Letters From the Labyrinth 83
Hey there. I'm Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth -- a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
Things are ramping up now on the SerialBox project I've codenamed THE DOOR. The pilot is finished. This coming week, our team will be going over the first drafts of episodes 2 through 5. But there's still a lot of non-DOOR related stuff I'm working on, as well, and now, just like that, I'm behind. I was ahead this week, but am now behind. That's how quickly it happens.
It also doesn't help that I spent much of the week buried in fucking snow thanks to the latest nor'easter. We celebrated the first few official days of spring with fifteen inches of snow on the ground, locally. I hate snow in spring. It's cruel and unnecessary. Snow in spring is a real dick move on nature's part.
Anyway, things are busy here at Casa Keene. But I took a break anyway, because you need to do that once in a while. Yesterday, me, Mary, my 10-year old, author Geoff Cooper's kids, and authors Robert Ford and Kelli Owen, and Robert's son got together to play Magic the Gathering for the afternoon. Today, my 10-year old and I are going to see Pacific Rim: Uprising, because we both like John Boyega and giant robots and giant monsters.
The above three paragraphs were a long preamble to tell you this week's newsletter will be short.
Let's get started, shall we?
(Mary insists that I relax more, and take days off like I did yesterday. She suggested I get hobbies. The first hobby I got was to start researching how to build a pirate FM radio station. She wasn't thrilled about that, so more Magic the Gathering it is. I've been playing the game since the mid-Nineties, and I've got cards that date back to then. Coop's son and I play in public tournaments at Comix Connection once in a while, and the younger players there call them "old man cards").
My friend Tony E. Valenzuela has written, directed, and produced a ton of things over the years. I'd like to share one of those with you.
SILVERWOOD is a free horror anthology series, available on YouTube. Episodes are short -- ranging to about ten or fifteen minutes for most. It will appeal to fans of The Twilight Zone, The X-Files, Twin Peaks, and Gravity Falls.
Click here to watch Season One.
Click here to watch Season Two.
Click here to read a free graphic novel (but don't read it until you've watched the shows).
Due to popular demand, I’ve added a new Patreon tier.
$2 per month unlocks in-depth essays offering step-by-step advice for writers: how to find an agent, how to outline, how to pitch, how to stay focused, how to create a literary estate, etc.
If you’re already a $1 per month supporter who is only interested in THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH, BOOK ONE, no worries. You will still continue to get it for $1 per month.
Supporters who upgrade to this new $2 tier will gain access to the Advice For Writers essays, and also have access to THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH, BOOK ONE, as well.
Supporters who have elected the $5 and $10 tiers will have access to both of these, along with their other monthly electives (Behind The Scenes and Short Stories).
Click here to get started. First essay is already posted, and deals with Ideas and Characterization.
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.
Camelot Books are also raising money for Scares That Care, 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!
This Week I Worked On:
*Signing books for Lifetime Subscribers
*Signing signature sheets for the Thunderstorm editions of WHITE FIRE and MONSTERS AND ANIMALS
* A short story called "Running Free"
*Showrunning stuff for THE DOOR
*Shoveling snow
“Decades of Iron Man comics, and now a decade of Iron Man and Avengers films, have mined that transformation. Tony’s story is, in every universe and iteration, one of perpetual redemption. He’s a man whose worst enemy is his own past, and often present, self; a man forever trying to claw his way up from villain to hero and make something good of all the bad he’s done. But because of his deep sense of guilt, and his propensity to make the same mistakes over and over again, it’s a redemption that will never be complete — as long as he’s still living, that is.”
Megan Purdy with the best summation of Tony Stark I’ve ever read.
That's it for this week. As always:
PATREON - Where I post new short stories, a serialized ongoing novel, and behind-the-scenes stuff. New chapter of THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH BOOK ONE going up this week, as the team venture deep into the Hellertown facility and the place where THE RISING began.
TWITTER - The only social media outlet I still use regularly.
See you back here next week.