Letters From the Labyrinth 103
And a good morning to you, too. I'm Brian Keene. Welcome back to Letters From the Labyrinth -- a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
This week's issue is photo heavy. If they don't show up in your email, you can click that link above and view them in your browser.
Mary and I took Dungeonmaster 77.1 (the pseudonym my 10-year old son has chosen for himself when dealing with the public) to Centralia yesterday. If you're a long-time reader, then you've read my writings about it before. If not, the Cliff's Notes version: it’s a ghost town in Pennsylvania, the site of a massive, sprawling underground mine fire that’s been burning for decades. The ruins are the inspiration for a number of horror stories, movies, and videogames, including the very popular Silent Hill.
(If that whet your whistle, Google 'Centralia, Pennsylvania' and get set for hours of reading).
I've been taking pictures of Centralia for the last decade, and documenting how the landscape changes from one year to the next due to the fires still raging beneath the earth, nature reclaiming the ruins, and visitors making their mark. (Some of those pictures were collected in UNSAFE SPACES, which currently exists as a limited edition hardcover but will see release in paperback and ebook later this year).
It's staggering how much the place is changing from one visit to the next. Trails I hiked on previous trips have vanished completely. Ruins that were there on earlier visits are gone, reclaimed by the wild. The place very much feels like it’s winding down. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust — which is perhaps an apt sentiment for a town that was killed by a mine fire and choked in coal dust and burning ash. In a decade, I strongly suspect all traces of it will be gone.
Here's a rare picture of Dungeonmaster 77.1, taken at Centralia yesterday. I'm comfortable sharing this one because you can't see his face (and thus I can protect his privacy).

The three of us also had the opportunity to tour a coal mine in nearby Ashland, accompanied by a guide who has worked as a miner since the Eighties. We rode mine carts 500 feet below the earth and then got out and walked around.
Mary has posted a video from the mine carts. You can view it here.
DER SATYR (the German edition of DARK HOLLOW) is on sale now in paperback and ebook in Germany and Austria, via Festa Verlag.
This marks my return to the German marketplace after a six-year hiatus due to my parting ways with a foreign rights agency. I am very happy that Festa Verlag are making my books available to German readers again.
A reminder that next Saturday, September 8, I'll be signing books along with Mary SanGiovanni, Stephen Kozeniewski, and Wesley Southard at Protean Books & Records 836 Leadenhall St Baltimore, MD 21230.
There will be books for sale at the store. You can also bring books from home to be signed free of charge (although if you do that, we ask that you support the store with some kind of purchase).
KillerCon Austin and the first annual Splatterpunk Awards were a blast. Wrath James White and I hosted the awards together. The J.F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award went to David J. Schow. Best Novel went to Edward Lee for WHITE TRASH GOTHIC. Best Novella went to Edward Lee and Ryan Harding for HEADER 3. Best Short Story went to Jeff Strand for "The Tipping Point". Best Collection went to Jack Ketchum for GORILLA IN MY ROOM. And Best Anthology went to SPLATTERPUNK FIGHTING BACK edited by Jack Bantry and Kit Power.
Here are some pics.

The Splatterpunk Awards, sculpted by Mike Parks (Mad Lob Models) as a tribute to Bernie Wrightson. Thus, the awards are nicknamed "The Bernies"

The J.F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award

Edward Lee and Ryan Harding accepting for HEADER 3.

Jeff Strand accepting for "The Tipping Point".

Joe R. Lansdale, me, Mary SanGiovanni, Edward Lee, Matt Shaw, Lucy Taylor, and Wrath James White.

Edward Lee, Jeff Burk (our editor at Deadite Press), and me.

Regina Mitchell and me. Gina was one of the first authors I ever collaborated with. I've known her over 20 years and seeing her was one of the highlights of my weekend.

Here's me tossing manuscript pages during my reading. I read two new short stories -- "Mr. Onion" and "Intersectionality". You can listen to me read them for free at this link.

Another pic from my reading.

Me and my partner in crime Kasey Lansdale.

Mary SanGiovanni, Edward Lee, Rose O'Keefe (publisher at Eraserhead Press), me, and Jeff Burk.

Stephen Kozeniewski and Gabino Iglesias. I am so proud of all these two have accomplished the last few years. I love them both.

You can caption this one yourself.

Me and Bev Vincent.

Me and Joe Lansdale.

What's the secret to my success with Deadite Press? I give Jeff Burk lap dances when he's blindfolded.

And me and Mary.
This Week's Podcasts:
KYLE LYBECK - The Horror Show with Brian Keene - Ep 183
Brian and Dave recap KillerCon and the first Splatterpunk Awards, and discuss the 2018 Horror Writer’s Association election results. Then Phoebe talks with author Kyle Lybeck about turning his father’s experiences in Vietnam into a novella.
Listen for free on iTunes – Spotify – Project Entertainment – iHeartRadio – Stitcher
PHOEBE UNLEASHED II - The Horror Show with Brian Keene - Ep 182
Armed with a recorder at the fifth annual Scares That Care Charity Weekend, Phoebe asks some of the biggest names in horror about their favorite death in a novel, movie, or comic book. Plus, Dave’s review of THE MEG.
Listen for free on iTunes – Spotify – Project Entertainment – iHeartRadio – Stitcher
DEFENDERS DIALOGUE 38
It’s the shades of David Icke and Alex Jones as the Defenders and Spider-Man face off against Robert E. Howard’s Serpent-People! Plus Valkyrie possessed, Devil Slayer meets the specter of the Sixties, and the origin of the Marvel’s spider totem.
Listen for free on iTunes – Spotify – Project Entertainment – iHeartRadio – Stitcher
DEFENDERS DIALOGUE 39
Clea, Nighthawk and Gargoyle take center stage as J.M. DeMatteis does his best Rod Serling and continues to influence teenage Christopher and Brian. Plus, a look at the start of the comics direct market, and Marvel’s recent Defenders relaunch cheat.
Listen for free on iTunes – Spotify – Project Entertainment – iHeartRadio – Stitcher
CURRENTLY READING: Dead Stripper Storage by Bryan Smith
CURRENTLY WATCHING: The Six-Million Dollar Man
CURRENTLY LISTENING: Brian Keene Radio
If -- like me -- you've done away with cable TV and bought a Roku, the free NBC App has just added every single episode of The Six-Million Dollar Man. Every episode! Bionic Bigfoot! The Robots of Doom! The Bionic Woman! The Return of Bionic Bigfoot! The Venus Death Probe! The Bionic Bigfoot a third time!
I loved this show when I was a kid. And while I will admit it now shows its age, it's still a big old slice of nostalgic fun for me.
Mary's latest novel, BEHIND THE DOOR, which features occult detective Kathy Ryan (first seen in CHILLS) is out this week in paperback and ebook. So far, the reviews have been through the roof with positivity and raves. Many are calling this her best novel yet.
CLICK HERE TO BUY ONE
Some doors should never be opened . . .
In the rural town of Zarepath, deep in the woods on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, stands the Door. No one knows where it came from, and no one knows where it leads. For generations, folks have come to the Door seeking solace or forgiveness. They deliver a handwritten letter asking for some emotional burden to be lifted, sealed with a mixture of wax and their own blood, and slide it beneath the Door. Three days later, their wish is answeredfor better or worse.
Kari is a single mother, grieving over the suicide of her teenage daughter. She made a terrible mistake, asking the powers beyond the Door to erase the memories of her lost child. And when she opened the Door to retrieve her letter, she unleashed every sin, secret, and spirit ever trapped on the other side.
Now, it falls to occultist Kathy Ryan to seal the door before Zarepath becomes hell on earth . . .

That's it for this week. As always:
PATREON - Where I post new short stories, writing advice essays, a serialized ongoing novel, and behind-the-scenes stuff.
TWITTER - The only social media outlet I still use regularly.
BRIAN KEENE RADIO - Broadcasting for free 24/7
I'll see you back here next week!