[Letters From the Labyrinth] Official Brian Keene Newsletter 8/27/17

Hello, I'm Brian Keene. This is Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. If you're a new subscriber, previous issues are archived here.

I've never enjoyed watching football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR, etc. I have nothing against those sports. I enjoy playing them for fun (although I'm not very good at them...well, I suspect I'd be good at NASCAR, but I digress). I don't enjoy watching other people play them. I've always felt that rooting for a sports team is like rooting for your favorite soft drink brand.

I do, however, enjoy watching boxing and UFC (and professional wrestling on occasion, although the latter -- despite requiring a great deal of athletic prowess and skill and training, probably isn't a "sport").

Last night's match, Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor, brought back fond memories for me of another fight -- Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley. Author Wrath James White knew Mosley, and if I remember correctly, had previously trained him. We watched that fight at author Maurice Broaddus's house, and Wrath offered better commentary throughout the fight than the announcers at ringside.

Here's a pic of us from that night.

NOTHING O'CLOCK -- a Doctor Who novella by Neil Gaiman, is at the printer. The Lettered Edition contains extra material by Joe Hill and myself, and is signed by all three of us. You can order a copy here.

Folks without a local comic store panicked this week after Midtown Comics cut off taking any further pre-orders for DC HOUSE OF HORROR #1. Don't panic! If you pre-ordered it from Midtown, you'll still get your copy. But they've now placed their order for the comic.

Luckily, other online retailers still have pre-orders available. One of my favorites, TFAW, has copies right here. Pre-order from them, if you haven't yet, so that you're good to go when they place their order for the comic, as well.

What all this means is that -- like I warned you -- comic shops are starting to place their orders. The cut off is next month. Yes, the comic comes out on October 25th, but retailers will have to order it well before that. The best way to make sure you get a copy is to pre-order.

(Press Release from earlier this week)

Bestselling, multiple award-winning author and podcaster Brian Keene has been made a member of the Board of Directors for Scares That Care, an approved 501(c)(3) that fights the real monsters of childhood illness, burns and breast cancer by helping families that are experiencing these extraordinary hardships cope with the financial burden. This non-profit organization provides money, toys and other items to help sick children, help women fighting breast cancer, and are partnered with horror icon Kane Hodder to provide assistance to those children who have suffered serious burn injuries. Scares That Care is a 100% VOLUNTEER organization in order to maximize supporters donations to those who need it!

In a statement regarding Brian Keene’s new position, Scares That Care founder and CEO Joe Ripple said, “A noted horror author and philanthropist, Brian will be tasked with the outreach to the author community to facilitate growth in that area. Please make him feel welcome!”

To learn more about the charity, click here.

Some people were confused by that press release. My buddy Del Howison (who runs the excellent Dark Delicacies Bookstore) was confused because he thought Kane Hodder was dead. I assured him Kane was fine, and that I'd just spoken to Kane not too long ago. Then Del and In figured out that he was thinking of the dearly departed Gunnar Hansen.

The other folks who expressed confusion did so because they thought I already served on the Board. I did, in a way. I served on the Board for the annual Scares That Care convention. Now, I'm serving on the actual Board of Directors for the charity. Hope that clears up any confusion.

And yes, for those who asked -- The Horror Show with Brian Keene will be doing another telethon for the charity in 2018. It will be in the Spring. Details to come.

THRONE OF THE BASTARDS -- the sequel to me and Steven L. Shrewsbury’s award-winning KING OF THE BASTARDS -- came out this week in Paperback – Kindle – Nook – Kobo

Although Steve and I can't say much, there's been some nibbles of interest in this property from Hollywood. The best way to make sure they bite is to buy a copy. Sales = Interest From The Suits.

CURRENTLY READING:

Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman
False Dawn by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Marvel Masterworks: The Defenders Vol. 1

I have a podcast on the Project Entertainment Network called THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE.

Christopher Golden has a show on the Project Entertainment Network called THREE GUYS WITH BEARDS.

Soon, Christopher Golden and I will have a show on the Project Entertainment Network called

(Which is why I'm re-reading that Marvel Masterworks volume...)

(And yes, I know I mentioned it briefly here last week, but now we have that cool picture above).

Chris and I intend for this new show to be our hobby -- something just for us. A way to unwind after a week of writing fiction and recording our other podcasts. Each week, we will discuss Marvel Comics' historic, groundbreaking series THE DEFENDERS, which was a stalwart of the Seventies and Eighties. We'll be re-reading the series in order, and talking a few issues at a time.

THE DEFENDERS was a huge influence on us both, particularly some of the writers who penned the series -- Steve Gerber in the Seventies and J.M. DeMatteis in the Eighties.

Eventually, once we run out of Defenders back-issues, we may discuss other formative Seventies Marvel properties such as Ka-Zar, Marvel Two-In-One, Deathlock, War of the Worlds, and The Champions.

That's it for this week. If you have the means, please consider getting a copy of THRONE OF THE BASTARDS, NOTHING O'CLOCK, or DC HOUSE OF HORROR #1.

Reminders:

PATREON - Where I post new short stories, a serialized ongoing novel, and behind-the-scenes stuff. (In fact, a new short story went live there just this week).

TWITTER - The only social media outlet I still use regularly.

Take care.