Cover for The Lurkers in the Abyss by Paul Mudie

This is the cover as it will probably appear on my short story collection when it's published in October this year by Shadow Publishing.  All of the stories, which start with my very first professional sale, appear in chronological order and should show how my writing has developed over the years.

Dark Discoveries No 23, Spring 2013

Dark Discoveries issue 23, Spring 2013

This is the biggest issue yet, with over 100 A4 pages, most in colour. It’s a special dark fantasy issue, with related articles on Game of Thrones, Robert E. Howard, Dark Horse Comics, Karl Edward Wagner, Sword & Sorcery films, and an interview with Boris Vallejo, one of the most iconic fantasy artists. It also includes a Solomon Kane story started by Robert E. Howard and finished by Ramsey Campbell. The dark fantasy continues with a sword and sorcery story from Angeline Hawkes. The remaining four stories range from urban fantasy to out and out horror: Like Part of the Family by Jonathan Maberry, The Catastrophist by Weston Ochse, The Woman Who Collected McMannon by Joe McKinney, and The Sleeping Ute by Steve Rasnic Tem. Not a poor story amongst them, and a couple that are quite simply outstanding.

Other features include tributes to the late David B. Silva, who died recently, “Why I Hate Women Writers” by Yvonne Navarro, an interview with Jonathan Maberry, and the usual book reviews. 

As well as being the biggest issue yet there is without doubt a lot of meat in it, and even with a large part given over to dark fantasy there is enough variety to suit most tastes. Dark Discoveries had already been going from strength to strength under the able skills of James R. Beach. Since being taken over by JournalStone, with Beach at the helm as Editor-in-Chief, it has become even better. It is a lively, uptodate and fascinating magazine.

The Lurkers in the Abyss And Other Tales of Terror

 

This is the superb cover that Paul Mudie has painted for my collection based on my Lovecraftian horror story Fish Eye. 

Dark Visions from Grey Matter Press

For details of the two volumes of Dark Visions from Grey Matter Press please click on the link.


Dark Visions 1 - Contributing Authors:

The Troll - Jonathan Balog
Collage - Jay Caselberg
Delicate Spaces - Brian Fatah Steele
What Do You Need? - Milo James Fowler
Second Opinion - Ray Garton
The Weight of Paradise - Jeff Hemenway
Three Minutes - Sarah L. Johnson
Raining Stones - Sean Logan
Mister Pockets: A Pine Deep Story - Jonathan Maberry
Thanatos Park - Charles Austin Muir
The Last Ice Cream Kiss - Jason S. Ridler
Scrap - David A. Riley
Show Me - John F.D. Taff

Here's another short extract from my story, Scrap, from volume 1:

"It was barely dawn when the boys were wrenched awake by hysterical screams from their mother’s bedroom.

His heart thumping, Gary threw aside his duvet and leapt out of bed, bare feet skidding on the thin carpet. The door into their mother’s room was already open. In it, lit by a single bedside lamp, he could see his mother. She was sat up in bed, hands clamped to the sides of her head as she screamed and screamed. Other than this she seemed unable to move. Her eyes were transfixed on the other side of the bed. Bumping into each other in confusion, the brothers jammed the doorway. Karl’s side of the bed was dark and wet. There was a narrow lump where he lay beneath the duvet."

Ginger Nuts of Horror - Interview

I have just had a five-minute interview published on the Ginger Nuts of Horror site.

Dark Visions edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson

Grey Matter Press have announced details of their anthology Dark Visions volumes 1 and 2.

This includes my story Scrap, set in Edgebottom, concerning the activities of two brothers who set out to make some money for themselves by scrounging scrap metal and make the mistake of breaking into derelict houses in the notorious slums of Grudge End.

This is a short extract from it:

"Which was when he caught sight over Eddie’s shoulder of the body curled beneath the kitchen sink. It looked bloated, its utilitarian feminine clothes straining against swollen, elephantine limbs; something wet had spread across the linoleum from under the body like rancid syrup that had dried into dark brown, yellowish crusts at the edges.

Gary turned away from it, felt his stomach begin to cramp, before he threw up against the wall. Whatever he had eaten all day was heaved onto it, splashing his jeans. Abandoning the pram, Eddie blundered into him. His face looked bleached and scared. He could barely speak, gesturing at Gary to get out of the house while making inarticulate sounds at the back of his throat like a strangled hen. At any other time Gary would have laughed at him, but now he turned and scrambled onto the street. Rain showered his face as he stared up at it, gasping for breath. Drops of it washed away some of the vomit from his lips, but not enough. He could still taste its acidic bite.

He saw Eddie staring at him, his eyes grown huge and frightened.

“It had no head.” His brother’s voice barely more than a whisper..."

Filthy Creations No 7

The latest issue is out now, with stories by Franklin Marsh (The Wicket Man), Penni McLaren Walker (The Architect's Table), D. F. Lewis (The Only Climax and All Endings Are Happy), Charles H. Galloway (Shapeshifter), Robert Mammone (Mycelium), plus the second part of two serials: The Death Tableaux by Craig Herbertson and Sendings by David A. Riley.

92 pages including the covers.

Editor is Rog Pile. Consultative editor is Craig Herbertson.

For copies, contact Rog Pile on rogpile@hotmail.co.uk

The Workshop of Filthy Creation.

Parallel Universe Publications

A few projects are in hand for Parallel Universe Publications next year, including single author collections and a novel. The last publication was Craig Herbertson's short story collection The Heaven Maker & Other Gruesome Tales in October 2012. There's been a bit of a gap because I have had a few projects of my own due from other publishers, plus I needed to acquire some better software for preparing the books' covers for the printer.

There'll be more information later.

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."

Richard Matheson RIP

Saddened to hear tonight that Richard Matheson has died.

He was one of the greats of science fiction and horror, with such memorable books as I Am Legend, The Incredible Shrinking Man, A Stir of Echoes and Hell House amongst others. He was a memorable screenwriter, responsible for one of Hammer's greatest productions, The Devil Rides Out.

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

Goblin Mire - a quote

This is a section from near the beginning of my novel where we are first introduced to its unlikely hero, Mickle Gorsestab:

Muddy brown eyes watched the Elves as they rode into the mire, muddy brown eyes that blinked with an unnatural slowness as the old but cunning brain behind them took in what they saw.

     Elves meant danger. And Mickle Gorsestab, ancient even for a Goblin, had not survived for as long as he had in this cold, hard world without learning this. His maternal grandfather, Ogbad Scarbladder, a shield-bearer for the Goblin-king, Ludblat the Second, was killed by Elves; his head hacked off and rammed on the end of a pole as a trophy of war, to be carried in triumph to their capital, Cyramon. Mickle lowered his head amongst the reeds, his warty skin so dark he had no fear of being seen by the distant Elves, though the sunlight flashing from their silvered armour hurt his eyes.

     For a moment more the old Hobgoblin watched the Elves as their horses splashed through the reeds, then turned his head away from them. Elves could be crossing the mire for many reasons. They could be heading for the Jagged Mountains to the north. Or west towards the Misty Sea. Or east to the Grasslands. Or, Mickle thought, his thick lips drooped in a ferocious scowl, they could be hunting Goblins. His snag teeth ground like old millstones as he thought of this; without hesitation he reached for the snakeskin hilt of his sword. If Elves were here to kill his kin they would find their sport more dangerous than they expected. Many years had passed since they defeated his race at the Battle of Sundered Hill, when the last Goblin king was killed. Since those dark days the Goblin folk had grown numerous again - and all but lost their fear for the proud, all-conquering Elves. One thing they had never lost - nor ever would, he knew - was their hatred. Oh, no! Mickle ground his teeth harder till they threatened to break. They had never lost their hatred.

     Lurching, with an oath growling like a threat between his lips, the Goblin forced his way through the reeds as fast as his bowlegged gait would allow.

Goblin Mire - cover update

Artist Joe Young sent me an update on the artwork he's done for the cover of this fantasy novel:

This was the original:

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."