David A. Riley's Blog, page 60
December 16, 2016
Blog Hits Top 6000 for first time ever
Hits on this blog have for the first time ever topped 6,000 this month, reaching 6,252 as of this moment.
Probably small potatoes compared to many other blogs, but for me it's a great achievement.
Thanks to everyone who has come here - and I hope you found something of value from taking a look!
Probably small potatoes compared to many other blogs, but for me it's a great achievement.
Thanks to everyone who has come here - and I hope you found something of value from taking a look!
December 15, 2016
Kindle version of Fishhead: The Darker Tales of Irvin S. Cobb now available
Although originally we were not going to do an ebook version of Fishhead: The Darker Tales of Irvin S. Cobb, we have been asked so often, we have now made it available on kindle.trade paperback:
Amazon.co.uk £8.99
Amazon.com $11.99
ebook:
Amazon.co.uk £2.99
Amazon.com $3.79
David Williamson's The Chameleon Man & Other Terrors now available on Kindle
Kindle versions of David Williamson's The Chameleon Man & Other Terrors are now available.amazon.co.uk £2.99
amazon.com $3.79
This collection includes four tales that originally appeared in the Pan Books of Horror.
Contents are:
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.
December 13, 2016
Into the Dark available for only £1.99/$2.99 on kindle for limited period
Andrew Jennings' horror novel Into the Dark is available now on kindle for the specially reduced price of £1.99/$2.99 for a limited period only.A serial killer
A secret cult of sadists
An East European strain of demonic evil
A young girl with a morbid fear of the dark
And the dark itself
"The extreme damage that the bullet had inflicted on the rest of the brain had accelerated some changes. As had the need to repair some of its primary sensors. Sight had been destroyed. But the surviving brain instinctively knew that sight was essential for its survival. Basic, at first, a form of sight was retrieved through the existence of several damaged nerve endings, blood vessels and other fleshy sensory matter.
During the long, dark hours towards the end of the night tendrils of fibrous tissue grew, melded and continued to work, rebuilding a crude approximation of what had been damaged – crude but workable.
Which was all that it needed."
Ebook:
Amazon.co.uk £1.99
Amazon.com $2.99
It is still, of course, still available as a trade paperback:
trade paperback:
Amazon.co.uk £8.99
Amazon.com $11.99
Andrew Darlington on the Vault of Evil Advent Calendar
Chrissie Demant © 2016
Day thirteen brings a first VAC appearance for Andrew Darlington, former stand-up alt-commedian, sometime rock critic, veteran of the fanzine scene, and author of the recent genre-bending SF-horror-fantasy-weirdness collection, A Saucerful Of Secrets (Parallel Universe, 2016). Am sure you will agree that today's offering is as appropriate for the time of year as it is unspeakably ghastly. After all, what's Christmas without some good old stuffing?
Attachments:
andrew darlington - taxidermy.pdf (57.86 KB)
Read more: http://vaultofevil.proboards.com/posts/recent#ixzz4Sj7UT4Ri
December 12, 2016
Eerie Christmas
I could not resist this one:
December 11, 2016
Books to be published early next year by Parallel Universe Publications
Parallel Universe Publications has three books lined up for publication in the opening months of 2017.
The first will be Joseph Rubas's fine collection of stories, titled Shades.
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.
In addition to writing, he has also edited two anthologies: A Thorn of Death (2012) and The 3rd Spectral Book of Horror Stories (2016).
He currently resides in Albany, New York.
The second will be a collection written by Carl Barker: Parlour Tricks. No cover available to show yet, but it will be the work of award-winning artist Jim Pitts. Further details on this in the near future.
The third will be a collection from Mike Chinn: Radix Omnium Malum & Other Incursions.
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.
The first will be Joseph Rubas's fine collection of stories, titled Shades.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.
In addition to writing, he has also edited two anthologies: A Thorn of Death (2012) and The 3rd Spectral Book of Horror Stories (2016).
He currently resides in Albany, New York.
The second will be a collection written by Carl Barker: Parlour Tricks. No cover available to show yet, but it will be the work of award-winning artist Jim Pitts. Further details on this in the near future.
The third will be a collection from Mike Chinn: Radix Omnium Malum & Other Incursions. 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.
December 9, 2016
The Chameleon Man & Other Terrors now available in paperback
The trade paperback version of The Chameleon Man & Other Terrors by David Williamson is now available from both amazon.co.uk and amazon.com.trade paperback:
amazon.co.uk £8.99
amazon.com $11.99
This collection includes four tales that originally appeared in the Pan Books of Horror.
Contents are:
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.
November 24, 2016
The Chameleon Man & Other Terrors by David Williamson
The next book to be published by Parallel Universe Publications will be by Pan Books of Horror veteran, David Williamson - The Chameleon Man & Other Terrors. This book will see the first publication since they appeared in the legendary Pan series of The Sandman, The Too Good Samaritan, The Not So Good Samaritan, and No Room at the Flat. Also included are stories that previously appeared in the Black Books of Horror, Demons and Devilry, Alt-Zombie, Horror Uncut, and Horrific History.
Stories include:
The Procedure
The Scryer
No Room at the Flat
The Sandman
The Too Good Samaritan
The Not So Good Samaritan
The Chameleon Man
The Switch
Rest in Pieces
Ashes to Ashes
Blind Date
Herbert Manning's Psychic Circus
The Boy
Ten Weeks
Din-Dins for Binky
A Reflection of the Times
And the Dead Shall Speak
Boys Will Be Boys
A Night to Remember
A Problem Shared
The Chameleon Man & Other Terrors will be published as a trade paperback and an e-book.
November 22, 2016
David Ludford's A Place of Skulls gets great review on Vault of Evil
Kevin Demant of
The Vault of Evil
has started an enthusiastic review of David Ludford's collection A Place of Skulls and Other Tales.
Matthias Grünewald
The loss of Gary Fry's consistently rewarding Gray Friar Press earlier this year was a terrible blow, but by God are PUP doing more than their bit to fill the void! Since this time last year the Riley's have launched collections from Kate Farrell, Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso, Adrian Cole, Andrew Darlington, Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis, Richard Stains, Johnny Mains. Most, if not all, have been raved over elsewhere on this supremely popular forum by our resident non-critic (no names, no pack-drill, it was me, etc.), but, happily, several have attracted favourable proper reviews in places like Fear magazine too. And now this, the debut from David Ludford, is off to a most promising start.
A Place Of Skulls: Can a nightmare be inherited across several generations? The people of a certain Eastern European country have long memories where the despised Prince Berezovsky is concerned. The mad monarch, whose role model was evidently Vlad Tepes, will neither be forgotten or forgiven for his excessive cruelty, which is very bad news for his descendant, Janis. The young man suffers the persecution of an ancient witch who may not believe that the sins of the father's father's father's father should be laid upon the children but she'll perform a duty by her people regardless. Welcome, Janis, to the place of skulls!
A sprightly opener, liked it well enough, but little did it prepare me for this next, the very wonderful story of Mr. Skinnybones
Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down: Skinnybones, the last of an ancient race, is weary of his solitude and wonders if he dare risk abducting a woman-human to provide him with children. To do so would require his leaving Donnithorpe woods and entering the town which has not been safe for his kind since the Dark Ages. Decisions, decisions .... the ghoul murders, robs and gnaws on a stranger while he thinks it over.
On taking the plunge, Skinnybones' first port of call is The Fox Inn where he inadvertently chats up Sally Robertson, barmaid-cum-prostitute, and makes an enemy of George Jones, who has recently taken to stalking her. When the pub shuts, a humiliated Jones jumps Skinnybones in the dark, battering him with a baseball bat until certain the cowled freak with the weird teeth won't be getting in anyone's way from now on. Jones disposes of the corpse in his tip of a back garden. The makeshift grave attracts crows, scores of crows, making a racket fit to raise the dead ....
Meanwhile Sally and her formidable big sister Kate decide it's time to put George in his place once and for all ....
Almost Human: As the name suggests, a Humeleon is a half human, half chameleon, the result of covert biological experiments at Larksoken laboratories thirty years ago. When a whistle-blower leaked the story to the press, it brought down a government. But what happened to the children spawned in the lab?
Old timers Chester and Tyler are patrons of Marlon's Cafe. The highlight of their day is when the very lovely young Janine Garvey stops by for a coffee and chat before continuing on her morning jog. Today on removing her track-suit top she briefly exposed something Tyler wishes he'd not seen. A patch of tell-tale reptilian skin on her arm. Unfortunately, Marlon, nosey parker that he is, also caught a glimpse. He's read all about these humeleon scum in the Daily Sentinel who only print the truth and are never further than a phone-call away. Ace reporter Dan Challis agrees that this is too good an opportunity for his quality rag to miss.
Matthias Grünewald
The loss of Gary Fry's consistently rewarding Gray Friar Press earlier this year was a terrible blow, but by God are PUP doing more than their bit to fill the void! Since this time last year the Riley's have launched collections from Kate Farrell, Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso, Adrian Cole, Andrew Darlington, Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis, Richard Stains, Johnny Mains. Most, if not all, have been raved over elsewhere on this supremely popular forum by our resident non-critic (no names, no pack-drill, it was me, etc.), but, happily, several have attracted favourable proper reviews in places like Fear magazine too. And now this, the debut from David Ludford, is off to a most promising start.
A Place Of Skulls: Can a nightmare be inherited across several generations? The people of a certain Eastern European country have long memories where the despised Prince Berezovsky is concerned. The mad monarch, whose role model was evidently Vlad Tepes, will neither be forgotten or forgiven for his excessive cruelty, which is very bad news for his descendant, Janis. The young man suffers the persecution of an ancient witch who may not believe that the sins of the father's father's father's father should be laid upon the children but she'll perform a duty by her people regardless. Welcome, Janis, to the place of skulls!
A sprightly opener, liked it well enough, but little did it prepare me for this next, the very wonderful story of Mr. Skinnybones
Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down: Skinnybones, the last of an ancient race, is weary of his solitude and wonders if he dare risk abducting a woman-human to provide him with children. To do so would require his leaving Donnithorpe woods and entering the town which has not been safe for his kind since the Dark Ages. Decisions, decisions .... the ghoul murders, robs and gnaws on a stranger while he thinks it over.
On taking the plunge, Skinnybones' first port of call is The Fox Inn where he inadvertently chats up Sally Robertson, barmaid-cum-prostitute, and makes an enemy of George Jones, who has recently taken to stalking her. When the pub shuts, a humiliated Jones jumps Skinnybones in the dark, battering him with a baseball bat until certain the cowled freak with the weird teeth won't be getting in anyone's way from now on. Jones disposes of the corpse in his tip of a back garden. The makeshift grave attracts crows, scores of crows, making a racket fit to raise the dead ....
Meanwhile Sally and her formidable big sister Kate decide it's time to put George in his place once and for all ....
Almost Human: As the name suggests, a Humeleon is a half human, half chameleon, the result of covert biological experiments at Larksoken laboratories thirty years ago. When a whistle-blower leaked the story to the press, it brought down a government. But what happened to the children spawned in the lab?
Old timers Chester and Tyler are patrons of Marlon's Cafe. The highlight of their day is when the very lovely young Janine Garvey stops by for a coffee and chat before continuing on her morning jog. Today on removing her track-suit top she briefly exposed something Tyler wishes he'd not seen. A patch of tell-tale reptilian skin on her arm. Unfortunately, Marlon, nosey parker that he is, also caught a glimpse. He's read all about these humeleon scum in the Daily Sentinel who only print the truth and are never further than a phone-call away. Ace reporter Dan Challis agrees that this is too good an opportunity for his quality rag to miss.
