Letters From the Labyrinth 221 - Brian Keene
Hi. I'm Brian Keene and this is the 221st issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
It's Saturday as I write this, and I just got done explaining to my 12-year old how, at one point in history, Def Leppard's Pyromania was the greatest metal album ever recorded. And all these years later, it's still hanging solid in the Top 25.
I like that both of my sons have inherited my love of music -- and that they appreciate all styles and genres, just as I do. A few years ago, when my oldest son (who has a band) began writing his own songs, I bought him a Moleskine notebook to write lyrics in, and I told him everything he needed to learn about songwriting could be found on Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, Johnny Cash's American Recordings, and The Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street. I like being able to share that with him. And I love that my 12-year old is discovering stuff like Bob Marley, Ice-T, Van Halen, and Motley Crue for the first time, and is looking for deep tracks by bands he already knows, like Cheap Trick and The Talking Heads.
Speaking of my sons, I appeared on author Stephen Kozeniewski's Livestream last week. Our talking points were the following:
- to what extent should you welcome fans into your life? when do you go from drinks at the hotel bar to inviting them into your home? how do you tell merely eager fans from truly dangerous ones?
- how do you distinguish between genuine friends and climbers? what do you do when people ask you to wave your magic wand and make them famous?
- do the lifelong friendships outweigh dealing with jackasses? is it safer to be more guarded online and in person?
And we hit all of those, and more. But near the end of the interview, I shared a personal story about my oldest son and director Mike Lombardo, that the public never knew until now. In truth, I'd never planned on sharing it with the public, but I was moved to in the moment, and I heard from folks afterward who were glad that I did.
You can watch the discussion for free via Facebook and YouTube.
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My friends at the Columbia Animal Shelter asked me to let you know about the upcoming virtual Stand-Pup Comedy Night. Performers for this online event include:
Michael McShane from Whose Line Is It Anyway?
DJ Demers from America's Got Talent and Conan
Magician Eric Jones from America's Got Talent & Masters of Illusion
Liz Miele from Comedy Central and NPR
Brooklyn Jones from Nickelodeon: Unleashed and TruTV, Flex & Shanice from OWN
Host Richy Leis from MTV, VH1 & TMZ Live
The show takes place via Zoom. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased here.
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On this past week's episode of DEFENDERS DIALOGUE, sistener Chris Caponigro sent some love. Then Christopher Golden and I discussed Giant-Size Man-Thing issue 4 -- Steve Gerber's sobering treatise on the themes of bullying and an important, influential cornerstone in my development as a writer. Plus - a sneak peek at what's in store on the show for 2021!
Listen for free on iTunes – YouTube – Libsyn – iHeartRadio – Stitcher
First published in 2010 and long out-of-print, The Summoning and Other Eldritch Tales contains seven collected stories of Lovecraftian-inspired nightmares from J. F. Gonzalez, including "Holes", "The Watcher From the Grave" and "The Summoning" (co-authored with Mike Baker). This new edition also includes Gonzalez's original story notes.
On sale now in paperback and for Kindle! Click here to purchase!
People keep asking when I'm going to include another recipe in the newsletter (having shared ones for venison and my award-winning chili). Since it is a slow news week, this seems like the perfect time.
Here is my recipe for Appalachian Nachos, You will need:
-- 1 bag of Tostitos Scoops
-- 1 jar of store-bought pasta sauce (I prefer Prego)
-- 1 bag of Mozzarella cheese
Dump the chips into a bowl. Top them with the sauce. Then top that with the cheese. Microwave it for about one minute and twenty seconds. (Microwave times will vary). You want the cheese to melt and the sauce to be warm.
Then enjoy.
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I mentioned last week that in addition to my own content, I'd be spotlighting a number of women authors on my Patreon for Women In Horror Month. This past week saw stories from Meghan Arcuri, Linda D. Addison, Hailey Piper, and L. Marie Wood. You can check them all out here.
Next week on Patreon, it's gonna be a SUBMERGED binge with new chapters Monday through Thursday, as we are now rocketing toward the conclusion. Teddy, Tony, Sarah, LeHorn, the Exit and Henry are in R'lyeh, taking on Leviathan, while Frankie and Bloom are dealing with Ob.
And then next Friday through Sunday, we'll spotlight more women for you.
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Work this week was primarily focused on WITH TEETH edits, and with movie stuff.
At the beginning of the week, it looked like my story "The Black Wave" was going to get turned into a movie, but ultimately, the producers and the studio thought it would be too difficult to film right now, given that the entire thing takes place in the water, and it would be pretty VFX heavy. Not to mention you'd have twelve actors in close quarters (in an inflatable life raft) during the era of Covid-filmmaking.
So, now they're looking at something else.
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Everyone has been asking about the paperback and digital editions of SUBURBAN GOTHIC. I got official word this past week. They will be available in May, and should go up for pre-order later this month (February).
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Speaking of pre-orders, the new edition of THE DAMNED HIGHWAY by myself and Nick Mamatas will be available on the 15th of this month. Click here to pre-order the paperback. Click here to pre-order the e-book. I received my author copies of the paperback this week. It looks great!
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I received Lifetime Subscriber copies of SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL this week. However, I don't anticipate sending them out until late-March/early-April as I'm waiting n some other books, as well.
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And I guess that's it for this week. I promised Mary and my 12-year old that we'd play some Magic: The Gathering this afternoon, so we're going to go do that. I hope that you and your loved ones are doing well. Take care, and let's meet up here next week!
-- Brian