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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:

To give an indication of what to expect in my collection Welgar the Cursed from Tule Fog Press, here is my Introduction:��“Ossani the Healer and the Beautiful Homunculus�� was the first story I wrote involving Welgar, a young mercenary, short of funds, who enlists in the city watch in Assabarr, which just happens to be undergoing a puritanical revolution at the time.��The main character in this story, though, is Ossani the Healer, who previously made a brief appearance at the end of “The Storyteller of Koss�� (Summer of Sci-Fi & Fantasy, 2022). Ossani has been hired by the city’s merchants and the prevailing priesthood to help bring an end to these puritanical disrupters.The inspiration for these was based on the Florentine monk Savonarola who, along with his fanatical supporters, plunged Florence in 1497 into a similar plight, culminating in the infamous Bonfire of the Vanities, an event mirrored in this tale.��Unlike any of the other Welgar stories, “The Dark Priestdom�� is narrated by Nadrain the Storyteller, who previously appeared in the above mentioned “The Storyteller of Koss.�� In this tale I wanted to give Welgar a bigger role, showcasing his heroic capabilities, and also to explore the dark, demon-haunted city of Agrypt, which I had previously alluded to in other tales without any of them visiting it.��I realised after “The Dark Priestdom�� I could not leave Welgar like he was and had to continue his blighted saga. In “Welgar the Cursed�� (published in Swords & Heroes, 2023) Welgar realises how cursed he is, not only in becoming the image of an unwrapped mummy, but in the extreme bouts of insane violence the demon god that has possessed him makes him carry out.��Again, Welgar was left at the end of “Welgar the Cursed�� in a predicament that needed further exploration, and thus came “Mask of a Mad God�� which serves to reveal even more vividly how unmitigatedly evil the demon god that has possessed him is.��At the end of “Mask of a Mad God�� Welgar is determined to end his life or destroy the Agryptian demon god that has possessed him. Afraid to be anywhere near people because of the mad god’s murderous tendencies, he can see only one course of action: to trek to the arctic north and find the demon-haunted city of Cyramon. For me, the story related in “The Forbidden City of Cyramon�� represented the logical outcome to what poor Welgar had undergone.��The final story in this collection, “Emerging from Their Twilit Realms,�� was a difficult one to write and I have to admit I made several false starts. In the end, I decided to come full circle with Welgar meeting Ossani again. The old sorcerer-cum-healer has moved to Oriaska, where he awaits the mercenary’s return, having divined what happened to him in Cyramon. Along with Ossani, though, another character from Welgar’s past is awaiting him, one the mercenary is far less pleased to meet.����

I am pleased to announce that my first sword and sorcery collection, Welgar the Cursed, published by 's Tule Fog Press, is now available to order as a 188-page paperback on amazon. ��"From his raw beginnings as a carefree mercenary, Welgar had no idea that his future would lead him into a dark, demonic nightmare. Although he had always instinctively hated sorcery, it was into the depths of what magic could create that he found himself entangled when he unwisely crossed swords with some of its most malign practitioners. Follow Welgar’s quest as he struggles to rid himself of his horrific curse, which brings death and terror to anyone close to him, friend or foe. Travelling from the hot jungles and grim temples of feared Agrypt in the far south to the forbidden, demon-haunted city of Cyramon in the arctic north, Welgar is willing to sacrifice it all to become again the man he once was." ��“For those enjoying the current surge of interest in Sword & Sorcery, David Riley’s Welgar is definitely one to follow. Skillfully crafted, spiced with lively action and a healthy dash of humor, these yarns are a delight, and stand out on a crowded battlefield.�� �� Adrian Cole, author of The Voidal Trilogy, Dream Lords Series, and Elak, King of Atlantis.��The collection includes the following tales:��Ossani the Healer and The Beautiful Homunculus

The Dark Priestdom (first published in Savage Realms Monthly #19, 2023)

Welgar the Cursed (first pubished in Swords & Heroes, 2023)

Mask of a Mad God

The Forbidden City of Cyramon (first published in Swords & Heroes One Story at a Time, 2024)

Emerging from Their Twilit Realms

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I've been informed by my publisher of Tule Fog Press that my collection Welgar the Cursed should be available to order as a paperback soon. More details as and when they're available.

My sword and sorcery tale The God in the Keep was reprinted in this month's issue of . This was first published in Sword and Sorcery Magazine in 2021. But although it's a reprint this is actually the first time this tale has appeared in print as Sword and Sorcery Magazine is only an online publication.

One of my recurring sword and sorcery characters is Nadrain the Storyteller, who sometimes narrates his own adventures (which he hates having) and of people he meets, which enable me to write in the first person for a change.

Nadrain's own adventures feature in The Storyteller of Koss (Summer of Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1, 2022 and Schlock! Webzine, October, 2024) and in The Dark Priestdom (Savage Realms Monthly #19, 2023 and in the next few weeks in the collection Welgar the Cursed, Tule Fog Press). Additionally, he has retold the tales of the unfortunate snake charmer from In the Temple of the Snake (Crimson Quill Quarterly #3, 2024) and of the artist Essayan in Essayan's Terrible Machineries of War (Crimson Quill Quarterly #5, 2025). I have also used quotes from him at the start of several stories involving Welgar so as to set the scene and provide a few background details.��




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My sword and sorcery tale, Essayan's Terrible Machineries of War, is in the latest issue of Crimson Quill Quarterly, which is available as a paperback and ebook.

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Map created by Aaron Rakuu

Lyndon Perry of Tule Fog Press, who is publishing my collection of sword and sorcery stories, Welgar the Cursed in a few weeks time, sent me copies of the maps, one of which will be included in my collection.

Stories included in the collection are:

Ossani the Healer and The Beautiful Homunculus

The Dark Priestdom (first published in Savage Realms Monthly #19, 2023)

Welgar the Cursed (first pubished in Swords & Heroes, 2023)

Mask of a Mad God

The Forbidden City of Cyramon (first published in Swords & Heroes One Story at a Time, 2024)

Emerging from Their Twilit Realms��

Artwork by Rizky Nugraha

I have just learned today that my sword and sorcery tale, Ammanada, will be in the November issue of Schlock! Webzine.��

Here's an update on my new sword and sorcery stories lined up for publication this year:

Essayan's Terrible Machineries of War (Crimson Quill Quarterly #5)

Lies and Treachery (Crimson Quill Quarterly #6 and #7)

The Moneylender of Oriaska (Swords & Heroes online and Swords & Heroes Vol 2)

Ossani's Apprentice (Swords & Heroes Vol 2)

Mask of a Mad God (Welgar the Cursed)

Emerging from Their Twilit Realms (Welgar the Cursed)

Ammanada (Schlock! Webzine November issue)

The Farmhouse was first published in 1971 in New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural, edited by David A. Sutton for Sphere Books, then was subsequently reprinted in David Stuart Schiff's Whispers #4, and the following year in First World Fantasy Awards edited by Gahan Wilson for Doubleday.��

It will now be reprinted in Gavin Chappell's Schlock! Webzine in October.��

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