Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 2

While volume 1 is imminently ready to be published, we have already started work on preparing a second volume to be brought out next year with another really amazing cover by award-winning artist Jim Pitts. 

Please do not submit stories for it yet - any we receive till submissions open will not be read. We will announce on this site as soon as we are ready to receive subs for it. 

In the meantime, to ensure we can continue to publish this series of swords and sorcery books please help to encourage sales, either by sharing posts like this about it or by writing reviews, especially on amazon. Like all small presses we rely on the support of our writers and readers.

 

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy - submissions for Volume One end today

The submission period for Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy ends at midnight today (GMT), and we have already received far more brilliant stories than we could possibly use in one volume.

The quantity and quality of so many of the submissions  has been amazing, which is why we have rescheduled volume two for April/May next year, so that some of those that can't be fitted into volume one will be offered a place there.

We would like to thank everyone who has sent stories to us. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to read so many wonderful tales.

A full TOC for volume one will be released within the next few days.

Kitchen Sink Gothic 2 - TOC

Cover artwork: Allen Koszowsky

I can now reveal the full table of contents for Kitchen Sink Gothic 2. 

THE RING ON THE ROOF - James Harper

THE CHRISTMAS TREE - Eric Nash 

VLOG'S LEGS - Shaun Avery

THE CAPSULE - David A. Sutton

WAKE UP SCREAMING - Adrian Cole

THE BOY ON THE TRAIN - Paul Lewis

DOUBLE EXPOSURE - Jonathan Mitchell

NIGHT FLIGHT - Eric Ian Steele

THE LONELY PASSION OF JIMMY TATE - Trevor Kennedy

THE DOOMED EMPIRE - Andrew Darlington

REAL LIFE - Franklin Marsh

STONES ARE BREATHING TONIGHT - Russell Hemmell

WINTER DISCONTENT - Stephanie Ellis

THE ADELPHI - Alyson Faye

PAIN - Mark Reece

THIS LITTLE PIGGY - Teika Marija Smits

This 240-page anthology will be available soon both in softcover and as an ebook. All royalties will be donated to charities for the homeless.

Kitchen Sink Gothic 2 nearing publication

After a much longer delay than originally intended Kitchen Sink Gothic 2 will be published within the next month, all proceeds from its royalties going to charities for the homeless. 

A full list of contents and the authors involved will be announced shortly. 

The book will be released as a paperback and an ebook. 

An odd Russian illustration for After Nightfall

This is an odd Russian illustration for my story After Nightfall, which was included in an unauthorised anthology in 1992. This illustration is not included in the hardcover collection being published in November this year by Parallel Universe Publications. In this there will be a rather more elaborate illustration by Jim Pitts. See below. 

After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales is available for pre-order for the discounted price of £18.00. Follow this link for details. 

Only 7 days left till submissions close for Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 1

 

Only seven days are left till we close submissions for Volume 1 of our new Swords & Sorceries series, which we intend to publish mid-October. If sales are good enough a second volume will be published next year, possibly by July. It has been a great experience and we have been impressed with the range and quality of submissions so far.

A Place of Skulls by David Ludford

 

 
This collection includes twelve tales of terror previously published in Schlock! magazine.

Contents are:
A Place of Skulls

Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down

Almost Human

Bonestaff

Bridesmaids

Dummies

Heretics, Neophytes and Nemesis

Killing Clowns

Skinnybones

Sleepwalker

The Box

The Burning Tree

Paperback and kindle:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com   

Buy any four of our paperbacks for the price of three - limited period only

For the remainder of this year if you order any four of our paperbacks direct from us we will refund the cost of the cheapest. 

This offer is inclusive of wherever you live providing all four books go to the same address. 

You don't need to quote any special offer details. We will automatically refund the discount as soon as we start to process the order at our end. 

Order paperback books direct

After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley, illustrated by Jim Pitts available for pre-order

After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley and illustrated by Jim Pitts is available for pre-order at the discounted price of £18.00, which includes postage and packing within the UK. All pre-ordered copies will be signed by the author and artist.

Just click on this link. 

The book includes over 20 illustrations by Jim Pitts. Here are just a couple of them:

 

After Nightfall

Boat Trip

Christmas in the Workhouse by Craig Herbertson - front cover

We're still working on this book, but this is its possible front cover, with artwork supplied by Chrissie Demant.

The book contains the following stories:

Jackdaw He Saw © 2020

The First and Second Horror © 2020

Christmas Eve in the Workhouse © 2012 Originally published as It was Christmas Eve in the Workhouse in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

The Pipes © 2012 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

Listen © 2015 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

The Iron Cross © 2012 Originally published in The Screaming Book of Horror

All in the Game © 2012 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

Stocking Filler © 2017 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

Heart of Parkins © 2012 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

The Other House the other Voice © 2015 Originally published in Terror Tales of the Scottish Highlands

He loves Me Not © 2020

Merry Christmas Motorway Man © 2016 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

Layby © 2014 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

It Could Have Been Me © 2012 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

Mary © 2020

Last Mass © 2014 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar as The Last Mass

Soap 7 © 1990 Originally published in Works #7

Clean © 2019 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

Maidenhead © 2009 Originally published in The Thinking Man’s Crumpet

Two weeks @ 2014 Originally published in Vault of Evil Advent Calendar

Return Gift © 2020

Perlitiarius © 2020

Up until publication the book can be pre-ordered for £18.00 including postage and packing within the UK, and all copies will be signed by the writer. We have added extra charges for overseas orders. After publication the price will be £20.00.

To pre-order click on the following link.  

 

Christmas in the Workhouse & Other Gruesome Tales by Craig Herbertson - available for pre-order

Craig Herbertson's The Last Mass illustrated by Chrissie Demant

One of the three books being published bv Parallel Universe Publications this year is Craig Herbertson's second collection of stories from us, Christmas in the Workhouse & Other Gruesome Tales, which will be published on the 15th November. 

Like After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley, this too is available for pre-order at a discounted price, signed by the author. Please follow this link for details. 

Craig's earlier collection, The Heaven Maker & Other Gruesome Tales is available in hardcover, paperback and kindle. 

New titles from Parallel Universe Publications

Work has just started on formating the third of the new titles due to be published by Parallel Universe Publications later this year, Craig Herbertson's Christmas in the Workhouse & Other Gruesome Tales, a companion volume to the very first title we published way back in 2012, The Heaven Maker & Other Gruesome Tales. 

The other books we will be publishing this year are Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy and After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley, illustrated by Jim Pitts. 

The first to appear will be Swords & Sorceries, which be published next month as a paperback. The others will be published in hardcover in November, with paperback versions to be brought out in 2021. 

 

Five-star reviews for Shades: Dark Tales of Supernatural Horror by Joseph Rubas

A five-star amazon review from Jeffrey Beesler:

"Joseph Rubas has crafted many short stories in a collection that left me spellbound until the end. The author holds no punches with the subject material. My favorite tale has to be Fury, involving a character named Tommy who faces abuse around practically every corner. The events in Fury caught me by surprise, especially when Tommy faces bullying at the hands of someone named Butch. There really wasn't much of a downside to the collection, although there may have been one story that didn't resonate quite so much with me, somewhere in the middle. All in all, an awesome read that managed to spook me a few times. I hope to read more of this author's work in the future." 

Another reviewer: "Wow really enjoyed it, couldn't put it down."

Find out for yourself just how truly great these stories are.

A great New York writer: Joseph Rubas - Shades: Dark Tales of Supernatural Horror

 

Joseph Rubas began writing in 2002 after reading Stephen King’s The Stand. His earliest efforts reflected his deep love of that novel; he tried again and again to write a rip-off, but finally gave up around 2006 and resigned himself to writing original fiction. His first short story was published in May 2010 on the now defunct Horror Bound Online website. His second story was published in September 2010 in a Pushcart Prize nominated literary magazine for new and beginning writers called The Storyteller. Since then, his work has appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies. His first collection, the now out of print Pocketful of Fear, was released by a small publisher in 2012. His second collection, After Midnight, appeared in 2014. His short fiction has appeared in: Nameless Digest; The Horror Zine; Eschatology Journal; Thuglit; Manor House; All Due Respect, and others. He has self-published three longer works: The Rocking Dead: Seasons 1-3 (a parody of the AMC series The Walking Dead); The Rocking Dead: Season 4; The Shapeshifter; and Dracula 1912, the latter a novel.

In addition to writing, he has also edited two anthologies: A Thorn of Death (2012) and The 3rd Spectral Book of Horror Stories (2016).
He currently resides in Albany, New York.

This Collection includes:

Passing the Buck
Midnight
Aokigahara
Snowbound
Deja Vu
The Ghostly Hitchhiker
Just a Mask
Meeting Ray Bradbury
5051 Bartley Square
The Witching Hour
Potter's Field
The Warlock
Confessional
The Thing in the Woods
The Lake House
Chomo
The Traveling Show of 2016
Evildoer
A Perfect Life
Fury
Paint
Night of the Dog

Order his book direct from Parallel Universe Publications or via Amazon, etc.

Direct from PUP
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com

 

After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley, Illustrated by Jim Pitts available for pre-order

After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley, illustrated by Jim Pitts, is available for pre-order up until the 14th November 2020, when it will be published. 
As well as over 20 illustrations by award-winning artist Jim Pitts, the book 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

After publication this hardcover book will be for sale at £20.00 per copy.

Up until publication it can be pre-ordered for £18.00 including postage and packing within the UK, and all copies will be signed by both the writer and the artist. We have added extra charges for overseas orders.

To pre-order click on this link: PRE-ORDERS

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy - UPDATE

Things are moving well with the first volume of swords and sorcery tales from Parallel Universe Publications and we can announce that this will be published in October, with some amazing stories already accepted and some equally amazing artwork inside from Jim Pitts. 

The final TOC will be announced as soon as the deadline for submissions has been passed at the end of September. 

This has been a really exciting project and one we are looking forward to publishing. 

ALL OF OUR PAPERBACKS ARE NOW AVAILABLE DIRECT FROM US

We are pleased to announce that as from today all of our paperback, as well as our hardcover books, are available direct from us. 

Paperbacks

Hardcover

Johnny Mains - A Distasteful Horror Story

 

"A darkly humorous, satirical look at the tight-knit world of horror writers - and their fans. Contains no scenes of violence against actual books, only their authors”

Johnny Mains has been prominent in the horror genre ever since his 2010 debut anthology, Back from the Dead: The Legacy of the Pan Book of Horror Stories, which won the British Fantasy Award in 2011 for best anthology. Mains has been at the forefront of the UK’s new wave of horror, editing Best British Horror (Salt Publishing and NewCon Press), Dead Funny: Horror Stories by Comedians (edited with Robin Ince), and The Screaming Book of Horror.Mains has also written several collections of his own stories: With Deepest Sympathy (2010), Frightfully Cosy and Mild Stories for Nervous Types (2012) and A Little Light Screaming (2015).Mains has also written the introduction to Stephen King’s 30th anniversary edition of Thinner, and has discovered ‘lost’ works of fiction by Algernon Blackwood, Edith Nesbit and Daphne Du Maurier.

"Johnny Mains is the Herbert van Thal of our age" - The Independent

"Mains' knowledge of fantastical fiction is enormous" - Robin Ince

"Mains is the Minister For Horror" - Charlie Higson"

Reviewed on the British Fantasy Society website:

"Picking up this book, it’s clear to see that the author has set out to shock – the title, the cover art (a dismembered corpse in a blood-stained alleyway and bin) show the intentions from the start. But the big question is, does it shock? Written by Johnny Mains, who is clearly a big fan of the horror genre, it tells his story – how he became a horror fan at an early age thanks to a friendly librarian, how he met one of the world’s biggest horror authors (Carson Fisher), became his lover, murdered him and tells his story from his prison cell. Featuring murder, male rape, more murder and then some more murder, it is definitely gory, and will absolutely be distasteful to many – the final denouement in the closing pages adding to the distaste, but also expanding on the protagonist’s motives. I enjoyed the book, found it easy to read, and while I wasn’t particularly shocked by it all, the last chapter or so was somewhat of a surprise. Mains explores a man’s descent into depravity and borderline insanity, as well as the lengths to which someone will go for revenge with absolute skill and precision. His knowledge of and love for the horror genre and its authors shines through, and he also manages to make the reader feel some empathy and sympathy for the protagonist writing from his prison cell. All in all, a great read, and one for the shelves of (almost) any horror fan."

Carl Barker's Parlour Tricks in hardcover, paperback and kindle

Carl Barker's collection Parlour Tricks. was published by Parallel Universe Publications as a hardcover, paperback and ebook, with a great cover by Luke Spooner.

 

Devil worshippers stalk the ageing boards of Blackpool Pier, a scrap-yard automaton devours the souls of lost children, and a murderous priest hunts an ancient she-demon through the streets of New York.

 

A selection of horror stories to chill the blood, featuring revenant felines, garbage-eating clairvoyants, flesh-eating magpies and a severed head with murder in mind.

 

Unexploded Girlfriends (c) 2010 was first published in Dark Horizons, Issue 57, BFS Journal, Winter 2010.

From Chatterton Hill (c) 2011 was first published in Estronomicon, October 2011.

Old Loves Die Hard (c) 2012 was first published in Title Goes Here, Issue 12, July 2012.

Eater of Lost Causes (c) 2011 was first published in Full Fathom Forty, BFS, October 2011.

With The Band (c) 2013 was first published in Niteblade, Issue #25, September 2013.

Fish Out of Water (c) 2011 was first published in Midnight Movie Creature Feature, May December Publications, October 2011.

Kicks (c) 2013 was first published in Miseria's Chorale, Forgotten Tomb Press, November 2013.

Why the Wild Things Are (c) 2010 was first published in Zombie Zoology, Severed Press, May 2010.

The Man Who Came to Dinner (c) 2009 was first published in Midnight Street, Issue #12, April 2009.

Things Lost in Fire (c) 2011 was first published in Dark Gothic Resurrected, October 2011.

Junkyard Dog, The Certainty of Chance, The Cabinet of Ed Monroe, and Lemming Revolution (c) 2016 are all original to this collection.

Hardcover, paperback & kindle:

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

You can order the hardcover version direct from us on this link post free.