This is the monochrome version. The lettering has been changed from black to white so it will stand out better.
Pages
- News, Views, Reviews and Stuff
- Published Stories
- My Novels
- My Book Reviews
- Collection - The Lurkers in the Abyss and Other Tales of Terror
- Collection - Their Cramped Dark World and Other Tales
- Collection - His Own Mad Demons: Dark Tales from David A. Riley
- Beyond and Prism
- Interviews
- Audio Stories
- Parallel Universe Publications - direct orders
Tuesday 26 March 2024
Tuesday 19 March 2024
Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 6
There was a great recent 5-star review on amazon for Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 6:
Monday 18 March 2024
Phantasmagoria Magazine Hellraiser Special
I received my contributor's copy of the Phantasmagoria Magazine Hellraiser Special this morning. My only contribution is a critical review of Hellraiser: Revelations (2011), which must surely rank as the worst entry in the whole franchise - at least I definitely hope so!
This is another beautufully produced issue, over 370 pages of stills, drawings, articles, interviews, reviews, etc., with entries by Trevor Kennedy, Peter Atkins, Adrian Baldwin, Simon Bamford, Clive Barker, Imogen Boorman, Tori Borne, Doug Bradley, David Brilliance, Mike Chinn, Malachy Coney, Con Connolly, Kenneth Cranham, Dean M. Drinkel, Kelly Dunn, Terry Farrell, Christopher Figg, John Gilbert, Christopher Gray, Anthony Hickox, Clare Higgins, Dave Jeffery, Carl R. Jennings, Stephen Jones, Paul Kane, Bob Keen, Ashley Laurence, Ivan McCann, Kim Newman, Barnaby Page, Evangelia Papanikou, Geoff Portass, Owen Quinn, Tony Randel, David A. Riley, Andrew Robinson, Helen Scott, Michael Marshall Smith, Jessica Stevens, Nicholas Vance, Nat Whiston, Cliff Wallace, Allison Weir, Sarah Graven Weir, Barbie Wilde, Ciaran Woods and Christopher Young, plus artists Clive Barker, Jonny Boyle, Randy Broecker, Dave Carson, Les Edwards, Graham Humphreys, Allen Koszowski, Ivan McCann, Jim Pitts, Steph Sciullo and Andrew Smith.
Sunday 17 March 2024
Day Thirty-Nine of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 7
And here we are at day thirty-nine of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications with Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 7, which we published last November.
This is the final showcasing. We have published other books (The Winter Hunt & Other Stories by Steve Lockley and Paul Lewis; England 'B': Ninety Minutes of Hell by Richard Stains (Mark Samuels); Will Anyone Figure That This Is A Repackaged First Collection by Johnny Mains; A Distasteful Horror Story by Johnny Mains; and A Little Light Screaming by Johnny Mains) but all of these have been discontinued and are out of print.
In 2024 we will be publishing two further volumes of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy plus a trilogy of interlinked sword and sorcery collections by a veteran writer (further information to be issued later). All five books will be illustrated by Jim Pitts.
Saturday 16 March 2024
Day Thirty-Eight of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Lucilla - a novella by David A. Riley
Day thirty-eight of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's my own Lucilla - a novella, which was originally serialised in Bewildering Stories.
Lucilla - a novella by
David A. Riley is available in hardcover for £13.99, in paperback for
£5.50, and in kindle for £2.99. The cover artwork is by Jim Pitts.
It was just another standard day at the Women’s Refuge until the
arrival of Lucilla. Then Miranda’s world was never the same again.
Unaccountably
influenced by what the girl needed, her job, her friendships, even
freedom itself were of no importance. It was not until her niece’s life
was at risk that Miranda knew she had to act.
But what could she do against someone who had such a tight, insidious grip on her?
amazon UK £13.99 in hardcover, £5.50 in paperback, £2.99 in kindle
amazon.com $17.19 in hardcover, $6.70 in paperback, $3.70 in kindle
Friday 15 March 2024
Day Thirty-Seven of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 6
Thursday 14 March 2024
The Triptych of Hell in the latest issue of Lovecraftiana Magazine
It was good to see my story The Triptych of Hell in the latest issue of Lovecraftiana: the Magazine of Eldritch Horror, but it's a shame the picture referred to in the story wasn't able to be included. I was originally asked to write the story to accompany the illustration commissioned by a private buyer for a collaboration between Jim Pitts, Allen Koszowski and Dave Carson, renamed Johann Potts, Albertus Krakowski, and Desmond Cartier in the tale.
Day Thirty-Six of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Childe Rolande by Samantha Lee
For
day thirty-six of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe
Publications, it's Samantha Lee's amazing mix of sword & sorcery and
post apocalyptic science fantasy Childe Rolande.
Parallel Universe Publications is proud to announce that we have published Samantha Lee's groundbreaking post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel Childe Rolande as a paperback and kindle e-book.
Originally published by Futura Books in 1989, our new version includes an Introduction by the author and a brand-new cover by talented Scottish artist Paul Mudie, who will be familiar to many for the iconic covers he created for the Black Books of Horror. There is also the added bonus of interior chapter headings by award-winning artist Jim Pitts.
Childe Rolande has been optioned by Forlan Films for a proposed TV series and is currently in pre-production development.Wednesday 13 March 2024
Day Thirty-Five of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: A Handful of Zombies: Tales of the Restless Dead
Day
thirty-five of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe
Publications and it's the turn of our first (and only) chapbook: A Handful of Zombies: Tales of the Restless Dead by David A. Riley, illustrated throughout by award-winning artist Jim Pitts.
What was intended as the start of a series of low-priced chapbooks, A Handful of Zombies: Tales of the Restless Dead included four previously published short stories by David A. Riley with illustrations by Jim Pitts.
All four stories in this collection cover a wide range of tropes within the zombie genre.
Dead Ronnie and I is a tale of high adventure by plane and sea, with an abortive escape by our protagonist to the as yet untainted Isles of Scotland. This was originally published in Sanitarium Magazine No 44 in 2016.
His Pale Blue Eyes is probably the most traditional take of zombie stories today, featuring a young girl’s determined search for her parents during a zombie apocalypse. It’s a story, though, about conditioning and how what someone is taught can radically affect their behaviour. Is the horror in this the shambling undead or the girl herself? See what you think. This first appeared in Bite-Sized Horror edited by Johnny Mains for Obverse Books in 2011.
By contrast Right For You Now, originally published in Weirdbook Zombie Annual No 3 in 2021, harks back to the original concept of the zombie in Voodoo-haunted Haiti, though this tale is set in present-day Britain. It’s a combination of a crime story, revenge, and a man’s obsessive fascination with age-old practices.
Our final tale, Romero’s Children, is more in the way of a science fiction story. The zombies here are certainly the most different. For a start off they are not dead but have been granted near immortality by a drug that swept the world with its promise to stop aging. Alas for those caught up in the frenzied demand to use it, though, its side effects were such that they would have been better off dead. This story appeared in 2010 in The Seventh Black Book of Horror edited by the late Charles Black and was subsequently picked up by American editor Paula Guran for her 2012 anthology Extreme Zombies.
Tuesday 12 March 2024
Phantasmagoria Magazine Hellraiser Special
Very pleased to have a review in the latest issue of Phantasmagoria Magazine, which is a Hellraiser Special. Ironically, my piece is on what is almost certainly the worst Hellraiser movie ever made: Hellraiser: Revelations.
To order it from amazon follow this link: Phantasmagoria Magazine Hellraiser Special
Day Thirty-Four of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 5
Monday 11 March 2024
Floating Free to be published in September
I just received notification that a longish story of mine called Floating Free has been accepted for publication in September this year.
More details later.
Day Thirty-Three of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 4
Swords & Sorceries: Tales of
Heroic Fantasy Volume 4 contains
eleven tales:
In the Iron Woods by Dev Agarwal
My People Were Fair and Wore Stars in Their Hair by Andrew Darlington
At Sea by Geoff Hart
The Flesh of Man by Frank Sawielijew
City at the Mouth of Chaos by Adrian Cole
In the Belly of the Beast by Edward Ahern
The Tracks of the Pi Nereske by Wendy Nikel
Slaves of the Monolith by Paul D. Batteiger
The Green Wood by David Dubrow
Demonic by Phil Emery
The Whips of Malmac by H. R. Laurence
Sunday 10 March 2024
Day Thirty-Two of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 3
Day thirty-two of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's the turn of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 3, published in November 2021.
Saturday 9 March 2024
Day Thirty-One of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: A Grim God's Revenge: Dark Tales of Fantasy & Horror
Day thirty-one of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's A Grim God's Revenge: Dark Tales of Fantasy & Horror by David A. Riley, published in 2021.
A Grim God's Revenge by David A. Riley includes fourteen dark tales of fantasy and horror ranging from 1971 to 2020.
Dead Ronnie and I was first published in Sanitarium issue 44, 2016
Corpse-Maker was first published in Weird Window issue 2, 1971
The Urn was first published in Whispers issue 1, 1972
Gwargens was first published in Beyond issue 3, 1995
Retribution was first published in Peeping Tom issue 3, 1991
The Bequest was first published in Dark Horizons, 2008
They Pissed on My Sofa was first published in Malicious Deviance, 2011
Old Grudge Ender was first published in The Screaming Book of Horror, 2012
A Girl, a Toad and a Cask was first published in The Unspoken, 2013
Scrap was first published in Dark Visions 1, 2013
Lem was first published in The Eleventh Black Book of Horror, 2015
A Grim God’s Revenge was first published in Mythic issue 4, 2017
Grudge End Cloggers was first published in Scare Me, 2020
Hanuman was first published in Phantasmagoria issue 16, 2020
Friday 8 March 2024
Day Thirty of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 2
Illustrations by Jim Pitts.
Amazon.co.uk £11.99 paperback/£2.99 kindle
Thursday 7 March 2024
Day Twenty-Nine of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 1
The contents of Volume One are:
INTRODUCTION - David A. Riley
THE MIRROR OF TORJAN SUL - Steve Lines
THE HORROR FROM THE STARS - Steve Dilks
TROLLS ARE DIFFERENT - Susan Murrie Macdonald
CHAIN OF COMMAND - Geoff Hart
DISRUPTION OF DESTINY - Gerri Leen
THE CITY OF SILENCE - Eric Ian Steele
RED - Chadwick Ginther
THE RECONSTRUCTED GOD - Adrian Cole
The cover and all the interior artwork is by Jim Pitts.Wednesday 6 March 2024
Day Twenty-Eight of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley
Day twenty-eight of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley, illustrated by Jim Pitts.
After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales
by David A. Riley, illustrated by Jim Pitts contains the following stories:
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
Here are just a couple of the over 20 illustrations, most of which are full page.
The paperback version and kindle are available through amazon, the paperback can be ordered direct from us:
Tuesday 5 March 2024
Day Twenty-Seven of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: The Ever More Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts
For
day twenty-seven of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe
Publications it's the second volume of art by Jim Pitts, appropriately
titled The Ever More Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts, which is
available to order either direct from us or via various online outlets
like amazon as a hardcover or large-sized paperback.
Since we brought out The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts in 2017 Jim has been constantly busy, including interior artwork for Elak: King of Atlantis and After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales, covers for Phantasmagoria magazine, and a host of other projects, with new techniques and fresh designs.
The Ever More Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts is a fitting sequel to the first volume, published in hardcover and packed with black and white and full-colour illustrations.
These are just a few of the pages from this book:
All copies ordered direct from PUP will be signed by Jim Pitts and include some great extras.
Monday 4 March 2024
Day Twenty-Six of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts
To order the hardcover version of The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts click onto this link.
To order the softcover versions direct from us click onto this link.
Sunday 3 March 2024
Day Twenty-Five of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Christmas in the Workhouse & Other Gruesome Tales by Craig Herbertson
Saturday 2 March 2024
Day Twenty-Four of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter
Irena and her thirteen-year-old son AleÅ¡ are refugees living in a lonely seaside town of Dover, England. AleÅ¡ has never seen an ocean, let alone one that glows purple when he’s nearby. On a local beach, he befriends the ostensible Mother of Crabs, an amputee with rigid demeanour and unequivocal warnings. Soon, purple crustaceans crawl behind his every step and women with pincers threaten to recondition his sensitive heart.
Erik Hofstatter is a dark fiction writer and a member of the Horror Writers Association. Born in the wild lands of the Czech Republic, he roamed Europe before subsequently settling on English shores, studying creative writing at the London School of Journalism. He now dwells in Kent, where he can be encountered consuming copious amounts of mead and tyrannizing local peasantry. His work appeared in various magazines and podcasts around the world such as Morpheus Tales, Crystal Lake Publishing, The Literary Hatchet, Sanitarium Magazine, Wicked Library, Tales to Terrify and Manor House Show. Other works include The Pariahs, Amaranthine and Other Stories, Katerina, Moribund Tales and Rare Breeds.
"...the emotional tug that The Crabian Heart exerts on the reader is palpable. The Crabian Heart is also a coming-of-age tale, one that resonates with the pangs of unrequited love. And as such, it concludes, like all great coming-of-age stories, with a very difficult and painful realisation for the love-struck main character. By the end of its 100 pages you will find yourself both haunted and moved by Hofstatter’s evocative writing."
Friday 1 March 2024
Day Twenty-Three of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Parlour Tricks by Carl Barker