Category: Fantasy Worlds

Posted on

The Dark Fantasy Worlds Behind My Books — And the Art They Inspire

A group of mages and sorceresses sit around a large wooden table. A cloud of smoke swirls around a miniature castle in the centre and a small black dragon breathes fire at one of the mages beards. A tapestry on the wall behind, shows an open book with the words 'Making Magic' embroidered upon it.

Time for another image representing a scene from one of my stories. This one, generated with the use of AI, is a scene from my short story titled ‘Making Magic’. The story is set in the modern world and follows Alcus, a ‘would-be-writer’, on his visit to a writers’ group, where he meets a number of unique characters and experiences real magic. This is a short story with fantasy and horror themes, and plenty of laughs in between. As for the image, I couldn’t get the AI tool to give me all the characters the way I described them, and every time I asked it to fix something, it would change something else on another character. I’m slowly improving at writing my prompts to generate what I am asking for, but I still have a way to go, and with so many characters in this image, it was a big ask to get them all perfect. Anyway, the image represents the story scene well, even though it isn’t true to the characters descriptions.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.

If you liked this post, why not share it with your friends on social media.

Posted on

The Dark Fantasy Worlds Behind My Books — And the Art They Inspire

A crazed looking old man in red overalls, holding a meat hook. He has patchy, wild white hair and and jokers grin. He stands in a rundown old room; the wallpaper is covered in red arcane symbols and is peeling from the walls.

Here we go with another image I have created using AI tools. This one is an illustration of a character known as ‘The Caretaker’ from my short horror story ‘Low Life’. Yes, I know the title of this blog post refers to dark fantasy worlds, but that’s not referring to the genre of the book, it’s referring to the world, and I reckon the world is dark and it is not real, therefore it is a fantasy world. Alright, I might be stretching things a bit, but how about we just let this one slide, eh?

Anyway, the world behind this piece of art is dark indeed, a rendition of a hell with 18 levels in fact. The idea came from the title and theme of the anthology that I originally wrote the short story for – ’18’, which was published by Vision Writers. I subsequently released the story on its own under my own imprint, and later included it in an anthology of my own short stories called ‘Ripples Through Murky Water’. Needless to say, I’m really pleased with how this image came out, it fits the description and portrays the character well. Again, this isn’t exactly how I pictured him in my head, but it is quite close. This version of the character kind of reminds me of a cross between Jack Nicholson in ‘The Shining’, and Christopher Lloyd as Doctor Emmet Brown (A.K.A ‘The Doc’) from ‘Back to the Future’. I don’t have a problem with that, after all one of these falls in the same genre, right?

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.

If you liked this post, why not share it with your friends on social media.

Posted on

The Dark Fantasy Worlds Behind My Books — And the Art They Inspire

A black horse pulls an old wooden wagon through the snow, before an old shack. Snow-covered, ragged mountains sit in the background.

Hello Readers,

This image was generated (with the help of AI) from the description within a scene from my short horror story ‘The Cold and The Dead’. It took me a few attempts to get the wagon in the right style. The shack in the background and some of the details are not how I imagined, so you’ll find the actual descriptions in the book differ a little, but overall, I’m pleased with how it turned out.

If there is a scene from one of my books that you’d like me to re-create in an image, please leave a comment to let me know which one.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.

If you liked this post, why not share it with your friends on social media.

Posted on

The Dark Fantasy Worlds Behind My Books — And the Art They Inspire

A bone amulet, the figure of muscular being carved upon it. The figure emanates ethereal flames. The amulet is inscribed with runes that circle the circumference, and a red gem inset at the top. It hangs on a leather thong in a mountainous fantasy setting.

Today’s post highlights a magical fantasy relic. While this relic has no sharp edges, it is a dangerous weapon. The type of weapon that is often overlooked. I give you an AI generated image that attempts to illustrate the ‘Blood Rage Amulet’ from my ‘Blood Rage’ trilogy. This is one of several tries. The AI tool wasn’t happy with generating the image as I described it, due to the systems acceptable image generation rules. so, I had to amend the prompts to stay within those rules. In some cases, it allowed certain things on one image, but it wouldn’t allow me to reproduce the effect on another. While the image above isn’t exactly the same as the description in the books, it is a fair representation and I like it.

Here are some of the other attempts, I like them and they all give a good representation of the amulet as I envisioned it, but none of them are exactly as I had imagined:

A bone amulet, the figure of muscular being carved upon it. The figure has outstretched arms and is yelling. The amulet is inscribed with runes that circle the circumference, and a green gem is inset at the top. It hangs on a leather thong before some candles and a skull.
A bone amulet, the figure of muscular being carved upon it. The figure emanates ethereal flames. The amulet is inscribed with runes that circle the circumference, and a red gem inset at the top. It hangs on a leather thong in a fantasy forest setting.
A bone amulet, the figure of muscular being carved upon it. The figure has outstretched. The amulet is inscribed with runes that circle the circumference, and a green gem is inset at the top. It hangs on a leather thong before some candles and a skull.

Feel free to let me know which one is your favourite in the comments.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.

If you liked this post, why not share it with your friends on social media.

Posted on

The Dark Fantasy Worlds Behind My Books — And the Art They Inspire

A medieval tavern that sits on a cobbled street lit by torches. A dank alley runs down the side of the tavern, littered with debris. A large wooden sign hangs above a lantern in the doorway. The sign reads 'The Dead Duck'. Patrons can be seen inside through the leaded windows, lit by the golden glow of the light within. Several hard-weathered figures can be seen on the street outside.

When I wrote the ‘Blood Rage’ trilogy, I created a whole world for my characters to live in. The world that I wanted to set their story in. It was the world of Armada; a dark, gritty, medieval-style, fantasy world. One of the locations in this world is ‘The Dead Duck’, a tavern whose landlord holds an allegiance to a guild of thieves known as ‘The Crimson Guild’. The image above is an illustration of ‘The Dead Duck’ that I generated using AI, to try and bring the world to life for those who are more visual. I’d like to say here that I have found it very difficult to get AI to produce an image that represents a description I have provided of the image in your head, but I must say that after refining my prompts a few times, I am very pleased with how this one turned out.

The world of Armada has inspired a lot of art for me. I remember sketching some of the scenes to anchor them in my head and support my writing. I have also created other art for merchandise that can be found in my Merch store; here’s an example:

A white ceramic mug with an emblem representing 'The Crimson Guild'; a single drop of blood sits central to the image upon crossed swords where they overlap. Above the swords there is a hooded face, old keys cross in the same manner below, a pouch of gold coins sits on the right, and a quiver of arrows on the left. The Crimson Guild is written on a decorative scroll at the bottom.

I’ve created a short movie clip of the scene where the Ku-Shee chases Conall and Erin through the forest, as well as other images of the creatures that inhabit the world, and scenes from the book. Most of which I plan to share with you all in future blog posts.

If there are any particular scenes, creatures, or merchandise that you would particularly like to see, please let me know in the comments.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.

If you liked this post please share it with your friends on social media.

Posted on

What If Your City Turned Dark Fantasy?

Hello Readers,

Welcome to the last of my ‘Dark City’ posts. The final post in this series brings us to… Toronto!

A dark fantasy re-imagining of Toronto City. The CN tower and the Gooderham building take centre stage in this image. The tower glows with an ancient script that adorns its sides. The city sprawled behind it under the light of the red moon, and the Gooderham building below in the foreground. Ancient gargoyles watch over the city from the rooftops.

What questions flood your mind when you gaze upon this dark fantasy city? Here are a few I’ve created for you to ponder over:

When the crimson aurora coils above the CN Tower, what forgotten creatures awaken beneath its steel veins?

Which spirits haunt the mist‑choked streets of Queen and Spadina, and what do they whisper to those who walk alone after midnight?

What lies beneath the frozen waters of Lake Ontario, and does it stir when the moon turns red and the runes begin to hum?

What memories do the gargoyles keep of the first night the sky broke open and the city learned to fear its own reflection?

When the Flatiron’s walls pulse with red light, which souls are drawn to its doorway — and which never return?

I hope you’ve enjoyed my ‘Dark City’ Series. If you’d like to see your city (or any other city) transported into a place within this dark fantasy realm, just let me know which city you want to see in the comments, and if I get time, I will see what I can do to bring it to life.

To see my other Dark City and World Building related posts, you can visit my Fantasy Worlds under the categories section.

If you want to conjure up your own mug with a ‘Dark City’ design, check out my Merch here.

Happy Reading!

Posted on

What If Your City Turned Dark Fantasy?

My ‘Dark City’ Series of posts is almost at an end, and who knows, I may bring it back to life again another day. But for now, I bring you a dark fantasy portrayal of… Perth!

A dark fantasy depiction of Perth City. Glyphs are infused into the buildings, glowing bright, turning Perth into a Vegas-like city from some dark nightmare. A huge tentacled creature rises from the river beneath the light of the blood moon, and dark creatures hide in the shadows.

Perth City. Another place I have yet to visit. Even though I live in Australia, this city is approximately 5 hours flight from Brisbane, and I can get to a number of international destinations in less time than it takes me to get to Perth. However, I still plan to get there one day.

But to visit the Perth of this dark fantasy world it would do you well to ponder these questions:

When the Blood Moon rises over the Swan River, how much blood flows from the ancient runes lit by its glow?

What creatures stir in the mist that coils around King’s Park, and what secrets does it whisper about the forest’s oldest stones?

When the auroras twist crimson and green above the skyline, do they mark the return of the river god, or the opening of a portal to another realm?

What tribute must the fishermen offer at Elizabeth Quay to keep the tentacled behemoth beneath the waters from rising?

Which cathedral bells toll backwards at midnight, and what souls respond to their call?

The creature in the water looks oddly familiar to me… I wonder… could it be… is this the lake dweller from one of my own tales or is it just a coincidence?

Come back next week for the final image in my ‘dark city’ series.

To see my other Dark City and World Building related posts, visit Fantasy Worlds under the categories section.

If you are interested, you can purchase your very own ‘Dark City’ mug from my merchandise store.

Happy Reading!

Posted on

What If Your City Turned Dark Fantasy?

Hello Readers,

The next city to plunge into the darkness is… Vancouver!

Vancouver City transformed into a dark fantasy setting. Dragons fly in the turbulent sky, sigils run down the length of the tower blocks, and strange creatures loiter in the shadows.

I’m a big fan of Vancouver City. In fact, I’ve only just returned from a holiday in Canada, and I spent some more time in Vancouver after having enjoyed the hospitality of this city in the past. But this re-imagined version of the city is not the Vancouver I know, and it makes me wonder if the seaplanes in the real world have been replaced by the dragons seen in the sky.

Here are some questions to tweak your dark curiosity…

When the storm clouds coil above the city, what runes awaken on the glass towers of Coal Harbour and why are they there?

What is the cost of passage paid by for the ferrymen to the serpents that dwell beneath Lions Gate Bridge — Do all their passengers make it to the other side?

Which forgotten gods breathe through the neon haze of Granville Street, feeding on the desires of wanderers?

When the fog rolls down from Grouse Mountain, what spectral beings cross the seawall unseen?

What ancient oath binds the ravens circling the Vancouver Lookout, and why do their eyes burn with green fire?

Which souls are trapped within the reflections of False Creek, pleading for release when the moon turns crimson?

When the rain falls black and heavy, what creatures rise from the alleys of Gastown to hunt by the flicker of lanterns?

What memory does the city itself keep — is there really a heartbeat echoing through glass, steel, and shadow — waiting for the one who can hear it?

To see my other Dark City and World Building related posts, visit Fantasy Worlds under the categories section.

If you’d like to conjure up your own mug with a ‘Dark City’ design, check out my Merch here.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Posted on

What If Your City Turned Dark Fantasy?

Hello Readers,

Today brings another city submerged in the shadows of dark fantasy. This week I give you… Sydney.

Sydney City in a dark fantasy setting. Glyphs are scawled across the sails of the Opera House, The Harbour Bridge is lit by the glow of the blood moon, and shadow creatures lurk on the banks of the harbour.

Before you visit this fantasy metropolis, you may wish to consider these questions:

When the storm‑crowned moon rises above the harbour, which runes awaken upon the Opera House sails, and what forgotten chorus hums beneath their glow?

Which spirits drift through the flooded lanes of The Rocks, whispering the names of those who drowned before the city was built?

What creature coils within the depths of Darling Harbour, feeding on the dreams of those who gaze too long into its waters?

When the ferries vanish into mist, do they return from the same world they departed — or from one that remembers us differently?

What ancient order guards the tower that burns emerald above Circular Quay, and what price must be paid to silence its light?

Which cathedral spires hum with power when the blood‑red moon touches their tips, and what prayers are forbidden within their walls?

What shadowed parliament convenes in the clouds above the city, deciding which streets will wake and which will sleep forever?

Food for your thoughts… but don’t eat too much of it, or I fear you may get trapped among the shadows conjured within your mind.

To see my other Dark City and World Building related posts, visit Fantasy Worlds under the categories section.

If you’d like to drink from your very own ‘Dark City’ mug, they can be purchased from my merchandise.

Happy Reading!

Posted on

What If Your City Turned Dark Fantasy?

Hello Readers,

This weeks ‘Dark City’ post has strayed a little to a more rugged terrain with a township sitting at the base of some jagged mountains. Welcome to a dark fantasy infused ‘Banff’.

Banff rendered in a dark fantasy illustration. The township lies in a valley at the base of the mountains, watched over by strange birdlike creatures, as runes glow on the rocks at their feet. a green aurora snakes through the sky, contrasted by the blood red moon.

What a beautiful sight for the eyes of those strange beaked creatures gathering by the runes. But are they admiring the view or working out who will become their next meal.

Now you’ve considered my first question, here are a few more for you to ponder upon:

When the auroras twist into unnatural shapes above the mountains, what warnings do their colours spell out across the sky?

Which spirits linger in the frozen lake when the ice cracks under the blood moon’s gaze?

Do the shadowed creatures make bargains with travellers who stray from the torchlit paths, or do they just add more bones to those already scattered across the landscape?

When the mist rolls down from the peaks, whose whispers guide the lost back to town — and whose lead them deeper into the darkness?

Which ancient deity carved the valley, and what tribute must the townsfolk offer each winter to keep the snow from turning crimson?

What unseen eyes watch from the treeline when the last lantern flickers out?

I hope for your sake that you are not unfortunate enough to find out the answers to these questions, for I’d truly like to see you return for next week’s post in the ‘Dark City” series.

To see my other Dark City and World Building related posts, visit Fantasy Worlds under the categories section.

If you’d like to purchase your very own ‘Dark City’ mug, check out my merchandise.

Happy Reading!