reminiscent of Mad Max to out and out swords and sorcery, all centred on hard-headed and resourceful heroes who have to undergo some of the most violent and horrific of menaces during the course of their varied adventures.

Steve Dilks is a master at creating such heroes, resolute, cunning, not always particularly good men though they do have codes of a sort which they endeavour to stick to come what may. The worlds depicted are dangerous and often downright ugly, especially those set in the future, where resources, either on Earth or on other planets, are hard to come by and where dangers come fast and furious.

The first three stories – Black Dust, The Idols of Xan, and The Vaults of Ban-Erach – involve Matt Randall, on an alien planet run by Earth, though Randall himself is an oddity, part alien, though outwardly human. Which gives him a small advantage in dealing with the natives of the planet, who distrust and hate humans, who have oppressed them. It’s a hostile world with a savage climate, into which few humans venture beyond the protected domes of their cities.

The Gift of the Eonsis a strange tale of a primitive human who encounters what may be science or maybe sorcery – to his limited intellect both are the same. And both are equally frightening. Luckily for him, his instinctive response of instant violence pays out.

Riders of the Fireis set in a future poisoned Earth, devastated by radiation and filled with violent gangs. Worse, though, are those who helped mastermind the way things have gone wrong for the devasted population of our world, which has shrunk to a fraction of its past numbers. Though this has been horrific for most people, who have suffered during the  nightmarish descent into near barbarism, the old elites still intend to pull the strings for their own selfish advantage. Unfortunately for them our hero, Cal, isn’t prepared to forgive and forget.

The Amulet and the Shadowis a fantasy tale which I was more than delighted to include in Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 2. It has everything such a tale should have: a resourceful and determined barbarian hero, magic of the blackest sort, battling armies, cruel villains and dark intrigues.

Tale of the Uncrowned Kings is another swords and sorcery adventure whose main protagonists are an exiled northern barbarian. Erich Von Tormath, and his friend the thief and murderer and all-round good guy when the chips are down, Zaran. It’s a saga of piracy, intrigue and a necromantic sorcerer. And a great tale with which the end this volume.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone with a taste for heroic fantasy (and science-fantasy!), well written, colourfully inventive, and fast moving.  

 

This review was first published in Phantasmagoria # 20

 

Summer of Sci-fi & Fantasy

Summer of Sci-fi & Fantasy includes my tale The Storyteller of Koss. 

 

Audio version

Book version

Ebook version