[Letters From the Labyrinth] Official Brian Keene Newsletter

Hi. I'm Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth, a newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.

Hope you all had a nice holiday season. I spent mine in segments, as I do each year. I spent the day before Christmas Eve with both my sons (my oldest son, David, is now 26 but will always be the little kid from THE RISING to me) and David's girlfriend. Then, Christmas Eve morning, my youngest son and I had our Christmas Day (which is what we do every year). I spent Christmas Eve afternoon with his mother. Then, I drove to New Jersey and spent Christmas Day with Mary SanGiovanni's family.

People celebrate different holidays this time of year. Some don't celebrate at all. Some spend them with family. Others spend them alone. And still others, like myself, spend them in segments. The key, I think, is to celebrate what you want, when you want, how you want, and with who you want. Holidays are just dates on a calendar. What's important, is you.

I'm trying something different this week -- no images in the email. Let me know how that works for you? Was it easier to read? Do you prefer images?

RETURN TO THE LOST LEVEL -- the sequel to THE LOST LEVEL -- comes out in paperback on February 13th. If you pre-order the paperback from Apex Publications, you can get the ebook for free right now! Which means you can start reading the book today. Click here to pre-order.

The Author's Preferred version of CITY OF THE DEAD just came out in audiobook, narrated by the wonderful Joe Hempel. Click here to purchase.

In queue for audiobook production are URBAN GOTHIC, KILL WHITEY, and TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME.

Chapter Three of 'Brian Keene's HISTORY OF HORROR FICTION' is now up at Cemetery Dance, and free to read. This month, I examine The Epic of Gilgamesh. Written in 2100 B.C., it has zombies and giant monsters and all sorts of other neat stuff. I also talk about how religion and horror fiction share a bond. Click here to read it.

If you missed chapters one and two, click here to get caught up.

I was happy to be a guest on The Stephen King Podcast with hosts Hans Lilja of Lilja’s Library and writer/podcaster Lou W. Sytsma. Click here to listen to the interview.

THE NAUGHTY LIST — a multi-award winning short film directed by Paul Campion (THE DEVIL’S ROCK), starring Vincenzo Nicoli, Sebastian Knapp, and Mac Elsey, and based on my short story “The Siqqusim Who Stole Christmas” — is now available for free in an official Russian-dubbed version.

Click here to watch the Russian version.

I signed signature sheets this week for the limited edition hardcovers of HOLE IN THE WORLD and END OF THE ROAD.

HOLE IN THE WORLD is the third book in THE LOST LEVEL series, and acts as a sort of unconnected prequel (even though it is connected). That will be available from Thunderstorm Books in February, the same month RETURN TO THE LOST LEVEL is released in paperback and ebook. I should stress, paperback and ebook editions of HOLE IN THE WORLD will not be out until late 2018 or early 2019.

The hardcover of END OF THE ROAD contains material not included in the original columns. That will be available from Cemetery Dance some time in early 2018. There are no plans for paperback or ebook editions at this time.

Also coming in early 2018 from Cemetery Dance is THE FALLEN -- a Civil War horror graphic novel by myself and artist Steve Wands.

So, yeah...as far as releases for 2018 go, it looks a little something like this:

CLICKERS FOREVER - Hardcover, Thunderstorm Books (January)
RETURN TO THE LOST LEVEL - Paperback and ebook, Apex Book Company (February)
HOLE IN THE WORLD - Hardcover, Thunderstorm Books (February/March)
END OF THE ROAD - Hardcover, Cemetery Dance (Spring)
THE FALLEN - Graphic Novel, Cemetery Dance (Spring)
LOVE LETTERS FROM A NIHILIST: THE COMPLETE SHORT FICTION Vol. 3 - Paperback and ebook (Spring)
CLICKERS FOREVER - Paperback and ebook, Deadite Press (Summer)
PROJECT CEREAL, aka THE DOOR (although neither of those are the real name) - October
WHITE FIRE - Paperback and ebook, Deadite Press (Fall)
MAELSTROM 2018 - Hardcover, Thunderstorm Books (Fall)
THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH, BOOK ONE - Hardcover, Thunderstorm Books (Winter)

As always, those dates are subject to change. Indeed, I expect several of them to change.

Things in progress (and thus, not appearing on the list above):

THE FALL: THE RISING V
CURSE OF THE BASTARDS (with Steven L. Shrewsbury)
THE MOTEL AT THE END OF THE EARTH
INVISIBLE MONSTERS
SUBURBAN GOTHIC
FUCKED (with Bryan Smith)
DEAD AIR
AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN E-MINOR

And various other things...

For those who enjoy my annual Top Ten Books of the Year list, I'll be doing it on the first 2018 episode of my podcast, The Horror Show with Brian Keene, which is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and right here.

Speaking of my podcast, there's a new anthology out called MY FAVORITE SHORT STORY, in which myself and all of the other hosts of the various shows on the Project Entertainment Network picked our favorite short story, reprinted it in the book, and wrote an accompanying piece to go with each story. Click here to purchase.

JOBS IN HELL was an email newsletter for writers that I edited and published back in 1998 to about 2003. It was one of the first of its kind, started back when most people didn't even have internet or email (hard as that is to believe). It was popular. Won a Bram Stoker Award in 2001. But it became too much and was getting in the way of my writing, so I sold it off. It died about a year later.

This week, for just a second, I considered relaunching it. But then I looked at that list above of things I have to finish, and decided against it.

2018 is going to be rough for your favorite writers, regardless of their level of success or what genre they write in. This coming year, more than ever, we're going to need the support of our readers. Spend your money on them, of course, but encourage others to try them, as well. Following them on Facebook is nice, but Facebook is strangling the reach of Pages, and you're no doubt missing out on their news. Instead of social media, bookmark their actual website and make a habit of visiting it. I believe that in 2018, we'll begin to see a migration from social media back to websites and Blogs. Make sure you know where your favorite authors are when they're not on Facebook. If they have an email newsletter, subscribe.

I am grateful for each and every one of you. Thanks for your financial and spiritual support. I'll keep writing them if you keep reading them.

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.