Submissions now open for Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9

 THE SUBMISSIONS PERIOD FOR VOLUME 9

OPENS ON THE 1ST OCTOBER TILL THE 31ST

 

Payment is £25 per story regardless of length plus one contributor's copy of the paperback. The book will be published as a paperback and ebook. If a hardcover version is published we will pay an additional £25. Please send your submissions as attachments (doc, docx or rtf) headed  

"Submission - Swords & Sorceries 9" 

 to:

paralleluniversepublications@gmx.co.uk

Please send only one submission - the one you consider the best fit for us. 

Although we like original stories we will also consider reprints. Just let us know where and when it was previously published. 

You can send in simultaneous submissions, but let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere as soon as you possibly can. Bear in mind you will only have to wait a maximum of one month and a week in which to receive a decision from us.

There is no limit on the size of submissions.  

There is absolutely no need to tell us anything about yourself because the only thing that matters is the story. Everything else is irrelevant.

All rejections and acceptances will be sent by email by the end of the first week in November. Please don't enquire about your submission before then.

And good luck!

In the past we have received a number of stories that may be fantasy but are not swords and sorcery. If you are unsure what swords and sorcery is, you could get a better idea by checking out volumes 1 - 8. Saying that, swords and sorcery is a broad genre and we are more than willing to consider stories that stretch its limits, as we have in the past.

Also check our dedicated facebook group: 

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy

 

   

The contents of Volume One are:

THE MIRROR OF TORJAN SUL - Steve Lines

THE HORROR FROM THE STARS - Steve Dilks

TROLLS ARE DIFFERENT - Susan Murrie Macdonald

CHAIN OF COMMAND - Geoff Hart

DISRUPTION OF DESTINY - Gerri Leen

THE CITY OF SILENCE - Eric Ian Steele

RED - Chadwick Ginther

THE RECONSTRUCTED GOD - Adrian Cole

The cover and all the interior artwork is by Jim Pitts. 

 

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

The contents of Volume 2 are:

The Essence of Dust by Mike Chinn

Highjacking the Lord of Light by Tais Teng

Out in the Wildlands by Martin Owton

Zale and Zedril by Susan Murrie Macdonald

The Amulet and the Shadow by Steve Dilks

Antediluvia: Seasons of the World by Andrew Darlington

A Thousand Words for Death by Pedro Iniguez

Stone Snake by Dev Agarwal

Seven Thrones by Phil Emery

The Eater of Gods by Adrian Cole 

Illustrations by Jim Pitts.

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

 

 

The contents of Volume 3 are:

 

Sorcerous Vengeance by Lorenzo D. Lopez 

 

Seal Snatchers of Jorsaleem by Tais Teng

 

When the Gods Send You Rats by Chadwick Ginther 

 

Mother's Bones by Carson Ray

 

In the Lair of the Snake-Witch by Darin Hlavaz

 

The Rains of Barofonn by Mike Chinn

 

Wardark by Craig Herbertson

 

The Foliage by Rab Foster 

 

In the Lair of the Moonmen by Jon Hansen 

 

Sailing on the Thieves' Tide by Adrian Cole

 

Illustrations by Jim Pitts. 

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

 

 

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 4 contains eleven tales:

In the Iron Woods by Dev Agarwal

My People Were Fair and Wore Stars in Their Hair by Andrew Darlington

At Sea by Geoff Hart 

The Flesh of Man by Frank Sawielijew

City at the Mouth of Chaos by Adrian Cole

In the Belly of the Beast by Edward Ahern

The Tracks of the Pi Nereske by Wendy Nikel

Slaves of the Monolith by Paul D. Batteiger

The Green Wood by David Dubrow

Demonic by Phil Emery

The Whips of Malmac by H. R. Laurence

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

 

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 5 contains eleven tales:

The contents are: 

The Rotted Land by Charles Gramlich

Skulls for Silver by Harry Elliott

For the Light by Gustavo Bondoni

People of the Lake by Lorenzo D. Lopez

Free Diving for Leviathan Eggs by Tais Teng

The Black Well by Darin Hlavaz

Degg and the Undead by Susan Murrie Macdonald

The Mistress of the Marsh by David Dubrow

Silver and Gold by Earl W. Parrish

Bridge of Sorrows by Dev Agarwal

Prisoners of Devil Dog City by Adrian Cole

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com 

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

 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.

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 8 is 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

Kickstarter Project - Anthologies of the Damned

I have an interest in this kickstarter project as I have a 8000 word sword and sorcery yarn in Anthology of the Damned - Necromoirrium called The Demon from Another World.

I have been struck by the sheer enthusuasm and energy of those behind this project and wish them well.

Treeshaker Books

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian Cole - Weirdbook, Phantasmagoria magazine and the Elak of Atlantis Trilogy

Not only is the current issue of Weirdbook an Adrian Cole Special, but the next issue of Phantasmagoria magazine will have an article about Adrian Cole's Elak of Atlantis Trilogy by David A. Riley, plus all three collections of Elak books by Adrian will be reviewed. These will appear together with a plethora of illustrations from the books by Jim Pitts.

Childe Rolande by Samantha Lee

One of our most original books: Childe Rolande by veteran horror and fantasy author Samantha Lee.

 

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

My science fiction tale Floating Free is in the September issue of Schlock! Webzine

My science fiction tale Floating Free is in the September issue of Schlock! Webzine. 

amazon.co.uk

Weirdbook Adrian Cole Special

Adrian Cole is being honoured with a Weirdbook Special devoted to him. In a few months he will also have the third and final collection of his Elak of Atlantis books published by Parallel Universe Publications, Elak, Sea Hawks of Atlantis.

Congratulations on this special edition of Weirdbook, Adrian!

Essayan's Terrible Machineries of War accepted for publication

My ninth story accepted this year for publication is Essayan's Terrible Machineries of War, a sword and sorcery story. This will be published in January next year.

This features in a minor role my recurring character Nadrain the Storyteller.

More details later.

Banner change for Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Facebook Group

 

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Facebook Group

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9 - cover reveal

While submissions for Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9 don't open till October 1st (for one calendar month), here is the cover artwork by Jim Pitts.

Thirty Years of Parallel Universe Publications

 

Thirty years ago Parallel Universe Publications was born. Using money from my redundancy at British Aerospace, where I'd worked for twenty years, I planned on bringing out a bi-monthly science fiction/fantasy magazine called Beyond. By now I had already accepted all the stories that would go into the first issue, to be published in 1995, and announced its forthcoming launch at 1994's Fantasycon, where I was to meet for the last time one of our most prominent contributors, Karl Edward Wagner, who died soon after. 

 

Beyond only lasted three issues, and for a few years afterwards Parallel Universe Publications went into abeyance till 2012 when we published the first of many ensuing books. This started with Craig Herbertson's The Heaven Maker & Other Gruesome Tales, and over 50 books have followed it, including our successful anthology series Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy, which will be up to volume 9 in November. 

 

Childe Rolande and Elak, King of Atlantis

 

Published by Futura 1989

It's curious how Fate sometimes works in small ways. There are two books I reviewed some years ago which had been published by other imprints than my own - Futura Books and Pulp Hero Press respectively - which I never thought at the time I would eventually reprint as Parallel Universe Publications books.

The first was Samantha Lee's Childe Rolande, which Futura published in 1989 and which I reviewed on amazon in March 2022, not realising I would be reprinting this later that year. This is a link to my original review on https://www.amazon.com/Childe.../dp/1739832655/ref=sr_1_1....

The other, of course, is Adrian Cole's Elak, King of Atlantis, which I reviewed for Phantasmagoria magazine not long after the book was first brought out by Pulp Hero Press. https://davidandrewriley.blogspot.com/.../my-review-of...

I don't know whether this will ever happen again, but twice, I'm sure, is strange enough.

 

Published by Pulp Hero Press 2020

 

Published by Parallel Universe Publications 2022

Published by Parallel Universe Publications 2024

Published by Futura 1989

Elak, King of Atlantis by Adrian Cole

My copies of Adrian Cole's Elak, King of Atlantis arrived today and one of them has been added to my shelf of Parallel Universe Publications sword and sorcery books.

Elak, King of Atlantis by Adrian Cole

See below Adrian Cole's Introduction to volume 2 of his Elak of Atlantis Trilogy, Elak, King of Atlantis: 

Henry Kuttner’s stirring four tales of Elak, Prince of Atlantis, portray the young man as a wandering warrior, a restless soul uncertain of what he wants from life, briefly content to burn up his energy randomly combatting whatever dire enemies and elements cross his path. His past has been deeply troubled: he is the stepson of Norian, the former north Atlantean king. Elak, or to give him his true name, Zeulas, has killed his father in a duel, albeit fairly. However, distressed at the act, Zeulas refuses the crown that he is heir to and allows his brother, Orander to rule northern Atlantis in his stead. Zeulas takes the name Elak and, together with his companion, Lycon, wanders the continent of Atlantis and its numerous independent cities, a footloose and generally irresponsible soldier of fortune.

In the ultimate Kuttner story, DRAGON MOON, Elak learns of the dire sorcery working against his enthroned younger brother, Orander. In a bid to rule Atlantis in his own name, the alien, Karkora, contrives Orander’s death through madness and suicide. With Lycon and the assistance of the powerful Druidic sorcerer, Dalan, and help from Mayana, daughter of Poseidon, Elak confronts her child, Karkora, the Pallid One, and eventually triumphs against demonic forces, finally taking the northern crown for himself.

At this time, the continent is a loosely knit confederation of city states, some strongly allied to each other. Cyrena, in the north, Elak’s state, is the most powerful, and has a strong ally in neighbouring Sarhaddon and its queen, Esarra. Another ally is the city state ruled from Poseidonis, under the young ruler, Kellotris. After the war with Karkora, the southern states have been thrown into political turmoil, run by nobles but hovering on the brink of internecine strife. It may take a civil war to settle the disputes.

Meanwhile a new threat arises from the deep ocean. Remnants of Karkora’s followers have conducted rituals and a summoning, waking an ancient sea god, Xeraph-Hizer, the Leviathan Lord. The being recognises the disunity across Atlantis as man’s greatest weakness, a propitious time to launch its own bid for mastery of the continent. Elak is persuaded by his people to unite the city states, the only way the monstrous threat can be challenged, and after yet another fierce and bloody war, Elak, at the head of a unified army, triumphs. For the first time, the continent of Atlantis is brought together under one king. (For a more detailed account of these events, see ELAK, WARRIOR OF ATLANTIS.)

In this second collection, the monarch, still in his late twenties, sails to new adventures, as perilous and terrifying as any he has previously experienced.

 

Here are two quick links to the trilogy so far:

Amazon UK

Amazon USA