David A. Riley's Blog, page 51

The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts - revised (and reduced) shipping costs

Following our reduction in the price of The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts from £35.00 to £30.00 per copy, we have also revised our shipping costs and added surface mail as an option to the rest of the world for those who would be happy to wait up to 45 days for delivery.

Our charges now, including shipping costs, are:
£33.90 for UK orders
£39.75 for European orders
£44.75 for airmail postage to the rest of the world
£39.80 for surface mail postage to the rest of the world (which can take up to 45 days)


The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts UK £33.90 GBP Europe £39.75 GBP Rest of the World - airmail £44.75 GBP Rest of the World - surface mail (45 days) £39.80 GBP

Proof copy received and approved for Jessica Palmer's Fractious Fairy Tales

Parallel Universe Publications today received its proof copy of Jessica Palmer's latest collection, Fractious Fairy Tales, which has now been approved - and which will soon be available either directly from PUP or from amazon, etc.

The Dreams of Cardinal Vittorini for sale on Ebay

My signed, first edition copy of the limited edition published by The Haunted River in 2003 (one of only 300 copies) is now for sale on

The Dawns Here Are Quiet - Outstanding Russian TV mini-series

Thanks to amazon prime I've recently been given the chance to watch three excellent Russian TV series: Sophia, Ekaterina, and, just starting now, The Dawns Here Are Quiet, which is set in 1942 during "The Great Patriotic War" in a small village were a wounded sergeant of the war has been given command of two anti aircraft batteries as what should be a soft assignment. Well worth watching.

The Walking Dead

For the first time since it first began I am not excited about the start of the new series of The Walking Dead. Some of the writing and particularly the plotting recently has been dire. I hope it improves but I can understand why viewing figures have fallen.

The Gallery of Curiosities

Received my contributor's copy of the lovely little publication, The Gallery of Curiosities, in the post today, courtesy of its editor and publisher, Kevin Frost, the print version of the podcast. https://gallerycurious.com/
It contains my story After Nightfall, which has been published several times already, notably in The Year's Best Horror 1 edited by Richard Davis, Fantasy Tales, and more recently in Otto Penzler's mammoth collection Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! - as well as in an unauthorised Russian translation in the early 90s! It's also included in my own collection, The Lurkers in the Abyss and other Tales of Terror (Shadow Publishing).

Simon Scarrow's Day of the Caesars

First book read in 2018 was Simon Scarrow's Day of the Caesars, the latest in his series of novels about Centurian Macro and Prefect Cato in first century Rome.

In the previous novel we saw our interpid legionaires recruited into the Praetorium Guard, then sent off to settle a revolt at a vital silver mine in Spain. Returning to Rome at the start of Day of the Caesars, they expect to be treated as conquering heroes, but the old emperor, Claudius, has died and Nero is the new power in town, and it's not long before they unwillingly find themselves up to their necks in court intrigues, conspiracy and treason.

One of the things I like about Simon Scarrow's novels is how varied they are, so that each novel is refreshingly different. His knowledge of Roman history is phenominal, as is his grasp of character. A thoroughly good read - one which, quite literally, I couldn't put down. The appearance of a new novel about Macro and Cato around the end of the year is one of the few bonuses of the winter-time - and one I have grown to look forward to immensely.

The twists and turns in Day of the Caesars certainly surprised me this time, though they all, in restrospect, make perfect sense - which is a sign of a master teller of tales, which Simon Carrow most certainly is.

Fully recommended.

"Prickly" available to read for free on the Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

Artwork: Chrissie Demant

My short story Prickly is now available to read for free on the annual Vault of Evil Advent Calendar.

Prickly was first published in 1982 in David Stuart Schiff's anthology Death (Playboy Paperbacks). It is also included in my collection The Lurkers in the Abyss & Other Tales of Terror (Shadow Publishing).

Sledge-Lit, Derby, November 25th 2017

Great time spent with Jim Pittsat Sledge-Lit on Saturday, despite a 5.30 am start off and a journey beset with roadworks and sleet! Still we got there on time and set up our stand for Parallel Universe Publications. Like every other dealer there it was, unfortunately, a very poor day for sales, but, on the plus side, it was a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and new, including Mike Chinn, Eric Ian Steele, CC Adams, Alex Davis, and Ash Hartwell, whose new novel, Tip of the Iceberg, I'm reading at the moment.
http://paralleluniversepublications.blogspot.co.uk/

Carl Ford - RIP

Saddened to hear of the death of Carl Ford - far too young to have left us.

Above is the only photo I have of Carl, taken at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton with David Sutton to the left, me to the right, and Carl in the middle.

Carl will long be remembered for the outstanding magazine Dagon, which he published and edited and for which he received a well-deserved British Fantasy Award.