Letters From the Labyrinth 78
Hello again. My name is Brian Keene, and this is Letters From the Labyrinth -- a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
Polishing up the pilot for THE DOOR today. I'm happy with how it's turned out.
Let's recap everything you know about THE DOOR so far:
1. It's a prose serial, presented in an episodic fashion, similar to a television series.
2. It's based on an existing media property which aired for two seasons.
3. THE DOOR is a placeholder title, and not the real title of the project.
4. I am serving as Showrunner and Head Writer.
5. The other writers include Richard Chizmar, Stephen Kozeniewski, and the team of Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason.
6. The five of us, along with editor Lydia Shama and film director and BlackBox TV creator Tony E. Valenzuela, spent a week in Arizona together, as part of a creative retreat.
And now, another big piece of news has dropped. Probably the biggest chunk of news yet. If you were on Twitter yesterday, then you know where THE DOOR is going to be appearing. If you weren't on Twitter, then here was the Tweet from Serial Box.
Thaaaaaat’s right! Another super secret serial is in the works with @BrianKeene. Our shenanigans game is strong this year, you don’t want to miss what we’ve got in store for you!
Sign-up for the newsletter and always be in the know: https://t.co/smJGO7Nxan https://t.co/viROxZc3hZ— Serial Box Publishing (@serialboxpub) February 17, 2018
If you are unfamiliar with Serial Box, think of them as Netflix or Hulu for readers. Their content is available as an ebook or audiobook.
Here are a few news articles about them and their format and company.
From Wired: "This Publisher Doesn't Have Authors. It Has Writers Rooms"
From Publisher's Weekly: "HBO For Readers"
From the Chicago Tribune, an article about their founding and plans.
I am very excited to be working with them, and look forward to you, my readers, joining us later this year (October to be exact). I'll also note that THE DOOR is just the beginning. I have several other properties I hope to partner with them on (including a few media properties which I myself own...)
For more on Serial Box, visit their website.
If you're on Twitter, consider following them...and tell them I sent you.
It's always nice to turn something in by deadline, particularly something as important as this pilot episode.
That doesn't always happen. I've talked before (on my podcast and my Blog and in interviews) about falling behind on the deadlines to publishers for four books. Those books were as follows: HOLE IN THE WORLD (limited edition hardcover for Camelot Books), DEAD AIR (limited edition hardcover for Sinister Grin Press), THE MOTEL AT THE END OF THE WORLD (limited edition hardcover for Dark Regions Press), and INVISIBLE MONSTERS (limited edition hardcover for Bad Moon Books).
I fell behind on them because, quite frankly, when J.F. Gonzalez died, I got swallowed up whole by grief and depression. I crawled inside a bottle. When I crawled back out again, I focused on getting his literary estate in order, rather than focusing on my own work. Doing that takes a long time. Doing it right takes an even longer time. As a result, I fell behind on those books.
Eventually, I turned HOLE IN THE WORLD in to Camelot Books. They decided it wasn't for them. No harm, no foul. I paid them back the advance they'd paid me, in full, and sold the book to Thunderstorm Books instead.
The guys at Sinister Grin and Roy at Bad Moon were sympathetic to my situation, and assured me I could take my time and not worry about the deadlines. I verified that again THIS WEEK with them both.
Chris Morey at Dark Regions was not so sympathetic. And the more combative he became, the less I wanted to work with him. I began to hear rumblings from other authors that Dark Regions Press was late on royalties and late on royalty statements -- meaning authors weren't getting paid. I began hearing all kinds of other rumblings about the press, as well. I am a professional author, writing for a living. It's not good business to work with a publisher who isn't paying his authors on time, and who is disrespectful and harrassing to those authors -- and, in some cases, their readers. Ultimately, instead of delivering a manuscript to him, I paid him back the advance in full, and we parted ways.
More authors began to complain about Dark Regions, and now, they complained to The Horror Show. Why? Because for four years we've built ourselves up as a news source who investigates and reports on such claims. New allegations included Dark Regions reportedly publishing ebooks they did not have the rights to, disparaging authors in their stable for not selling more copies and for demanding to be paid on time or at least be sent a royalty statement, etc.
When I contacted Mr. Morey about the allegations against Dark Regions, and gave him an opportunity to comment and tell his side of the story and set the record straight, he instead attempted to threaten and "blackmail" me, stating that if we went ahead with the podcast, he would tell everyone about those four books I owed publishers.
Which is no big deal since a) I've already told you about them before, and b) two of those publishers were paid back in full and the other two expressed that they were fine waiting for them.
But I don't like being threatened. And I certainly don't appreciate half-assed blackmail attempts from some half-witted fuck-up who is desperately trying to cover up his own mistakes and flailing about and blaming everyone but himself.
I went ahead with the podcast. You can listen to it here -- an episode titled The Blacklist. It's also available on iTunes, Spotify, and elsewhere. For free, of course. I am proud of our reporting, and I stand behind it 100%. If you don't normally listen to my podcast, I encourage you to make an exception for this episode, because it is important and it impacts our genre, and it corrects Mr. Morey's allegations against me.
Since it aired last Thursday night, further allegations have come to light, including proof that Dark Regions has published e-books they did not have the rights to, a new Dark Regions sponsored writing contest which is predatory to new writers and takes their ebook rights "indefinitely" (a term you never ever want to see in a contract), Mr. Morey arguing with fans of Josh Malerman over the status of the BIRD BOX limited edition hardcover, and most heinously (in my opinion) Mr. Morey repeatedly harassing and passive-aggressively threatening Tom Piccirilli's widow over payments Dark Regions owed her...to the point where she finally had to block him.
Needless to say, next week's podcast will be a part two of our Dark Regions coverage.
For twenty years, I have done my best to fight for ALL authors -- for better pay, better contracts, better rights. I refuse to let us be taken advantage of or ripped off or screwed over. I may be older, but it's a fight I still believe in. Therefore, if an author asks my opinion regarding Dark Regions Press, I cannot in good conscience recommend them to anyone. I would not sign with them, and I will not buy their books, because as things stand, there is no guarantee their authors will get paid correctly and promptly for those sales.

The above image (if it shows in your browser) is courtesy of authors Robert Ford and Geoff Cooper.
Bob's got a really excellent zombie novel called THE COMPOUND, which you can buy in paperback or Kindle.
Coop has a career spanning short story collection called ANSWERS OF SILENCE (that is an excellent bridge between Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror) that you can buy in paperback and Kindle.
Don't poke the old men. We will hurt you.
Speaking of HOLE IN THE WORLD, the signed limited edition hardcover of that and CLICKERS FOREVER are both shipping this week from Thunderstorm Books.
There are still a handful of copies of HOLE IN THE WORLD (less than a dozen) left. Click here to buy one.
I'm excited for you guys to read them both, but I'm particularly excited for CLICKERS FOREVER to land in your hands. That grief and the bottle I talked about above? This goes a long way toward alleviating that...
THRONE OF THE BASTARDS by myself and Steven L. Shrewsbury (the sequel to KING OF THE BASTARDS) has been long-listed for the 2018 Gemmell Award, named after the legendary David Gemmell.
Voting is open to the public, but you can only vote once. If you would like to vote for THRONE OF THE BASTARDS, click here and cast your vote.
The magazine formatted PREPPER SURVIVAL GUIDE is available on newstands in the United States right now (you won’t find it for sale online — this is strictly in newstands, bookstores, WalMart, supermarkets, etc. -- anywhere they sell magazines).
Why am I — a horror writer — talking about it? Well, because it features an article by me (and another article by Mary SanGiovanni and several articles by Jim Cobb) and is therefore of interest to the collectors out there. Look for this cover, on sale now.

RETURN TO THE LOST LEVEL is now out in paperback and ebook! It's selling like hotcakes! Everybody loves Ambrose Bierce and his baby Triceratops. Click here to get your copy!
Reminder that I’ll be signing books next weekend (February 23rd through the 25th) as a guest at Con Nooga, taking place at The Chattanooga Convention Center in Chattanooga, TN. I’ll have books for sale at the convention. You can also bring books from home for me to sign. As always, there is no charge for signatures and no charge for pictures and no charge to hang out in the hotel bar and share a beer and conversation.
Reminder that the 2018 Horror Show with Brian Keene Telethon will begin at noon (EST) on May 11 and end at noon (EST) on May 12. Just like last year, it will be livestreamed across the world via YouTube. It will be free to listen to, so no matter where you live, you can participate. Our goal for this year $20,000 is 24 hours. Once again, the beneficiary will be Scares That Care. All of the money raised will go directly to the charity.
You can also attend the telethon, and be part of our live studio audience. The telethon will be held at Courtyard Marriott 2799 Concord Road, York PA 17402. You will need a ticket to be part of the live studio audience. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here. Seating is limited to 80 people. (All proceeds raised from ticket sales will go directly to the $20,000 goal). Your ticket guarantees you 24-hour admission to the telethon — come and go (and sleep) as you please. Please note that by purchasing a ticket and attending, you are granting The Horror Show with Brian Keene permission to broadcast your voice and/or likeness live on the air.
If you can’t attend but would still like to help, you can also purchase an official limited edition t-shirt commemorating the 2nd annual telethon. Shirts are available in a wide variety of styles and colors. Once again, 100% of the proceeds from t-shirt sales will go toward the $20,000 goal. Click here to purchase one in your size.
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 back here next week.