RileyWritesNovellas.

@rileywrites.bsky.social

338 Followers 172 Following

he/him, cis, bi, I am a fan of D20 & TAZ, and am a self published author. check out Horse Riding Into War on Amazon!

The cover to a book titled "Surviving the heat of Vengeance" by "Riley A. Glasen." The cover is blue, with white text, and a white emblem displaying a crown with a sword through the center of it.
It lasted 6 minutes. That’s it. Technically it took 8, but the cameras posted all throughout the solar system were a bit delayed in detecting the sun going supernova. I remember, clear as day, seeing the whole mall light up red as the screens displayed the Earth. It’s supposedly once lush, green and blue surface slowly turned balck as the heat and plasma approached. We saw it be almost entirely swallowed before the camera’s cut due to damage from the heat. It was stunning, heart breaking. Like hearing that a distant relative you’d met a few times had died. It wasn’t till I had heard about your documentary that I’d really thought about it. That planet was the birthplace to all life as we know it. How many countless ecosystems were lost when Sol exploded? How many before that from carelessness? Do you know how long the publications ran stories about it? A month. They stopped talking about it in earnest after a month. Sure every now and then someone writes a think piece on it, and it gets a little traction, but no one really cares anymore. No one alive today was born there. I’m sure your documentary will be similar.
The Singed Blue Dot A Testimony From a Witness to Earth’s destruction I was 32 when the sun swallowed the earth whole. Not just earth, but Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and almost all of the asteroid belt. I remember it vividly, I think everyone does. It was a tragedy, the whole of the human race watched with rapt attention as the ground from which we were born as a species was burned to a crisp. The invention of instantaneous communication through entangled particles opened up the idea of interstellar travel. The journeys were long, but keeping in touch meant that we were more okay with leaving our home world behind. First we colonized the moon, and then came mars. We set up science labs on the moon Titan. After a while we began to travel to the neighboring stars, using what we now call ‘slow travel’ at first, but soon we discovered a way to make exotic matter capable of stabilizing wormholes. We now colonize a total of 10 stars, 16 colonized planets housing 25 billion humans.
A white emblem on a field of blue, depicting a sword stabbed through a crown.
The cover art for "Horse Riding Into War" by Riley A. Glasen. It's red with white text, and features an emblem of a half helmet, half horseshoe.
The cover art for "Sword Fighting in the Garden" by Riley A. Glasen. It's green with white text. There is a white emblem in the middle, featuring a rose crossed with a thorn.
A physical copy of "Sword Fighting in the Garden" by Riley Glasen. The cover is green with white text. A white emblem in the center shows a rose crossed with a sword
The Wolf’s Jaw Inn & Tavern is not a unique sight. Resting points like this, away from any settlements, have existed for a long time, and they are all the same. I remember staying at a place just like this on the road with my father when I was a little girl. The smell of freshly cooked stew covering the smell of freshly brewed beer brings me back there. I was so small back then, and sure that my father could handle the whole world. I guess he wants everyone to see him that way, but I know better now. I shake my head as I dismount Shadow and give her a snack from my bag, a fresh apple. Well, as fresh as it could be, anyway. She looks tired. Places like this sometimes have stables, I think she’d get better rest in one of those. I lead Norwell inside.
“That’s my magic he wants. The magic of the crystal. And with it, he can do a lot of harm. You are the only one with the skill, the time, and the motivation to save her.” She takes a step forward, though I hardly notice with all of the emotions running through my heart. “What does he want with your magic? What can he do?” I plead for information. I need to know why. “His ambition has only continued to grow. When he betrayed your father, he merely wanted to rule Lairen. When he retreated behind the Vicorn, he simply wanted to conquer the lands of man. Now, his ambition grows more. He wishes not to conquer, but to destroy. To replace the lands of man and elf with monsters who follow only his command. With my magic, he can make his will so.” She places a hand on my shoulder, and it’s like electricity.
All good things This is perfect. I am brought forth from a deep peaceful sleep by the stirring of my wife. Sir Ruthwynn is trying to untangle herself from me. I must have wrapped myself around her last night, as I do most nights. My unconscious body hungers for her warmth, like a reptile to a hot stone. My arms and legs wrap around her, and so most mornings, like now, she has to remove herself from my grasp. Normally I wake up too by this point, help her get dressed. But today it is early, and she is leaving, so I feel no pull to help her. Instead I squeeze the last part of her I still have a grasp on, her arm, in an attempt to plead her to stay in bed with me, if only for a little bit. Instead, I feel her lips press gently onto my forehead, and I let out a sigh and let her go without ever opening my eyes
A physical copy of a book called "Horse Riding Into War" by "Riley A. Glasen." It's a red book with white text, and a white emblem in the middle, depicting half of a knights helmet in profile, and half of a horseshoe.
Two books hard cover books, standing on a table, propped up by being slightly open. The left is a copy of "Sword Fighting in the Garden" by Riley A. Glasen. It's a green book with white text and a white emblem of a rose and sword crossing. On the right is a copy of "Horse Riding Into War" by the same author. This one is red with white text, and a white emblem of a helmet/horseshoe
"I... see." I turn to look at her again. She is staring at her horse, but it almost seems like she is looking past her. Into that deep nothing that the eye is drawn to when the mind is battling something in its interior
Picture one: a very fluffy cat with mostly black fur, though she has white in her face, chest, belly and paws. She's laying on her back in a beat up old office chair.
I wake up alone this time. A different island, but empty. I see the edges in all directions, and there is nowhere for Wynn to be hiding. I fall to my knees. Were we unworthy of what we were trying to do? Were we judged and found wanting? It's suddenly too much to even think about and I start crying. The tears flow from my eyes like rivers, and I wrap my arms around my stomach. I am trying to be as small as possible. "Overcome with emotions?" The voice is a surprise. The Sorceress has appeared behind me. Or at least her voice has. I don't have the energy to check. "Mmm hmm." Is all I manage. I don't want to hear my wobbly and weak voice right now. "I would be too. You just went through something profound and powerful. You know, that experience is unique each time. This is too. All parts of it are. The magic is testing to see if you are ready and worthy of what it will bestow upon you. But you haven't failed yet." The Voice eases the tears, but doesn't stop them. I finally look up at her. She looks the same as she did in the tower. "Many have been in a similar space to you right now...
Image one: a party of characters in the video game Dragon Age 2. On the left is Fenris, a slightly dark-skinned elf with white hair and white tattoos. He is wearing heavy chest armor, but exposing his arms. To the right of him is the customizable protagonist, in this instance a white haired woman wearing sensible brown clothing. To her right is the character Anders, who is dirty blonde and wearing furry robes. To his right is the final character, Varric, a dwarf with no beared, but acceptional chest hair.
Image one: two characters in the video game Dragon Age: Origins. The character on the left Alistair, and is situated slightly further back. He has dirty blonde hair and redish-grey armor. On the right is the customizable protagonist. In this instance they are a black-haired woman with blue lipstick and a green robe.
An estimated royalties report for KDP showing $0.00 in estimated royalties and 0 orders.
Image one: the cover of the novella "Sword Fighting in the Garden" by Riley A. Glasen. It is green with white text, featuring a white silhouette of a rose and sword crossing.
A physical copy of "Horse Riding Into War" by author Riley A. Glasen. The cover is red, with white text. It features a white silhouette of half a knights helmet in profile, and half a horseshoe.
A physical copy of "Sword Fighting in the Garden" by author Riley A. Glasen. The cover is green with white text, and a white silhouette of a sword and a flower crossing.
Image one, a snippet of the novella "Sword Fighting in The Garden" by Riley A. Glasen. It reads "I sigh as I look towards the horizon. A dusty trail leads from the tower to that edge, a hill that my vantage point does not allow me to see over. I don't know if I'll die here, but at least the view is nice. The first sun, Woro, was setting. Soon only the pale white light of Moro, the second sun, will light the sky, and after that, darkness and stars. I close my eyes and take in another breath. Focusing on the filling of my lungs. I usually hate when I focus on my breathing. It makes it so that I can't do it without thinking. But it's nice to have something to focus on other than the chains on my wrists."