[Letters From the Labyrinth] Brian Keene Newsletter 114

I'm Brian Keene and this is the 114th issue of Letters From the Labyrinth -- a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
This weekend, Mary and I were lucky enough to see the very first stage performance of CHRISTMAS WITH THE DEAD: THE MUSICAL, which as the title indicates, is a stage musical based on Keith Lansdale's movie CHRISTMAS WITH THE DEAD (which itself is based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale). It took place at the Hatbox Theater in Concord, New Hampshire, which is supposed to be about a nine hour drive for us.
Instead, thanks to that early winter storm that hit the south and the mid-atlantic, it took us two days of driving. We left Thursday, and the storm remained about an hour behind us. I could see it in my rearview mirror, looming on the horizon like some cinematic monster, a vast black cloud spitting out snow and sleet and freezing rain. But ultimately, the storm was faster than my car, and we stopped at Mary's parent's home in New Jersey. Good thing we did, too, because the storm caught us and raised hell there. I later saw footage of the highway we would have been on. It was at a dead standstill.
We ended up spending Thursday night at their house, and waiting for the storm to pass. Friday morning, we hit the road again. Now, it was me looming in the storm's rearview mirror. We ultimately made it to New Hampshire, although the drive consisted of a lot of sitting in post-storm gridlock. Friday night, we checked into the hotel and got room service and cuddled up in bed and watched that movie about Stallone and Schwarzenegger breaking out of prison together.
Saturday morning we headed for the theater. Almost the entire Lansdale clan was there -- Joe, Keith, and Kasey. The only person missing was Karen. It was great to see them, as well as other old friends like Christopher Golden, James A. Moore, Bracken MacLeod, Kristen Dearborn, John McIlveen, director Izzy Lee, and many other good folks.
The show was absolutely delightful. It's funny. It's heartfelt. It's bloody in the right places. The music is a mix of showtunes and country ballads and melancholy piano blues and foot stomping rock. We loved it. All involved have created something very special.
Totally worth that drive.
After the musical was over, we all had a very long and loud lunch together. I talked business and comic books with Joe and Keith, caught up with Jim and Bracken, and Mary and I made early 2019 travel plans with Kasey. I also teased Chris about his festive Christmas sweater while he teased me about my purple tie. It was all delightful.
Chris and I also agreed that the musical adaptation of joe's classic novel THE DRIVE-IN, which we've been working on in-between other projects, needs to get finished in 2019.
Back at the hotel, Mary and I recorded two interviews for The Horror Show with Brian Keene. The first, with author John Goodrich, will air next week and is his second appearance on the show. Check out John's books here. The other interview, with author and former CIA agent Scott M. Baker, will air the week after that. Scott was in fact me, Mary, and J.F. Gonzalez's contact inside Langley all those times we spoke there, and it's very cool to be able to now share some of those stories with you, now that he's retired and writing horror novels. Check out Scott's books here.
Today, Mary and I face a long drive back home, which we're going to start just as son as I finish this newsletter.
Below are a few pictures from the weekend, along with proper attribution.

Early crowd shot by Keith Lansdale. Was a full house by the time the musical began.

Me, Kasey, and Mary. Photo by Bracken MacLeod.

Kristen, Bracken, his wife Heather, Mary and myself. Photo by Tony Tremblay.

Me, Bracken, and Mary. He says I always make this face in selfies with him. Wouldn't you?
SILVERWOOD: THE DOOR is the new series by showrunner and writer Brian Keene and writers Richard Chizmar, Stephen Kozeniewski, and the Sisters of Slaughter — available exclusively on Serial Box.
Episode 7 – ‘Family Matters’ – by the Sisters of Slaughter is available now. Click here to start listening or reading the series.
“Mommy, can we have storytime?”
This Week's Podcasts:
COMPLETE AND UTTER CHAOS - The Horror Show with Brian Keene - Ep 194
The podcast studio descends into chaos as Brian, Mary, Dave, Matt and Lombardo discuss Florida’s herpetic monkey invasion, the death and legacy of Stan Lee, and the Blu-Ray and DVD release of Lombardo’s new movie, I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE DOOMSDAY. Plus, Dungeonmaster 77.1 interviews child actor Reeve Blazi!
Listen for free on YouTube - iTunes – Spotify – Project Entertainment – iHeartRadio – Stitcher
DEFENDERS DIALOGUE - Ep 47
Chris and Brian offer a remembrance of Stan Lee. Then…Nebulon, the Squadron Supreme, the return of the Silver Surfer, the Overmind, an alternate reality Earth, and two Kyle Richmond’s all combine to kick off the strangest Defenders saga yet, guest-starring the Vision and the Scarlet Witch.
Listen for free on iTunes – YouTube – Project Entertainment – iHeartRadio – Stitcher
A reminder that I've been putting a TON of free content up on my YouTube Channel -- movies, readings, podcast episodes, behind the scenes and other stuff. Check it out if you'd like something to watch. Click here to subscribe.
That's it for this week. We've got a long drive back to Pennsylvania. As always:
PATREON - Where I post new short stories, writing advice essays, two serialized ongoing novels, and behind-the-scenes stuff.
TWITTER - The only social media outlet I still use regularly.
YOUTUBE - Where I'm posting free stuff each and every day.
BRIAN KEENE RADIO - Broadcasting for free 24/7
I'll see you back here next week!