My short story collections

Below are details of all my short story collections, what stories are in them, and where they are published, plus links to ordering copies online.

The Lurkers in the Abyss and Other Tales of Terror - Shadow Publishing 2013

The Lurkers in the Abyss, After Nightfall, Terror on the Moors, The Shade of Apollyon, Prickly, Writer's Cramp, Winter on Aubarch 6, The Shadow by the Altar, Out of Corruption, A New Lease, Help-Plants, Inside the Labyrinth, A Sense of Movement, Soft Little Fingers, His Pale Blue Eyes, Fish Eye, Lurkers.

amazon.co.uk    amazon.com

His Own Mad Demons: Dark Tales from David A. Riley - Originally Hazardous Press, now Parallel Universe Publications 2012 and 2015

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

amazon.co.uk   amazon.com

Their Cramped Dark World & Other Tales - Originally published by Hazardous Press, now Parallel Universe Publications 2015

Hoody, A Bottle of Spirits, No Sense in Being Hungry, She Thought, Now and Forever More, Romero's Children, Swan Song, The Farmhouse, The Last Coach Trip, The Satyr's Head, Their Cramped Dark World

amazon.co.uk   amazon.com  

After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales - Parallel Universe Publications 2020

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

Illustrated throughout by Jim Pitts

amazon.co.uk   amazon.com

A Grim God's Revenge: Dark Tales of Fantasy & Horror - Parallel Universe Publications 2021

Lem, Scrap, The Urn, Hanuman, Gwargens, Retribution, The Bequest, Corpse-Maker, Old Grudge Ender, Dead Ronnie and I, Grudge End Cloggers, A Grim God's Revenge, They Pissed on My Sofa, A Girl, a Toad and a Cask

amazon.co.uk   amazon.com

 

 

Great Review for His Own Mad Demons on The Slaughtered Bird website

Dave Dubrow gave His Own Mad Demons: Dark Tales from David A. Riley a great review on The Slaughtered Bird website.

REVIEW: His Own Mad Demons

Published May 16, 2016 | By Folklore

Review by- Dave Dubrow.
‘His Own Mad Demons’ is an anthology of short stories written by David A Riley, who’s been an active horror writer since he published a story in the eleventh volume of the legendary Pan Book of Horror Stories in 1970. The tales in Riley’s His Own Mad Demons are all set in the English moorland town of Edgebottom, where the supernatural lurks in every shadow. Riley’s gritty, descriptive prose and fundamental themes are timeless, making this collection a must-read for true fans of horror.
The first tale, His Own Mad Demons, follows the travails of petty criminal Nobby, who’s been given a relatively simple job to do. After things go pear-shaped, Nobby’s attempt to go on the lam is beset with obstacles both natural and supernatural.
In Lock-In, a group of old men calling themselves the Grudgers find that leaving their favorite pub isn’t anywhere near as easy as getting in. A gory piece of psychological horror mixed with Lovecraftian elements.
The Fragile Mask on His Face has a dream-like feeling to it in that the reader knows that something terrible is in store for the protagonist, but is powerless to stop it. A story with twists and turns and a most unusual antagonist.
For a slow burn building to a horrific climax, The True Spirit is a tale that shows you the face of evil, making you hope against hope that the poor characters catch on before it’s too late.
The anthology ends with The Worst of All Possible Places, as apt a title as you’d want. Though the prologue is a bit unnecessary, the remainder of the story is the most frightening in the entire collection, even with as unlikable a protagonist as Bill the drunk.
If you’re looking for message fiction, you won’t find it here. This is good old-fashioned horror, a collection of scary stories told well. It’s these kinds of tales that brought so many of us to horror literature in the first place, and it’s refreshing to see that they’re still relevant, still frightening.

Review by- Dave Dubrow

The Fragile Mask on his Face reprinted in Discoveries: Best of Horror and Dark Fantasy

I am really pleased that my story The Fragile Mask on his Face is to be reprinted in Discoveries: Best of Horror and Dark Fantasy in January 2016 by Dark Regions Press, edited by James Beach and Jason V. Brock. The Fragile Mask on his Face first appeared in Dark Discoveries # 15 in 2009 and is also included in my collection His Own Mad Demons.

Writers included in this anthology are: Paul Bens Jr., Ray Bradbury, Jason V Brock, Kealan Patrick Burke, Elizabeth Engstrom, Paul Finch, Bill Gauthier, Cody Goodfellow, Gerard Houarner, Richard Laymon, Tim Lebbon, John R. Little, Nick Mamatas, Brett McBean, Michael McBride, James Newman, William F. Nolan, Gene O’Neill, Weston Ochse, Wilum H. Pugmire, Stephen Mark Rainey, David A. Riley, Michelle Scalise, John Shirley, Steve Rasnic Tem, Jeffrey Thomas, Tim Waggoner, and Matthew Warner.

Dark Regions Press 

British Fantasy Society reviews of Their Cramped Dark World and His Own Mad Demons

There are two great reviews of my two short story collections, Their Cramped Dark World and His Own Mad Demons,  from Parallel Universe on the British Fantasy Society website.

"Riley’s work is classic horror – he doesn’t resort to swearing or unnecessary depictions of torture to attract his readers.  His tales are all set in environments that will be very familiar to many Brits – the pub plays a big part in some of his stories.   If you’ve not tried Riley’s work before, this is a perfect introduction to his own brand of horror.  I can’t recommend it highly enough."

"Riley’s work will appeal to all fans of horror – it feels like “classic horror”, with tales of witchcraft, demons and zombies.  All complete page turners, Riley is one to read and return to, again and again."

His Own Mad Demons reviewed on Hellnotes

There's a great review for my re-issued collection His Own Mad Demons on hellnotes by Marvin P. Vernon, even if it does use the wrong cover (it's the one for the Hazardous Press version rather than the Parallel Universe one that has replaced it). This is the correct cover:

His Own Mad Demons – Book Review

posted by Marvin P. Vernon

His Own Mad Demons
David A. Riley
Parallel Universe Publications
April 13th, 2015
Reviewed by Marvin P. Vernon
The central theme of the five stories in David A. Riley‘s original collection titled His Own Mad Demons is of the occult and demonology. Some of them take place around a British pub called The Potter’s Wheel and near an area named Grudge’s End. I have always liked that move when the author place their tales around a region whether it is real or fictitious. It gives it color and a continuity that helps create an aura of familiarity once you have the “feel” of the area in your head. And as is often with writers of fantasy and horror, they usually drop you in a place you would not necessarily want to visit and most certainly not spend the night.
I like Riley’s style. It is a little old fashioned and sort of Twilight Zone in character; putting ordinary people in supernatural situations that will tax their beliefs and challenge their will to live.
The title story is typical. It involves a couple of low level crooks doing a job that turns bad and quickly takes an occult turn in what first seems like a standard crime tale. It has a nice twist at the end and a satisfying shudder-inducing climax.
The second story titled “Lock-In” has a nice otherworldly feel, as regulars of The Potter’s Wheel become isolated for days in the pub, unable to leave into a pitch black darkness that dissolves them like acid if touched. This one has some nice shades of Hodgson and Machen to it but is still thoroughly modern.
“The Fragile Mask on His Face” also takes place around The Potter’s Wheel but is the weakest of the five. It involves a missing girl and doesn’t really go beyond the creepy occult killer (or is it something else?) stage.
The last two, “The True Spirit” and “The Worst of All Possible Places,” are the strongest pieces of fiction in the collection. They seem to speak to the writer’s strength of creating a believable fictional region with a mysterious past that includes an evil event and creating characters that will be believably tossed into the chaos. I enjoyed both of these stories but “The True Spirit” really left me in the mood to discover more about the strange town called Grudge’s End.
All of the stories kept my interest and all gave me a satisfying chill at the end. For this type of tale you really cannot ask for much else. They are the epitome of a “brief scare” and the occult horror story. Overall, it is a recommended “keep the lights on while reading” experience.

Free Kindle Download of His Own Mad Demons - Sunday 26th April, One Day Only

My collection, His Own Mad Demons: Dark Tales from David A. Riley will be available for free downloads on Amazon kindle for one day only - Sunday the 26th April.

Amazon.co.uk (Normally £2.05)
Amazon.com (Normally $3.00)


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.

Three New Books from Parallel Universe Publications

Three new books have been published in the last week by Parallel Universe Publications:

Will Anyone Figure Out that this is a Repackaged First Collection? by Johnny Mains

Amazon.co.uk  Amazon.com

Their Cramped Dark World and Other Tales by David A. Riley

Amazon.co.uk  Amazon.com

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

Amazon.co.uk  Amazon.com 

Paperback reprint of Back from the Dead due December from Spectral Press

Back from the Dead cover by Les Edwards

Simon Marshall-Jones' Spectral Press will be re-issuing the British Fantasy Award winning Back from the Dead anthology, edited by Johnny Mains, as a paperback in December with a new cover by  Les Edwards.

The anthology includes my story The True Spirit, one of my Grudge End tales.This story is also in my very successful Hazardous Press collection His Own Mad Demons, which is available as a paperback and ebook.

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.

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!

The Return

Latest news on my Lovecraftian horror novel, The Return, is that it is scheduled for publication in August by Blood Bound Books.

I have been told that I'll shortly be getting the galley proofs and that the cover artwork will be ready within the next week or so.

The Return is set in Edgebottom, which contains the district of Grudge End, both of which have featured in a number of my stories over the past few years, including Lock-In, The Fragile Mask on His Face, The Worst of all Possible Places, The True Spirit, Old Grudge Ender, and Scrap (out soon in Dark Visions 1 from Grey Matter Press). In his review of my collection, His Own Mad Demons, Jim Mcleod (Gingernuts of Horror) wrote: "Robert Rankin has his Brighton, Terry Pratchett has his Discworld, and so David A. Riley has his Edgebottom, and I for one know which of these worlds I would like to take a return trip to."

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

There is a great, in-depth look at my story collection, His Own Mad Demons, on the Vault of Evil by the site's host, Kevin Demant.

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.