[Letters From the Labyrinth] Brian Keene 195

Hi. I'm Brian Keene and and this is the 195th issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
Last week I hinted at something I've optioned out for possible development on one of the big streaming services. This past week brought about another potential option, this time for animation.
It was also the week for contracts. Sold a short story reprint for German-translation, and anther short story reprint for Italian translation. Signed contracts with Thunderstorm Books for hardcover editions of THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH Book 1 and NEMESAI (a novella I co-wrote with John Urbancik). Found a new home for DISSONANT HARMONIES by Bev Vincent and myself.
Also oversaw a deal with Deadite Press to publish new editions of SHAPESHIFTER by J.F. Gonzalez and THE KILLINGS by J.F. Gonzalez and Wrath James White.
But most of the past week was spent editing the final draft of SUBURBAN GOTHIC and working on the programming schedule for August 1st's Scares That Care Virtual Convention. The latter involves juggling an array of authors, actors, actresses, agents, and fellow Scares That Care board members and volunteers and trying to accommodate them all into a 12 hour streaming schedule. I'd hoped to post that schedule today, but I'm still waiting on a bunch of confirmations. Hopefully I can post it early this coming week.
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A reminder that later today I'll be joining Christopher Golden, Bryan Smith, Tim Lebbon, Kristopher Triana, Rio Youers, Charles Rutledge, Bracken MacKeod and many more on Twitter at 5pm EST for a Live Tweet re-watch of EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE -- a massively formative film for each of us. Use the hashtag #RightTurnClyde.
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I did a live reading on Instagram for Serial Box last Thursday night. I read two stories — “This Year’s Resolutions” and “Something Pretty”, and talked a little bit about the genesis of each of them. I also answered a few viewer questions. Thanks to everyone who showed up. If you didn’t get to catch it live, you can view it by clicking here.
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As a young person, I used to read Twilight Zone Magazine and The Horror Show religiously. There were also several seminal horror anthologies that I read over and over and over again -- DARK FORCES, BOOK OF THE DEAD 1 & 2, RAZORED SADDLES, and SILVER SCREAM.
The latter is back in print after many years. Edited by David J. Schw and featuring stories from that era by Joe R. Lansdale, Clive Barker, F. Paul Wilson, Ramsey Campbell, Mick Garris, Chet Williamson, and many more. It truly is a big chunk of horror fiction history. Paperback available now via Amazon.
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This past week on The Horror Show with Brian Keene, Stephen Kozeniewski and Wile E. Young returned to talk about author collaborations. Plus Dungeonmaster 77.1 read his first Stephen King book, and myself, Mary, Matt and Dave discussed the Shirley Jackson Award winners, Warren Ellis, the Buzz Book Expo, and the forthcoming Three Guys With Beards reboot. Listen for free on iTunes – Spotify – Libsyn – iHeartRadio – Stitcher - YouTube
Meanwhile, over on Defenders Dialogue, whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch, and the Florida Everglades are full of fear. Christopher Golden and I discussed Marvel's Adventure Into Fear issues 10 through 12. Listen for free on iTunes – YouTube – Libsyn – iHeartRadio – Stitcher
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The 'O' key on my laptop is still cracked, and only works half the time, which means all week long, including while working on this newsletter, I have to go back through and add 'o' to various random words.



This is a secret swimming hole that my 12-year old and I frequently hike to. We spent the afternoon there yesterday. He's not a little kid anymore, but not yet a full-fledged teenager either. These days, our conversations are about things like Stephen King's IT (which he is currently reading), and societal issues (of which he has an interest), and animation (because he's pretty sure he wants to work in animation and tabletop game design when he grows up). I hope that our conversations continue to evolve as he enters his teen years, and that we remain as close as we are.
I thought that, given the pandemic, the summer would go slower. But it's speeding right along, and autumn is around the corner...
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That's it for this week. As always, a few reminders:
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 week.
I'll see you back here next week!