David A. Riley's Blog

It looks like my next story to be published will be a strange little SF tale called "Visit Fungosia" in the online magazine 4 Star Stories. 

I wrote this quite a few years ago. I'll post a link when it's available.

 

Winter of Sci-fi & Fantasy Volume 1 is coming soon with a little dark fantasy tale of my own in it, "The Abomination in the Crypt".

 

My contributor's copy of New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural Omnibus from PS Publishing arrived today. This is a reprint of volumes one and two of New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural edited by David A. Sutton in 1971 and 1972 by Sphere Books. I had a story in both volumes and these are included in the Omnibus: "The Farmhouse" and "A Bottle of Spirits".  There was a previous reprint of the two volumes in 2013 under Dave Sutton's own imprint, Shadow Publishing, retitled Horror! Under the Tombstone. There was to have been a third volume in 1973 but Sphere cancelled their contract. As a result Dave Sutton managed to get it published instead by Corgi Books under the new title of The Satyr's Head & Other Tales of Terror (which was also the title of my story in this anthology). 

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 11 is now in the process of being made available as a trade paperback and kindle eBook. Links will be posted here as

In the meantime, as a taster, below are copies of the Introduction, which contains details of all 10 writers included in the eleventh volume: Harry Elliott, David A. Sutton, Susan Macdonald, Marc Edward Star, Tais Teng, Andrew Darlington, Geoff Hart, Uumbi, Daniel Mahoney, and Craig Herbertson, plus the award-winning artist Jim Pitts.


 
   

 

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy has published a number of stories that form parts of ongoing sagas. Volume 11 includes three of these.

The first is another Undervalley tale from Harry Elliott, involving his intrepid trio Hel Strumm, Mann Silver and the ever-thirsty Gul Hakker. "Silence for Snakes" marks the fifth story following “Skulls for Silver”, “Trials for Treasure”, “Blades for a Bounty” and “Masks for the Madness” in volumes 5, 6, 7 and 10.  Another series involves Craig Herbertsons tales of the barbarian hero Wardark. Prior to "Wardark and the Sands of Serpanam" in our latest volume we published "Wardark", "Wardark and the Siren Queen" and "Wardark and the Pirate King" in volumes 3, 6 and 8.  We have so far published four of Andrew Darlington's Eternal Assassin stories: "A Place of Ghosts" in Volume 6, "Moonfinger and the Gift" in Volume 8, "The Memory Eaters" in Volume 9 and "The Man Who Hunted Death" in Volume 11, though other Eternal Assassin stories have appeared elsewhere, some of which were collected in his Tule Fog Press collection The Eternal Assassin Chronicles: The Lives & Times.
 

There are now three five-star reviews and one four-star on Goodreads for my collection from Tule Fog Press, Welgar the Cursed. 

To see these reviews follow this link: Goodreads 

 

The latest issue of Schlock! Webzine (November 2025) contains my longish swords and sorcery tale "Ammanada".

Here is a link to Schlock! Webzine's website where you can read a copy of this story for free: Ammanada 

Great news just received about one of my most recent dark fantasy stories set in my usual swords and sorcery world, which has just been accepted for an anthology to be published later this year. More details soon.
 

The story is called "The Abomination in the Crypt".

This makes five dark fantasy stories due for publication between now and Autumn next year:  The Moneylender of OriaskaOssani's ApprenticeAmmanadaOssani's EscapeThe Abomination in the Crypt  Several more are out awaiting for a decision from various publishers.

Pleased to find out that my swords and sorcery story "Ossani's Escape" is scheduled to be published in autumn (the Fall) in 2026.

It was in 2017 that my first effort at a swords and sorcery story, "A Grim God's Revenge", was published in Mythic #4. Sadly this publication ceased to exist a year or so back. I reprinted "A Grim God's Revenge" in my collection of the same name.Below is a link which will lead you to a pdf of my story which I'm presenting here as a free read. Hope you enjoy it.   A Grim God's Revenge 

A Grim God's Revenge