In the Temple of the Snake to be published later this year

My 8700 word sword and sorcery tale In the Temple of the Snake has been accepted for publication later this year. More details soon. 

This will mark my seventh brand new story to be published in 2024.

Contract signed for The Forbidden City of Cyramon

Just signed a contract with Lyndon Perry to publish another of my sword and sorcery stories, this time in his "One Story at a Time" series. 

Brand new, originally called just Cyramon, it is now to be published as The Forbidden City of Cyramon. 

Baal the Necromancer to be reprinted in Schlock! Webzine

Pleased to receive an acceptance this morning from Gavin Chappell, who will be reprinting my early sword and sorcery story Baal the Necromancer in the December issue of Schlock! Webzine. This story was first published in Mythic magazine, now sadly defunct.

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 8 is now available as a paperback and kindle eBook

 

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 8 is now available as a paperback and kindle eBook.

amazon.com

amazon.co.uk 

The stories and authors included are: 

TO WAKE THE HUNTER by Tais Teng & Jaap Boekestein

MOONFINGER AND GIFT by Andrew Darlington

THE QUALITY OF MERCY by Geoff Hart

EMPLOYMENT FOR MAGICAL PEOPLE by Monica Goertzen Hertlein

THE HERO’S PATH by Jeffery A. Sergent

LITTLE LIVES ROUNDED BY SLEEP  by Matt McHugh

WARDARK AND THE PIRATE KING by Craig Herbertson

FOR THE HEART OF A SPEARSLAYER by R. K. Olson

THE STONE HEADS by Scott McCloskey

THE TROUPE by Andrew Graham

LAIR OF THE MUTANT KING by Adrian Cole

Floating Free to be published in the September issue of Schlock! Webzine

My science fantasy story Floating Free will be published in the September issue of Schlock! Webzine. 

I have a sword and sorcery story, Cyramon, scheduled to be published elsewhere during the summer months plus a collection of my Welgar the Northerner tales. More details of where and when these will be published will be revealed later. 

New stories published or to be published this year so far are:

The Triptych of Hell - Lovecraftiana, Candlemas 2024

An Oddity - Schlock! Webzine January 2024

In His Father's Footsteps - Schlock! Webzine April 2024

Floating Free - Schlock Webzine September 2024

The Adventure of the Mouldy Book - Sherlock & Friends: Eldritch Investigations

Cyramon - Swords & Heroes: One Story at a Time

The Mask of a Mad God - story collection - untitled at the moment

with the following reprints:

The Storyteller of Koss - Schlock! Webzine October 2024

Ossani the Healer and the Beautiful Homunculus - story collection - untitled at the moment

The Dark Priestdom - story collection - untitled at the moment

Welgar the Cursed - story collection - untitled at the moment

 

The Storyteller of Koss to be reprinted in Schlock! Webzine in October

My fantasy story The Storyteller of Koss, which introduced two of my recurring characters, Nadrain the Storyteller and Ossani the Healer, is to be reprinted in Schlock! Webzine in October.

This tale was first published in Summer of Sci-Fi & Fantasy in 2022.

My Story 'In His Father's Footsteps' is in this month's issue of Schlock! Webzine

My horror story - voodoo and zombies in northern England - is in this month's issue of Schlock! Webzine. My story is called In His Father's Footsteps. 

At the moment this can be read for free online here, though I would heartly recommend buying the magazine either as a kindle eBook or a paperback. It will definitely not break your pocket. To order a copy from Amazon UK click on this link. It's only £4.04.

Latest advert for Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 8

 

This is the monochrome version. The lettering has been changed from black to white so it will stand out better.

 

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:

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. 

Only £13.35 from amazon

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. 

 Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 7 is available as a paperback and ebook (kindle)

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

 

The stories and authors included are:

 

PITILESS by Stephen Frame

UNHALLOWED TOMBS by Paul Batteiger

SORCERIES IN ASSABARR by Andrew Graham

SCHISM OF SPECTRES by Phil Emery

THE CROSSROADS IN THE FOREST by Gavin Chappell

WISPS by Jason M Waltz

DARK THE SKY, RADIANT THE ROAD by Jalyn Renae Fiske

THE BLOOD OF KHALID AL'TAHIR by Craig Comer

THE DARK KNIGHT OF THE SOUL by eric Ian Steele

PROHAIRESIS by Jon Zaremba

BLADES FOR A BOUNTY by Harry Elliott

The artwork, as always, is by Jim Pitts.

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

Day Thirty-Seven of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 6

 

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 6 is available as a paperback and ebook (kindle)

amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

 The contents are: 

LAND OF THE DEAD by Dev Agarwal

THE HOUSE OF BONES by Carson Ray

THRENODY OF GHOSTS by Phil Emery

WARDARK AND THE SIREN QUEEN by Craig Herbertson

OTRIM by Lyndon Perry

GODS, MEN, AND NEPHILIM by David Dubrow

GOLDEN WITCH OF ADZELGAR by Scott McCloskey

RAIDING THE GRAVEYARD OF LOST SHIPS by Tais Teng

A PLACE OF GHOSTS by Andrew Darlington

THOSE WHO WEAR THEIR WHITE HAIR PROUDLY by Lauren C. Teffeau

TRIALS FOR TREASURE by Harry Elliott

GOD OF THE DREAMING ISLES by Adrian Cole

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.