Letters From the Labyrinth 82
Hi. I'm Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth -- a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
It's dawn as I type this. Outside my window, the river and the sky are the same shades of blue and gray, separated only by a black, shadowy treeline on the other shore, and a sunrise the color of rust.
There's a massive bald eagle who sits in the pine tree outside my window. He's there year round. (An island a few miles downstream serves as a bald eagle nesting ground). I don't know how one tells the age of a bald eagle, but I sense he's old. The neighbor says he's been there for years. The eagle and I have grown accustomed to each other. I no longer spook him when I walk outside, coffee in hand, and he no longer stares at my cat, Mad Max, the way a starving person stares at a five course meal.
Soon, he will take flight like he does every morning, gliding across that rust-colored sunrise, and then dart toward the water and seize a fish and bring it back to the tree for breakfast. Soon, I will take a shower and get started on the day's writing.
But for now, we're just watching the sunrise, while we still can...
***
I am in a terrible head space, currently -- all because of this short story I'm writing called "Running Free". I've had to take myself to some very dark places and corners for this one, in a way I haven't done in quite some time. Doing that has served me well in the past. GHOUL, DARK HOLLOW, THE GIRL ON THE GLIDER and a few others were all written via such a method, and I believe that's why they are among the favorites of my readers. But going to those places inside your head takes a mental and emotional toll.
Watching the sun rise with a bald eagle helps lessen that toll.
The hardcover of END OF THE ROAD will be out from Cemetery Dance at the end of April. If you didn't read the original columns it was based on...it's a recounting of my 2016 book-signing tour which crisscrossed America. It's a look at how the horror genre, bookselling, our country, and myself have changed in the least twenty years. It's a remembrance of J.F. Gonzalez and Tom Piccirilli. It's a memoir. A road novel. An autobiography. A history book. A heist caper. And one of the things I'm most proud of in my career.
Even if you hate my fucking guts, you should read END OF THE ROAD. Because it's not just about me. it's about all of us. It's about you, as well.
This Cemetery Dance edition is a beautiful hardcover, and signed by me. It contains material never included in the original columns. It features an Introduction by one of the genre's most promising up-and-coming talents, Gabino Iglesias. And it ships with a bonus chapbook -- John Urbancik's ON THE ROAD WITH BRIAN KEENE.
I'm thinking I might hold off on releasing a paperback or ebook edition for a few years. I'd kind of like this hardcover to stand on its own. And it's a large print run, so there should be plenty of copies available.
Last week saw the release of MONSTERS AND ANIMALS -- the long-awaited prequel to J.F. Gonzalez's SURVIVOR, out now in paperback and Kindle.
This week sees another new release. RESTORE FROM BACKUP by J.F. Gonzalez and Mike Oliveri was previously only available as a limited edition. Now it is back in print in paperback and for Kindle.
Lyle Harrelson is in a jam. He’s been laid off, the bills are piling up, and he can’t even afford to get his sick daughter to the doctor. Then his old college buddy Carl calls. Carl has a lead on a new job with great pay, solid benefits, and an immediate opening. Carl pounces on the opportunity.
He has no idea what he’s getting into. His co-workers are secretive. His boss is a stone cold bitch. And when he wonders exactly what it is Kaiser Development Systems does, nobody will give him an answer.
Carl calls him again, this time warning him to stay away from Kaiser.
Moments later, Carl is dead.
Lyle wants to know why. He tries to learn more about Kaiser: who they are, what they do, what the strange data on the servers he manages is for. But he’s made a mistake.
And then the real trouble begins.
This Week I Worked On:
* Signing books for Lifetime Subscribers
*Revisions to my Literary Estate
* A short story called "Running Free".
*Summary for an adaptation of THE LAST ZOMBIE.
* INVISIBLE MONSTERS (The next Levi novel)
* THE FALL (The final novel in THE RISING series)
My box of contributor copies of CLICKERS FOREVER and HOLE IN THE WORLD finally arrived, as well.
Florida-based bookseller and publisher Camelot Books recently partnered with listeners to The Horror Show with Brian Keene to raise money for the estate of Tom Piccirilli. The campaign was fully successful within 24-hours.
Now, Camelot Books is raising money for Scares That Care, a 501C3 charity organized by horror fans to help children with cancer, women with breast cancer, and burn victims. (Disclaimer: I am a member of Scares That Care’s Board of Directors).
Camelot Books are offering a set of signed limited editions of Edward Lee’s HEADER 2 and HEADER 3 for just $50! That’s right! Two hardcover signed limited edition Edward Lee books for the price of one. Camelot Books will donate $20.00 from every set sold to Scares That Care. They have set aside 100 sets for this endeavour to reach a $2000 donation for this good cause.
Click here to purchase your set. And a very big thank you to Camelot Books!
THE NAUGHTY LIST -- a film by Paul Campion, based on my short story "The Siqqusim Who Stole Christmas" -- had two showings in Japan this past weekend at the Yubari Film Festival. Paul was on hand for both, and reports they went well. He's got some photos on his Twitter feed.
Over the past four months, I’ve watched with dismay as the new Facebook algorithms have pretty much strangled the Brian Keene Facebook Page. There are 10,000+ of you who ‘Like’ that page. These days, thanks to the new algorithms, I’m lucky if 1,000 of you see it. I enjoy interacting with my readers. Unfortunately, Facebook is not giving me the opportunity to do that with you, and with only so many hours in the day, I have to stick with platforms such as Twitter and my website, where it’s much easier for you and I to communicate.
I’m not alone in my dismay. A friend of mine from a popular heavy metal band related to me today, “Five years ago, we could post a new t-shirt design and sell 100 shirts. Now we’re lucky if 100 of our 20k+ followers even see the post.” And I know a number of other authors, actors, musicians and comedians who are gradually disengaging with the Facebook platform, as well.
I still have to maintain a private, sort-of-pseudonym Facebook account, because it acts as the Admin for the Brian Keene Page. But added Ron Davis, who runs the Unofficial Brian Keene Facebook Fan Group as a Brian Keene Page editor. Ron merged the group with my Facebook page, making them for all intents and purposes Official rather than Unofficial.
What does this mean? Well, a few things:
*The BEST WAY to stay up to date on new books, movies, comics, etc is my website, and/or this newsletter.
*The BEST WAY to ask me a question remains Twitter. I’m @BrianKeene
*With the exception of the now-official Fan group, other posts to the Brian Keene Facebook Page will pretty much just be mirror broadcasts of whatever goes up here on this website. With the new algorithms, perhaps 500 to 1,000 of the 10,000+ people who like the page will actually see those posts, so again, I can’t stress enough, get in the habit of visiting here instead, or better yet, subscribe to the newsletter.
*Going forward, my interactions on Facebook will be very limited. Ron will help guide conversations and keep people engaged, and I will pop in on occasion, but it will be a different process and experience.
*None of this should impact The Horror Show with Brian Keene Facebook Page, which is already co-moderated by several people.
I believe — and I am not alone in this belief — that we are seeing the beginning of the wane of social media’s dominance. I don’t know what will replace it. As I said before, I know that I still enjoy interacting with my readers. Unfortunately, Facebook is not giving me the opportunity to do that with you. But I look forward to interacting with all of you here and on Twitter.
My dear friend and notorious comic book journalist Jude Terror, who writes for Bleeding Cool these days, managed to get a clickbait news article out of me leaving Facebook. It's funny as hell. Click here to read it.
A reminder about The Horror Show with Brian Keene's 2nd Annual Scares That Care Telethon
WHAT: A live, 24-hour event that will be streamed around the world for free, during which we will raise $20,000 for charity.
WHEN: May 11 and 12, 2018
WHERE: In person at Courtyard Marriott 2799 Concord Road, York PA 17402, or listen for free from the comfort of your home.
TO BE PART OF THE STUDIO AUDIENCE: Click here and buy a ticket.
A reminder that RETURN TO THE LOST LEVEL is on sale now in Paperback – Kindle– Nook – Kobo
CURRENTLY READING: Walking Alone by Bentley Little (Advance Reading Copy)
CURRENTLY LISTENING: Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis (podcast)
CURRENTLY WATCHING: Aqua Teen Hunger Force
I bought a Roku and got rid of cable two years ago. Adult Swim has a Roku app which features free marathons of some of their shows -- including all 11 seasons of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. That's 139 episodes plus the feature length movie. Broadcast in order, twenty-four hours a day.
My youngest son turns ten tomorrow. His mother and I are taking him and four of his friends to the Timeline Arcade in Hanover, PA -- a massive old-school arcade with hundreds of vintage, original video game cabinets and pinball machines. The kids like it because it's a video game arcade from ancient times. I like it because it's a video game arcade like when I was a kid.
Spy Hunter. Asteroids. Dragon's Lair. Space Invaders. All of the Pac-Mans. All of the Mario Bros. Centipede. Wizards and Warriors. Pole Position. Satan's Hollow. Sinistar. Bezerk. Dig Dug. Contra. All the others.
For his birthday, he asked for a Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual.
I am 50. He is 10. And the things I played as a kid have come round again. He often tells me he wishes he could have been a kid when I was a kid, so we could have been best friends.
But we're best friends, regardless.
Time is a circle.
Take a moment to watch the sun rise...
That's it for this week. As always:
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.