Shadows Over Main Street: An Anthology of Small-Town Lovecraftian Terror

Just received a copy of Shadows Over Main Street: An Anthology of Small-Town Lovecraftian Terror, published by Hazardous Press, and edited by Doug Morano and D. Alexander Ward. It has a great, atmospheric cover by Luke Spooner (who has also done the cover for my next collection of short stories from Hazardous Press, Their Cramped Dark World).

I've only read the introduction so far by Ramsey Campbell, but will be starting the rest of it in a few minutes!

Their Cramped Dark World and Other Dark Tales to be published by Hazardous Press

I am pleased to announce that Hazardous Press will be publishing a second collection of my short stories, Their Cramped Dark World and Other Dark Tales. This will be the third collection of my stories in total (including The Lurkers in the Abyss and Other Tales of Terror from Shadow Publishing).

The stories included in this new collection will be:

Hoody (first published in When Graveyards Yawn, Crowswing Books, 2006)
A Bottle of Spirits (first published in New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural 2, 1972)
No Sense in Being Hungry, She Thought (first published in Peeping Tom #20, 1996)
Now and Forever More (first published in The Second Black Book of Horror, 2008)
Romero's Children (first published in The Seventh Black Book of Horror, 2010)
Swan Song (first published in the Ninth Black Book of Horror, 2012)
The Farmhouse (first published in New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural 1, 1971)
The Last Coach Trip (first published in The Eighth Black Book of Horror, 2011)
The Satyr's Head (first published in The Satyr's Head & Other Tales of Terror, 1975)
Their Cramped Dark World (first published in The Sixth Black Book of Horror, 2010)

Royalties on His Own Mad Demons

I was nicely surprised to receive my latest royalty payment for His Own Mad Demons: Dark Tales from David A. Riley, which was published by Hazardous Press in 2012. It sold even better in its second year than its first.

His Own Mad Demons includes:

The Worst of All Possible Places
Lock In
Their Own Mad Demons
The Fragile Mask on his Face
The True Spirit

These were previously published in Houses on the Borderland edited by David A. Sutton for the BFS, The Black Book of Horror and the Fifth Black Book of Horror edited by Charles Black, Dark Discoveries #15 edited by James Beach, and Back from the Dead edited by Johnny Mains.

The 170-page paperback can be ordered via Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.  In the US it's $8.09 (with free shipping available) and £5.49 in the UK (again with free shipping available).

The kindle ebook versions are also available: Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Dark Discoveries Review

I was very pleased to receive a small payment via PayPal from Journalstone for a Hellnotes review I did earlier this year that's reprinted in Dark Discoveries #27.

The review was for Herbert Manning's Psychic Circus and Other Dark Tales by British writer David Williamson. The book is published by Hazardous Press.

Herbert Manning's Psychic Circus and Other Dark Tales by David Williamson

David Williamson has just had a collection of stories published by Hazardous Press, Herbert Manning's Psychic Circus and Other Dark Tales. It's available in both paperback and ebook formats. David Williamson's stories first appeared in the Pan Books of Horror and he has since become a regular in Charles Black's Black Books of Horror, in which many of the stories in this collection were first published.

About the Author

David Williamson has been writing short stories for many years now, inspired by the likes of James Herbert, Stephen King and, especially, The Pan Book of Horror series. When (after several attempts!) he was first published in The 28th Pan Book of Horror, he became almost speechless with excitement. Later, after discovering that he was to have THREE of his tales in The 30th Pan Book of Horror, he became a gibbering imbecile. A state, alas, which he has remained in until today. He has more recently, appeared in Black Books of Horror (the spiritual home of The Pan Books of Horror) numbers 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 from Mortbury Press, as well as Hersham Horror's wonderful Alt-Zombie anthology. His latest tale, 'Lazarus', can be found in From Their Cradle to Your Grave, from Cruentus Libri Press and also in their Christmas Special You'd Better Watch Out! with his tale entitled 'Tis the Season to be Jolly'. His story 'Stuck!" appears in Another 100 Horrors, and 'The Mission' can be found in War is Hell, again, both from Cruentus Libri Press. His story '10 Weeks' appears in the anthology Horrific History, from Hazardous Press. Follow David online at http://doogal321.wordpress.com.

Weird Tales Interview

I have just had an interview posted on the Weird Tales website, in which I get the chance to discuss my short story collections and my novel, The Return.

Sudden upsurge in sales of His Own Mad Demons

Comparing the sales position on Amazon.com I suddenly realised that it's leaped by over 3 million places since yesterday. I have no idea what this represents in terms of sales. It could be a ridiculously small figure for all I know - and probably is. But it's nice to see. It also coincides with a surge in the number of people accessing that part of my blog as well.

Amazon.co.uk hasn't been too bad lately either, though it would be nice to see that improve too. Hint! Hint!

Hellnotes review for His Own Mad Demons

A brilliant review on Hellnotes for His Own Mad Demons:

"For many, His Own Mad Demons, may be a bit different than the horror you are used to reading.  David A. Riley has a writing style very similar to early Peter Straub and very British to boot.  That said, the five novelettes in this collection are wonderfully eerie, spooky and unsettling.  Which to me, makes for a great read.
That’s not to say there isn’t quite a bit of extreme guts and gore in these stories – there is – more than enough to make my nose crinkle up and my stomach turn more than once.  It’s all just well balanced, and that is hard to find in shorter works like these novelettes." More

New review of His Own Mad Demons

Brilliant new review of my collection, His Own Mad Demons, by Ginger Nuts of Horror

My favourite bit of the review is: "In an era where so many authors are trying to find a unique twist on the horror the story, at the expense of a well written story, it is a refreshing to come across an author who understands how to write a scary, gripping and down right entertaining story.  His Own Mad Demons  is what I like to call good old fashioned horror, and this is a shining example of that."

Dark Discoveries

Just received the latest issue of Dark Discoveries in the post this morning - and it's even bigger than ever. This is one magazine that definitely looks to be improving all the time. Pleased to see, too, that Hazardous Press have an advert in it, including for my collection of short stories, His Own Mad Demons.

I'll be doing a review of the magazine later as soon as I have managed to read it, though at over 100 A4 pages that's going to take a couple of days.

Hazardous Press Advert on Hellnotes

I am pleased to see that Hazardous Press has placed an ad on Hellnotes for six of its books, including my own His Own Mad Demons.

His Own Mad Demons - free kindle download

For the moment, Saturday the 1st December only, it is free to download copies of this collection on kindle from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, while the print version has been reduced on Amazon.co.uk to £5.61 with free shipping available.

His Own Mad Demons - Reviews so far

There have been three reviews on Amazon.co.uk so far for this collection, all of them 5-star.

M. Crossman (who has 173 Amazon reviews) said: "For anyone with a love for spooky stories this is a great buy.
All five stories are great reads. The book reads like a version of an Amicus film that they never produced.
Well written and no story ever out stays it's welcome. Each one packs quite a punch and yet there is enough variety amongst the tales that the book stays fresh until the last page.
A deliciously dark read and perfect for those long winter nights although it may cost you a few extra pounds on your electric bill as some of you might have to sleep with the lights on after reading.
Highly recommended."

Top 500 Amazon reviewer, It's Only Me: "More than decent collection of tightly written, well worked, hard hitting stories packed with enough horror and psychological tension to put you on the edge of your seat. I'm impressed. Don't know why David A. Riley isn't better known in the UK.

There are 5 stories:-

Their Own Mad Demons
Lock In
The Fragile Mask on His Face
The True Spirit
The Worst of all Possible Places

Each story has it's own theme of contemporary horror featuring a cast of solidly worked, believable characters thrown, without mercy, into horrible situations. Hard hitting, violent, scary tales of modern horror packed with sharp dialogue and cleanly written. Among some of the best I've read.

I don't usually pay more than £3 for a download if I don't know the author but; I'm happy I took a gamble this time. None of the stories are particularly short, more novella than short story, that's another reason for the 5* review. Quality and quantity, not bad for £3."

While writer Shaun Jeffrey kindly said: "There's a reason why David Riley has had stories published in a number of top, professional anthologies: because he's a good writer. He writes solid, atmospheric prose that's filled with believable characters. This collection of five stories has a central theme of devil worship, but the stories go much deeper. They are reminiscent of the kind of stories people tell on dark nights while huddled around campfires, but their effect lasts long after the flames have died down, leaving a chill down your spine that the fire failed to warm."

His Own Mad Demons

There are a couple of 5-star reviews on Amazon UK now, which are really pleasing.

His Own Mad Demons - first review

My collection from Hazardous Press got its first Amazon review today: review.

Print copies of His Own Mad Demons now available

Paperback copies of my collection from Hazardous Press, His Own Mad Demons, are now available via Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.  In the US it's $9.99 (with free shipping available) and £6.23 in the UK.

His Own Mad Demons available on kindle

Copies of my collection of four long stories and a novelette, His Own Mad Demons, published by Hazardous Press are now available as kindle ebooks via Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Print versions should be available shortly.

Product Description

David A. Riley’s first professionally published story was in the 11th Pan Book of Horror in 1970. Since then, he has been published in numerous anthologies from ROC Books, DAW Books, Robinson Books, Corgi Books, Doubleday, Playboy Paperbacks, and Sphere. Two recent notable anthologies in which he has appeared are The Century’s Best Horror Fiction, from Cemetery Dance, and Otto Penzler’s Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!, from Vintage Books.

In 1995, David and his wife Linden edited and published Beyond, a fantasy/SF magazine. His stories have been published in magazines such as Aboriginal Science Fiction, Dark Discoveries, Fear, Fantasy Tales, Whispers and World of Horror.

His Own Mad Demons contains his stories "Lock-In", "The Worst of All Possible Places", "The Fragile Mask on His Face", "Their Own Mad Demons", and "The True Spirit".

His Own Mad Demons

This is the cover for my forthcoming collection from Hazardous Press. His Own Mad Demons will include:

The Worst of All Possible Places
Lock In
Their Own Mad Demons
The Fragile Mask on his Face
The True Spirit

These were previously published in Houses on the Borderland edited by David A. Sutton for the BFS, The Black Book of Horror and the Fifth Black Book of Horror edited by Charles Black, Dark Discoveries #15 edited by James Beach, and Back from the Dead edited by Johnny Mains.

His Own Mad Demons will be published on the 26th October and be available as a Kindle ebook and as a printed book from Amazon and other online booksellers. Further details later.

His Own Mad Demons

Things are moving along with my collection of long stories from Hazardous Press, His Own Mad Demons.

I today received an email with three different front covers to consider. One, I thought, stood out from the rest, even though it was the only one in monochrome, but it has just the right element of grotesque menace that appeals to me for the cover, so I'll be emailing back later today, suggesting that this should be it. I'll post a copy of it when things have been decided.

No idea yet when the book will be published but I suspect this will be sooner rather than later.

His Own Mad Demons, Dark Tales from David A. Riley

There have been some further developments on my collection of stories from Hazardous Press. The proposed title will be His Own Mad Demons, Dark Tales from David A. Riley. It will now not only be an ebook, a print version will be available too.

The collection will include four long stories and a novelette:

The Fragile Mask on his Face
The Worst of All Possible Places
Lock In
Their Own Mad Demons
The True Spirit