[Letters From the Labyrinth] Official Brian Keene Newsletter 10/8/17

My name is Brian Keene, and this is Letters From the Labyrinth, a newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.

I want to start this week with a reminder about some upcoming appearances and events:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20th
2pm
Nightmares Film Festival 17
Columbus, OH
Details: A Brian Keene movie double feature — a big screen showing of The Naughty List (based on my short story “The Siqqusim Who Stole Christmas”) and the world premiere of the feature-length I’m Dreaming of A White Doomsday (which I executive produced). I will not be able to attend, but Doomsday director and The Horror Show with Brian Keene co-host Mike Lombardo will be on hand to sign and talk.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21st
10am to 4:30pm
Haverhill Public Library
99 Main St
Haverhill, MA 01830
Details: Mary and I will be signing all day, and will have books for sale at the event. You can also bring books from home to be signed. There is no charge for signatures. Other authors on hand include Joe Hill, John Urbancik, Paul Tremblay, Rio Youers, John Urbancik, Christopher Golden, James Moore, Amber Fallon, and many more.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28th
1pm to 3pm
Comix Connection
2150 White St
York, PA 17404
Details: Mary and I will be signing copies of DC House of Horror #1, along with the store’s stock of books. You can also bring books from home to be signed. There is no charge for signatures, provided you purchase a copy of the comic from the store.

As you already know, I'm overseeing author J.F. Gonzalez's literary estate. Before he died, Jesus was in the process of re-releasing new, updated editions of all of his out of print books. Part of my duties is to complete that task, with input from his family. Author Robert Swartwood has been handling design and production, and author Kealan Patrick Burke has been designing new covers.

The first two of these re-releases are BACK FROM THE DEAD and THE CORPORATION. Both titles are available now on Kindle, Nook, and Kobo. Paperback editions will be available in a week or two.

BACK FROM THE DEAD
-- Kindle
-- Nook
-- Kobo

THE CORPORATION
-- Kindle
-- Nook (still with old cover)
-- Kobo

Long-time super fan John (aka Scooby Diesel) is raising money for sick kids at his local hospital. And in a very cool way. Click here to read about it.

I gave. I hope that you can, too.

Over on Patreon, a reader asked what my plans are as THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH Book One comes to a close.

Yes, the first book in the series is drawing to a conclusion soon. They still need to escape the army and Iraq, and then visit the RHIC in Hellertown, PA (where all of this started way back in THE RISING), and then the characters who are left after that (cue ominous music) will head right into Book Two.

My plan is to immediately begin posting monthly chapters for SUBMERGED: THE LABYRINTH Book Two (that's a tentative title) in the same manner and fashion I've been serializing THE SEVEN. Both serials will be available on Patreon, in their entirety. Without spoilers, the second novel will be of interest to folks who've been wanting a follow-up to EARTHWORM GODS II: DELUGE.

And yes, these books will see print, eventually. I am very much enjoying releasing them in serialized form via Patreon, and I won't lie -- the dollar per month you folks pay to read and enjoy them really helps me pay the bills. But I remember being a kid and having to search everywhere for Stephen King's first few Dark Tower books, and not being able to get access to them. And that sucked. So, yes, The Labyrinth series will eventually be available in hardcover, and then even more eventually in paperback. But while it's important that everyone have a chance to read them, I'm also not going to penalize my Patreon supporters, so it will be quite a long time before that happens.

If you can't wait for that time in the far-off future, why not spend one dollar and start reading today?

This is a secret message hidden amidst the rest of this newsletter, to tell you that there will be a big thing with Cemetery Dance -- much bigger than END OF THE ROAD -- starting this October 31st.

It's something I've been threatening to do since 1999.

"This is the first day of my last days..." Nine Inch Nails, Wish

My friend Becky Spratford (whom I have often called, in all seriousness, the most important person in modern horror fiction) has released a new second edition of her popular The Readers Advisory Guide To Horror. It's available in paperback and for Kindle.

This is an absolutely indispensable reference work for librarians, booksellers, and teachers -- but I would argue that fans and collectors will find it invaluable, as well.

Click here to purchase.

This is a second secret message hidden amidst the rest of the newsletter, to tell you that Becky's work ties in to that forthcoming Big Secret Cemetery Dance Thing. So does the work of Grady Hendrix. And Stephen King. And T.E.D. Klein. And Ellen Datlow. And Karl Edward Wagner. And Douglas E. Winter. And Jack Haringa. And Nick Mamatas. And John Pelan. And S.T. Joshi.

Except all of those people are much smarter than me.

That's it for this week. A few reminders:

PATREON - Where I post new short stories, a serialized ongoing novel, and behind-the-scenes stuff.

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

See you next Sunday!

This Cemetery Dance thing has been approximately 6,000 years in the making.

And all of that hard work culminates in something very special, which begins on October 31st...