Letters From the Labyrinth 215 - Brian Keene

Happy Holidays. I'm Brian Keene and this is the 215th issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
It was a mixed Christmas here at Casa Keene. Mary is in New Jersey with her large extended family, so I am home alone. Earlier in the week, Gabino Iglesias asked me if I was okay. At first, I didn't understand why he wa asking. Then it occurred to me that normal people don't enjoy being alone for extended periods of time, so I had to remind him that I normally have a month to myself around this time of year, and I relish it because that's when I really get some writing done.
And that's what i did. A lot of writing. I also saw my oldest son for a socially distant Christmas on Thursday, and gave him his guitar. Then I saw my parents and gave them their presents as well. I spent Christmas Eve at the new home of my ex-wife and my youngest son. We did Christmas morning together. Then I came back home and chilled with Mary's cat. And wrote some more.
I say mixed because we had a run of bad news yesterday. First came word that Guy N. Smith had passed away at the age of 81. Guy was one of the last living members of the original pulp horror writers, Massively prolific, he wrote countless horror, crime, science fictions, x-rated, non-fiction and children's books an stories in a very long career. He will always be best known for his Killer Crabs series, of course, but he wrote dozens of other equally excellent novels.
Late Christmas Eve I got a text from Mark 'Dezm' Sylva informing me that Chris Hansen had passed away. Many long-time readers will know Chris. He was a cherished and beloved member of our community, and had been involved since the early days and the very first Brian Keene Message Board. That forum (now defunct) existed long before the creation of social media, and it had thousands of daily users. It is responsible for -- that I know of -- five marriages, nine births, three political careers, two careers in videogames, fourteen careers in filmmaking, and seventy-six careers in writing. It also resulted in hundreds of friendships, and Chris was at the center of many of those friendships. He was, in very many ways, the absolute heart of the Brian Keene Forum.
It was my honor to feature Chris as a character in HOLE IN THE WORLD, EARTHWORM GODS: SELECTED SCENES FROM THE END OF THE WORLD, and THE RISING: SELECTED SCENES FROM THE END OF THE WORLD (the latter two also featured his wife, Fran). And those latter two stories remain among my personal favorites of my own work -- and that's because Chris was a wonderful muse.
He will be missed by many, including myself. My sincere condolences to Fran, and to all of the friends he leaves behind.
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Originally published in 2004 and long out of print, SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL -- my first non-fiction collection -- is available again for a new generation of readers. Featuring the best of Keene's Hail Saten columns as well as material from the Bram Stoker Award winning Jobs In Hell, SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL is a funny, poignant, unvarnished and deeply personal portrait of horror fiction at the start of the new century. Get it now in paperback or for Kindle.

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My new short story "The Hatching" appears in the new HALLDARK HOLIDAYS anthology, which is available on Kindle and in paperback now. Click here to get your copy.

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On this week's Defenders Dialogue, we celebrated the holiday season with Nick Fury, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Hulk and Doctor Strange as Christopher Golden and I discussed Marvel's Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag!
Listen for free wherever you listen to podcasts, or via this direct link: Libsyn
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Earlier in the week myself, Geoff Cooper, Jonathan Janz, Christine Morgan, Wesley Southard and Wile E. Young did a two hour Livestream in which we discussed our favorite Richard Laymon novels, and I showed off some Richard Laymon rarities from my collection. Click here to watch it for free!
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CURRENTLY WATCHING: Battlestar Galactica (1970's series)
CURRENTLY READING: Marvel Preview issue 1 -- Man-Gods From Beyond the Stars
CURRENTLY LISTENING: An assorted mix of writing music on Spotify. Speaking of which, according to Spotify, my 10 My Most Listened To Songs of 2020 were:
1. It's On - Ice T
2. Rebel Yell - Billy Idol
3. I Stay Away - Alice In Chains
4. Seasons - Chris Cornell
5. You Can't Always Get What You Want - Rolling Stones
6. Beauty In Falling Leaves - YOB
7. Whole Lotta Rosie - AC/DC
8. I Am the Walrus - Beatles
9. Fuck Wit Dre Day - Dr. Dre
10. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? - Waylon Jennings
Speaking of music, my friends in the punk band The Vanilla Milshakes have a new single that pays tribute to Troms. Listen to it for free here.
On Christmas Eve, my youngest son was in his room, and I went upstairs to tell him dinner was ready. I heard music coming from behind the door, so I stood and listened for a while. He was listening to Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back and Guns n' Roses' Appetite For Destruction.
That made me smile.
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And that's it for this week! As always, a few reminders:
PATREON - Where I post new short stories, writing advice essays, three serialized ongoing novels, and behind-the-scenes stuff EVERY SINGLE DAY.
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!