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.

Crimson Quill Quarterly #6 now available as a paperback and eBook

I am pleased to announce that Crimson Quill Quarterly #6 is now available as a paperback and eBook.

The latest issue contains the first of a two part story by me called Lies and Treachery, which details a further adventure of my on the run mercenaries led by Horbeck, who first appeared in The Demon from Another World last year in Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium. 

From this issue's description on amazon:

"Heart of the Depths by Ethan Sabatella: In this Stone Age Slasher, five youths break the rules of their tribe and stay out in the wilderness after nightfall. The superstitions of their people prove all too real as a terrible darkness creeps out from the Earth and stalks them one-by-one.

The Saga of the Stew by Randall Madden: Trolls have ravaged the mountainside around Ravian, and all but the hardiest have fled. Yet two brave souls travel toward the danger, in search of an ancient book near the mountaintop. Damica, the aging singer, finds an unlikely ally in Morgho the swordsman. Together they move for Ravian itself—the very source of the troll attacks—so that Damica might complete the most important ritual of his long life.

The Forbidden Land by Mike Adamson: In an ancient land, legend warns of the dire fruits of trespass. Not for nothing does taboo keep the tribes away from the northern woods, as Jareth the Hunter and Sho’nee the Beautiful discover when the girl flees the warrior to whom she is promised...into the embodiment of all mortal terror.

Lies and Treachery (Part 1 of 2) by David A. Riley: 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.

Dark Secrets Entombed by J. VanZile: Balthen Verdugo wants to hunt monsters and make money. If he can gain a bit of notoriety and fame along the way then all the better. A rich purse leads Balthen to a town with a beast who has been killing by night and hiding in a graveyard by day. When Balthen learns the beast may be linked to the town and its people in ways he wouldn’t have expected, he must decide what he values more; truth and justice or his business.

Choir of the Mad Anatomist by Logan D. Whitney: Wayward rogues Indryk and Cor find themselves embroiled in the aftermath of one man’s musical obsession…and another’s greed.

Snowblind by Shephard W. McIlveen: Onyx the Tigerheart stumbles upon a bizarre murder scene when he finds four men half-buried in the snow, each with their eyes burned out through the backs of their skulls. As he examines the bodies, he is set upon by a small order of armored men each dressed in a uniform matching the corpses at his feet. To clear his name and show good faith, Onyx agrees to aid the men on the search for the real killer, but how long will it take for the hunters to become the hunted?"

Crimson Quill Quarterly No 6 and my story Lies and Treachery

Crimson Quill Quarterly have just revealed their cover for issue No 6, which includes Part 1 of my two-part story Lies and Treachery. 

This story is a sequel to The Demon from Another World which appeared in Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium last year.

New 5-star review from Canada for Welgar the Cursed.

 

 Nice to see a new 5-star review on amazon for Welgar the Cursed, this time from Canada.

 

My sword and sorcery story Lies and Treachery will appear in Crimson Quill Quarterly #6 in April

I am really pleased to announce that my sword and sorcery tale Lies and Treachery will appear in the April issue of Crimson Quill Quarterly. This is the second story about my disreputable mercenary heroes Horbeck, Brud and Asner, who first appeared in The Demon from Another World (Anthology of the Damned - Necromoirrium).

 

First amazon review for Welgar the Cursed - and it's 5 Stars

The first amazon review has now been posted for my collection Welgar the Cursed and, thankfully, it's for 5 Stars. It ends with: "I really hope Riley continues this character, because so much more can be told of his saga."

As soon as I finish writing my chronicles of the mercenary Horbeck (6 stories written and one still to be completed) that's a distinct possibility, especially if his stories continues to receive a favourable response.

To read the full review click on either of the links below:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DVZ3643N

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DVZ3643N