A new swords and sorcery story finished: From the Ashes

I am in a writing fit at the moment which has resulted in me completing another swords and sorcery story, one I started several months ago. This is a 6,800 word Welgar story, "From the Ashes", which also reintroduces two of my other recurring characters, Ossani the Healer and his apprentice Arrenya. It also includes a dog.

The Complete World of Horror Volume 3 - The Shade of Apollyon

I received my copy of the hardcover volume 3 of The Complete World of Horror today, which reprints facsimile copies of issues 7, 8 and 9 of this magazine from 1974. Contained is a reprint of my early horror story, "The Shade of Apollyon" illustrated by my friend Jim Pitts.

Elsewhere in the book is also a reprint of David A. Sutton's story "The Bestwick Papers", again illustrated by Jim. 

Interview in Crimson Quill Quarterly

Delighted to see the second part of my Horbeck the Mercenary story "Lies and Treachery" will soon appear in the July issue of Crimson Quill Quarterly.

This is my second Horbeck tale, the first being "The Demon from Another World" (Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium). Since then I have written four others, finishing the last only yesterday at 14,000 words.

In the meantime Crimson Quill Quarterly have posted online the first of a two-part interview with me: 

 

"For our next Author Interview, we caught up with David A. Riley, whose story "Lies and Treachery" appears serialized over two parts starting in the April 2025 issue and concludes in our upcoming July 2025 issue of CQQ!

Story overview:

After having escaped death in the Great Desert as they fled from their pursuers, Horbeck and his fellow mercenaries are hoping for some time to recover in the small, stockaded town they reach beyond the desert’s edge, little realizing they will be betrayed and forced to grapple with creatures of appalling evil, some demonic and some human.

Do you have further plans for this character and/or setting featured in your tale?

All the major characters already feature in an earlier story (“The Demon from Another World”). I have already written three more and have plans for a fourth. Whether or not all these mercenaries will survive these tales is another matter, but I am tempted for at least some of them to continue for a while yet as I have a great fondness for them.

Now that you have been published with CQQ (and possibly other markets) a number of times, how do you feel your style has changed over the course of your writing career?

For most of my writing career I concentrated on horror with an occasional venture into science fiction, though these tended to have elements of horror too. For the past four years, though, I have concentrated on sword and sorcery, or at the very least dark fantasy, such as in my tale “The Carpetmaker of Arana” which appeared in Savage Realms Monthly. My writing style had already changed over the years as, I think, I learned from practice and experience. This was brought home to me when I recently had to proofread two of my very earliest horror stories, due to be reprinted in a hardcover edition from a rather prestigious publisher. I was surprised how overwritten some parts of these tales looked to me now. And, of course, writing fantasy has seen another alteration in my style, with more emphasis on world building and action.

Furthermore, can you describe your writing process? Do you have a certain routine you like to follow or a certain time of day you like to write at?

I have absolutely no routine at all and never have. The first thing I need is to get into whatever tale I’m writing, then I might add more to it at all times of the day and night in short, productive spurts. I wish I could be like some writers who set aside certain hours of the day to sitting at their typewriter or, more likely these days, their computer to concentrate on adding thousands of words to whatever they’re writing. I can’t and never have done that, perhaps because I have never been a fulltime writer but always had a day job and writing was something I did in my spare time.

What do you think leads to the creation of a good protagonist in an S&S or dark fantasy tale?

They obviously need to be interesting or at least have something about them which can capture the empathy of the reader – and of me, of course, as their creator. I like to think of them as well-rounded characters with distinctive traits and personalities, and their fair share of virtues and vices to give them credibility.

Stay tuned for part two of David’s interview, which will be posted on Thursday!"

New advert for Welgar the Cursed

I created a new advert for my collection Welgar the Cursed, published by Tule Fog Press, which I have circulated online.

 

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

The Shade of Apollyon reprinted in World of Horror Volume 3 from Confessions Press

Confessions Press will be releasing their third volume of hard cover facsimile copies of World of Horror, a monthly magazine from the 1970s. Volume 3 will include issues 7, 8 and 9 of the magazine. Issue 7 included an early short story of mine illustrated by Jim Pitts, The Shade of Apollyon.

The Complete World of Horror 

Check out our new page dedicated to Welgar the Cursed

I have now created a page dedicated to news and information about Welgar the Cursed, a chronological collection of my Welgar stories published by Tule Fog Press as a paperback and ebook. 

Welgar the Cursed - Sword and Sorcery collection

Welgar the Cursed reviewed on Goodreads

There are a number of interesting reviews for my sword and sorcery collection Welgar the Cursed on Goodreads. If you are curious, please just click on this link: https://www.goodreads.com/.../227836196-welgar-the-cursed

Robert E. Howard: The Life and Times of a Texas Author by William M. Oliver

Just received my hardcover copy of Robert E. Howard: The Life and Times of a Texas Author by William M. Oliver a few minutes ago from Blackwell's Bookshop. I look forward to start reading this later today.

(£5 cheaper than from amazon and much better packaged!)

A 5-star review of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 10 on Goodreads

An interesting, in-depth review of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 10 has been posted on Goodreads by Richard Fisher. Check the review here.

Ossani the Healer - two new tales to be published soon plus a collection

 

Another of my continuing characters, the secretive sorcerer Ossani the Healer, who is sometimes the main character in my stories and at others just a secondary one, may have his own collection next year. Negotiations are underway.

More to be revealed later - probably much later.

 

In the meantime two of his stories will appear in Swords & Heroes Quarterly Volume 2: The Moneylender of Oriaska and Ossani's Apprentice, in which I introduce my first female main character in a sword and sorcery tale.

Review of Welgar the Cursed in Crimson Quill Quarterly #6

I have been given permission by Crimson Quill Quarterly #6 to quote the full review published in this issue of my swords and sorcery collection from Tule Fog Press, Welgar the Cursed:

David A. Riley’s chronological collection of his Welgar the Northerner’s/Cursed adventures compose a gripping collection of new-age sword and sorcery with enough of the golden age flavor to bring readers new and old to the revived S&S genre. Each tale within stands as their own separate pieces, but when told one after the other, as Riley has finally been able to do here, they build upon each other, with the next tale being that much more enjoyable by having just finished reading the one before. Brutality and action are balanced with poignant periods of introspection that is equally haunted and lethal.

What impressed me most as a reader, however, was Riley’s ability to blend real world tyranny into tales of fantasy in a way that was not preachy or allegorical, but rather by revealing hints of what may have inspired him to write these incredible pieces of S&S in the first place. Furthermore, the depths of Riley’s story-telling prowess is on full display when viewing the collection as a whole, as it shows that this was no random string of wandering escapades. There is a slow and compelling evolution that allows readers to experience the world, as well as rummage through Welgar’s own thoughts, alongside him.

Welgar the Cursed is an extravagant tapestry of the struggle to survive and overcome, led by one of Riley’s most compelling characters that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. One can only hope there is more planned for him in the future.

 

Parallel Universe Publications Newsletter for May 2025

 

The latest PUP Newsletter was emailed yesterday. If you would like to read the pdf of it now please click on the following link: Parallel Universe Publications Newsletter May 2025

Phantasmagoria Magazine and Crimson Quill Quarterly #6

Two great deliveries today, the latest issues of Phantasmagoria Magazine and Crimson Quill Quarterly. I only have a short piece in what is possibly the most impressive-looking issue of Phantasmagoria so far, but Crimson Quill Quarterly not only contains the first of my two-part story Lies and Treachery, but a truly splendid review of my collection Welgar the Cursed, which ends: "Welgar the Cursed is an extravagant tapestry of the struggle to survive and overcome, led by one of Riley's most compelling characters that I've had the pleasure of reading. One can only hope there is more planned for him in the future."

 

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com 

My final Lovecraftian tale The Psychic Investigator reprinted in Lovecraftiana Omnibus #7

My final Lovecraftian tale The Psychic Investigator is being reprinted in Lovecraftiana Omnibus Book #7. Not only is this my final Lovecraftian tale, it is also my final Grudge End tale as well.