Baal the Necromancer is reprinted in Schlock! Webzine

First published in Mythic magazine #17 in 2021, my sword and sorcery story Baal the Necromancer has just been reprinted in the December. 2024 issue of Schlock! Webzine. I did write a sequel of sorts to this, The Storyteller of Koss which was first published in Summer of Sci-Fi and Fantasy in 2022 and again reprinted in Schlock! Webzine in its October 2024 issue.

New stories published in 2024

Not counting a few reprints, this year I have or will have had the following new stories published:

The Triptych of Hell (Lovecraftiana, Candlemas Issue)

An Oddity (Schlock! Webzine, January Issue & Strange Aeon 2024) 

In His Father's Foosteps (Schlock! Webzine, April issue)

Floating Free (Schlock! Webzine, September issue) 

The Adventure of the Mouldy Book (Sherlock and Friends: Eldritch Investigations, Tule Fog Press)

The Forbidden City of Cyramon (Swords & Heroes, Tule Fog Press and Welgar the Cursed, Tule Fog Press)

In the Temple of the Snake (Crimson Quill Quarterly, issue 3)

The Demon from Another World (Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium, TreeShaker Books)

Mask of a Mad God (Welgar the Cursed, Tule Fog Press)

Ossani the Healer and the Beautiful Homunculus (Welgar the Cursed, Tule Fog Press)

Emerging From Their Twilit Realms (Welgar the Cursed, Tule Fog Press)

And coming so far in 2025:

Essayan's Terrible Machineries of War (Crimson Quill Quarterly, issue 5, January) 

Visit Fungosia (4StarStories #31, edited by David Gray)

Lies and Treachery (to be announced)

 

 

 

 

 

Lies and Treachery - my second Horbeck sword and sorcery story accepted for publication next year

I am very pleased to reveal that my second full Horbeck story, a novelette called Lies and Treachery, will be serialised in two parts next year. More details soon. 

The first story published featuring Horbeck and his two mercenary companions Brud and Asner, The Demon from Another World, appeared in Anthology of the Damned: Necrmoirrium, earlier this month from TreeShaker Books.

 

New Horbeck story finished: The Sorcerer's Casket

I have just completed another story, a novelette really, about my mercenary hero Horbeck and his comrades in arms, Brud and Asner. The latest story is called The Sorcerer's Casket and is the sixth in their ongoing saga.

The tales so far in chronological order are:

The Unhappy Inquisitor

The Demon from Another World (Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium)

Lies and Treachery

The Mummified Demi-God

Dead Thieves in the Night

The Sorcerer's Casket

In total these add up to 57,200 words, which is amazing to me as I never intended to create a series of stories when I first wrote about Horbeck. 

Illustration for The Demon from Another World

 

Illustration for The Demon from Another World

As a writer sometimes an illustration for a story you've written really stands out for you, and I must admit I do love the one provided for my sword and sorcery tale The Demon from Another World in Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium from TreeShaker Books.

An Oddity published in Strange Aeon 2024

I was surprised to see such glowing praise from the editor of Strange Aeon: 2024, M. Keaton about my story An Oddity, which was reprinted in it recently. The tale was first printed in Shlock! Webzine earlier this year.

Dead Thieves in the Night - my latest Horbeck sword and sorcery tale

I have now finished Dead Thieves in the Night, my latest sword and sorcery story involving the mercenaries Horbeck, Brud and Asnar. This finished at 10,000 words, a novelette.

As soon as I completed this, though, I found myself embarking on yet another yarn of this trio, possibly titled The Sorcerer's Casket.

The list of Horbeck & Co stories so far are:

The Unhappy Inquisitor

The Demon from Another World (Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium)

Lies and Treachery

The Mummified Demi-God

Dead Thieves in the Night

Three New Sword & Sorcery Collections from Tule Fog Press

 

Introducing 3 New Collections from Tule Fog Press...

Check out the kickstarter Campaign here.

Be the first to grab these exciting adventures from the pens (or keyboards!) of David A. Riley, Andrew Darlington, and Tim Hanlon. Available individually or in a bundle.

The Stories...

David A. Riley's hero and mercenary is in trouble. Follow along as Welgar faces an Agryptian demon god and experience his subsequent quest to rid himself of the evil that has befallen him. Six tales of dark and sorcerous fantasy. 

Sample one for free. Read “The Forbidden City of Cyramon” by David A. Riley at Swords & Heroes eZine.

Andrew Darlingon's Eternal Assassin can never die. Well, the host he inhabits dies, but the Assassin lives on through the ages and faces monsters, foes, and eldritch powers. Read about his "lives & times" in this expanded chronicle of 15 gripping tales.

Sample one for free. Read “The Blood-Beast from Hellmouth” by Andrew Darlington at Swords & Heroes eZine.

Tim Hanlon's wayfaring Nordman, Harkan the Swordsman, is a far-roaming mercenary. When Tasmyra, the Sea Witch, is taken captive, Harkan sets out on a thrilling quest that will test him to the uttermost. Seven tales of high adventure.  

Sample one for free. Read “Queen of the Shifting City” by Tim Hanlon at Swords & Heroes eZine.

Another new sword and sorcery tale finished - Dead Thieves in the Night

I have managed to more or less put the final touches to a new 10,000 word sword and sorcery tale tentatively called Dead Thieves in the Night. It's another story in the ongoing saga of my mercenary heroes Horbeck, Brud and Asnar, who started life, for Horbeck at least, as a minor character in The Unhappy Inquisitor, before coming to their own in The Demon From Another World, Lies and Treachery, and The Mummified Demi-God, defying Fate by somehow or other staying alive, though how much longer this will last I do not know... 

So far only one of these tales has been published, The Demon From Another World in Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium from Treeshaker Books.

My early sword and sorcery tale The God in the Keep to be reprinted in Schlock! Webzine in 2025

 

One of my earlier sword and sorcery stories, The God in the Keep, originally published online in Sword & Sorcery magazine, issue 118 in 2021, will be reprinted in Schlock! Webzine in August 2025.

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9 - update

 

Received my proof copy of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9 yesterday but I wasn't 100% happy with the spine. A strip of the white encroached into the front cover, so I have made corrections and ordered a second proof copy. I know, I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but I can't go ahead until I am at least 90% happy. I've also made a couple of other minor alterations. The second proof should reach me by Monday at the latest. By then it should be ready for publishing. Hopefully paperbacks and kindle copies will be available to order by Wednesday the 13th.

In the meantime I have formatted the collection for kindle and that looks absolutely fine to me. This task seems to get easier the more often I do it.

Hope everyone likes the book when it's out there!