David A. Riley's Blog, page 38

Jester of Hearts from Terror Tracts

Very pleased to announce that I have a story in Jester of Hearts, published by Terror Tracts, "A Humorous Horror Anthology". My story is Corpse-Maker, which was first published in Dave Sutton's Weird Window fanzine in 1971.

"With our world in a rage of true horror, we set out to bring you a book guaranteed to make you laugh! These side splitting stories are the best of the best! Grab your tissues you are gonna need them! Stories from: Ramsey Campbell, John Di Donna, C.M. Saunders, Timothy Wiseman, Edmund Stone, Tony Gilbert, D. Thomas Jerlo, Dale Hollin, Tim J. Finn, R.C. Mulhare, Patrick R. McDonough, Justin Boote, T.M. Brown, David A. Riley, Marge Simon, E.A. Black, Matthew Cash, Andrew Lenno, Matt Scott, Chris Miller."

Jester of Hearts

My story Grudge End Cloggers in Scare Me from Esskaye Books

Just received my contributor's copy of Scare Me edited by M. Leon Smith for Esskaye Books, containing my story Grudge End Cloggers. A nice note from the editor came with it: "Thanks so much for your story 'Grudge End Cloggers'. The mix of the supernatural Cloggers with the stark area of Grudge End (which reminded me of where I grew up) provided the right amount of uneasiness. Excellent story." amazon.co.uk 

Bloody Britain by Anna Taborska

Really pleased to get this gem in the post today from Shadow Publishing, Anna Taborska's collection Bloody Britain, cover by Paul Mudie, interior artwork by Reggie Oliver. It doesn't ever get much better than this!

Grudge End Cloggers in Scare Me from Esskaye Books

My latest Grudge End story, Grudge End Cloggers, appears in Scare Me from Esskaye Books, which is available now in paperback and kindle. 

To get hold of the paperback click on this link.

Pre-Order After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales, Illustrated by Jim Pitts

PRE-ORDERS


After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley, illustrated by Jim Pitts, is available for pre-order up until the 14th November 2020, when it will be published. 
As well as over 20 illustrations by award-winning artist Jim Pitts, the book contains the following stories:
Three Eyed Jack
The Fragile Mask on his Face
Terror on the Moors
The Shade of Apollyon
Writer's Cramp
Fish Eye
Boat Trip
Prickly
After Nightfall

After publication this hardcover book will be for sale at £20.00 per copy.

Up until publication it can be pre-ordered for £18.00 including postage and packing within the UK, and all copies will be signed by both the writer and the artist. We have added extra charges for overseas orders.

To pre-order please use the button below.


Destinations United Kingdom £18.00 GBP Europe £22.15 GBP Rest of the World £31.18 GBP

Christmas in the Workhouse & Other Gruesome Tales by Craig Herbertson is available for pre-order up until the 14th November 2020, when it will be published. 

After publication this hardcover book will be for sale at £20.00 per copy.

Up until publication it can be pre-ordered for £18.00 including postage and packing within the UK, and all copies will be signed by the author. We have added extra charges for overseas orders.

To pre-order please use the button below.


Destinations United Kingdom £18.00 GBP Europe £22.15 GBP Rest of the World £31.18 GBP

Scare Me from Esskaye Books

 

Looking forward to seeing my story Grudge End Cloggers out in print from Esskaye Books at the end of this month in Scare Me.

My collection After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales, Illustrated by Jim Pitts available for pre-order

 

My collection After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales, illustrated by Jim Pitts, is available for pre-order up until the 14th November 2020, when it will be published. 
As well as over 20 illustrations by award-winning artist Jim Pitts, the book contains the following stories:
Three Eyed Jack
The Fragile Mask on his Face
Terror on the Moors
The Shade of Apollyon
Writer's Cramp
Fish Eye
Boat Trip
Prickly
After Nightfall

After publication this hardcover book will be for sale at £20.00 per copy.

Up until publication it can be pre-ordered for £18.00 including postage and packing within the UK, and all copies will be signed by both the writer and the artist. We have added extra charges for overseas orders.

To pre-order click on this link: PRE-ORDERS

List of Fantasy Magazines courtesy of Richie Billing

For all writers here is a link provided by Richie Billing to what looks to me like a pretty comprehensive list of fantasy magazines.

Book review in Phantasmagoria - Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay

My third book review in the latest issue of Phantasmagoria magazine is of Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay.

 
SURVIVOR SONGBy Paul TremblayTitan Books 2020 Paperback
Most of the action in Survivor Song unfolds within one day – but what an incredibly stressful, terrifying day this is, with the main characters undergoing violent attacks while trying to avoid contracting a deadly, mind-destroying sickness.
The world in Survivor Song, just like our own, is suffering from a pandemic, though in this story it is a rabies-based virus that has mutated so that it takes less than a day for its victims to become homicidal, hydrophobic maniacs, a variation on the zombie trope familiar to all of us, except the victims of this virus don’t lumber on as brain-dead monsters but die soon after the disease has warped their minds.  
Natalie is the first of the two main characters we meet. Heavily pregnant, she is at home with her husband Paul when a stranger forces his way into their home and attacks them. Although they already know about the virus this is the first time either of them has come into contact with anyone affected by it and are unprepared for the mindlessly vicious violence the man uses against them. Paul tries to fight him off but is no match for either the size or the determination of the man, who has passed beyond reason. Shockingly vivid, this fight is perhaps the most horrific scene in the book, especially coming so soon in the story. Despite her condition, Natalie attacks the intruder with a kitchen knife in an attempt to save her husband but is herself bitten. Knowing this could have life-threatening consequences, she telephones her best friend Ramola, who is a doctor at a local hospital. She desperately needs her help to save her and her unborn baby, and most of the rest of the story is about the struggle the two women go through as the infrastructure of society collapses all around them.
Though determined to help her friend as much as she can Ramola is often torn between her responsibilities as a doctor and the necessities the pandemic and the needs of her friend force upon her. Unflinchingly graphic Survivor Song is a remorseless tale of suffering, courage, and the fragility of life, with no one immune to what is happening. Illustrative of this are two likeable teenagers, Josh and Luis, who naively see everything that is going on as if it is nothing more than an apocalyptic film in which they are the heroes, not realising reality has no interest in their fantasies. Their disillusionment is tragic and sad. And in the end, desperately reluctant to give up their illusions, they impose their own climax to it.  
Written and published in hardcover before the corona pandemic started, parts of this book are surprisingly prophetic. But this is as not as important as the incredibly detailed human drama that unfolds within its pages, with its unremitting tension and edge of the seat scares. It is not an easy read, and Tremblay does not spare us as the tale progresses on its inexorable path towards what we know is not going to be, in his own words, a fairy tale ending. Modern horror at its best.

Book review in Phantasmagoria - The Assaults of Chaos by S. T. Joshi

My second review in the latest issue of Phantasmagoria magazine is of S. T. Joshi's 2013 Lovecraftian novel The Assaults of Chaos.THE ASSAULTS OF CHAOS:A Novel About H. P. LovecraftBy S. T. JoshiHippocampus Press, New York2013
The Assaults of Chaosis something of an oddity, a fictionalised account of Lovecraft’s adventures in 1914 in which he meets and works with weird fiction luminaries Ambrose Bierce, Lord Dunsany, Algernon Blackwood, Montague Rhodes James, Arthur Machen, and William Hope Hodgson, plus a certain Kathleen Banigan, the one character who is entirely fictitious - and possibly the most problematic. Although Joshi undoubtedly knows more about Lovecraft’s life than anyone today, for some strange reason he decided to inject a romantic love affair between Lovecraft and Miss Banigan in this novel – a romance, furthermore, which includes some explicit scenes! I must admit I struggled to get my head around this. For a novel involving enemies like Nyarlathotep, and a hitherto unknown trip by Lovecraft across the Atlantic to England on the eve of the Great War, this is perhaps one step too far. Still, despite this Joshi does a skilful job of portraying Kathleen Banigan and making her presence integral to the story, however unlikely her affair with Lovecraft really is.
The other writers are introduced individually over a series of days and are given ample space for some interesting if sometimes stilted conversation, in which they talk about their stories and something of their philosophy as regards weird fiction. It did seem a bit strange that, although we now know how important Lovecraft became as a horror fiction writer, at this stage he was totally unknown and had only penned some juvenilia, most of which he destroyed. It would be some time yet before he would ascend to the same heights as any of the writers he meets, and although a certain person in the story somehow knows his potential and perhaps has an insight into his future, it does seem a bit contrived to involve him in this gathering, formed as it is to channel all the imaginative powers of the then greatest writers in the weird fiction field to aid Great Britain in its fight against Imperial Germany.
Despite its peculiarities and a plot that stretches suspension of belief to beyond its breaking point, it is an enjoyable romp. The conversations in particular between the writers do bring them to life, with some interesting glimpses into their strengths, mannerisms, and peculiarities. And, although the plot is quite absurd, Joshi can certainly write. And it is fascinating to see the horrific literary creations of all these various masters brought into a semblance of life in a lengthy battle for mankind’s future.