Letters From the Labyrinth - Brian Keene

Hi. I'm Brian Keene and this is the 222nd issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
It's been well over six months now since I cancelled The Horror Show with Brian Keene after a successful six-year run, and -- despite the fact that I still record Defenders Dialogue with Christopher Golden every week -- people ask me on a regular basis if I miss it. My answer is always no.
No, I do not miss it.
But I get that listeners do miss it, and if you are one of those folks, then you'll be delighted to know that there was an impromptu reunion of sorts this past week. See, fellow The Horror Show with Brian Keene crew Mary SanGiovanni, Dave Thomas, and Matt Wildasin have their own podcast that they do with Somer Canon. It's called The Ghost Writers Podcast, and while it is essentially a different focus than The Horror Show with Brian Keene, they do have some crossover listeners in their audience.
Due to the pandemic, they record the show via Skype. Normally, this is done in Mary's office, but this past week, she had her laptop downstairs, so I was in the room (playing Fallout 76) while they were recording. And while I have been adamant that I should avoid appearing on their show for at least a full year, so that they can establish their own identity, I ended up getting roped into this week's conversation anyway.
So...if your favorite moments of The Horror Show with Brian Keene were when we were just talking and laughing with each other, here is a mini-reunion for your listening enjoyment. I pop in and out throughout the episode. That link will play the episode in your browser. The show is also available wherever else you listen to podcasts.
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Speaking of Defenders Dialogue, I flew solo last week, as Chris was buried in deadlines. What did Steve Gerber think of his time writing Man-Thing, and of the character and his place among Marvel Comics' pantheon? I took a deep dive into an archival interview to find out! Available wherever you listen to podcasts and also right here.
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I also appeared on author Robert Swartwood's Instagram Live yesterday. We talked at length about J.F. Gonzalez's literary estate. Like myself, Rob was very close to Jesus, and he -- along with Kealan Patrick Burke -- has been absolutely essential in making sure we serve our friend and his family and his memory and manage his backlist. So, we talk about that, and about literary estate management in general, and about what is still forthcoming as far as Jesus's books, stories, and collections go. And we talk about some of the younger authors Jesus impacted and influenced, including Gabino Iglesias, Wesley Southard and Lesley Conner. Click here to watch it.
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Women In Horror Month continued over on my Patreon this past week. V Castro, Somer Canon and Erin Louis joined Meghan Arcuri, Linda Addison, L. Marie Wood, and Hailey Piper with short stories.
I also posted part 1 of a 2-part behind the scenes look at The Rising video game that stalled in-development, and several new chapters of SUBMERGED: THE LABYRINTH Book 2, which is now into its third and final act, and sees all of the cast facing down Leviathan/Cthulhu (except for Bloom and Frankie, who are on another Earth).
Next month, Weston Ochse and I will be embarking on something special for all of our Patreon subscribers. Here's the details:
MONSTERS OF SAIPAN: Five old army buddies travel to Saipan to rescue the sister of one of their own based on a promise made 25 years ago during Desert Storm, only to get crossed with the island mafia, a drug investigation, a CIA operation, island tradition, and their own realization that they aren’t as badass soldiers as they once were… in fact they might never have been... and, of course, an annual battle of baby kaiju.
To be offered at the $5 level of both my and Weston Ochse Patreons. Note, you do not need to belong to both of our Patreon accounts to receive the story, but each author will have specific behind the scenes only available to those signed up to the individual accounts.
I've been friends with Weston for over 20 years. Other than one very old short story hat we wrote with several other people, he and I have never collaborated together. So this will be a treat for us both, and hopefully for readers and patreon subscribers, as well.
Which brings me to something I should probably address. I sometimes hear from readers who are upset that I seem to be doing everything on Patreon first these days, before it is released elsewhere. They are also upset by the fact that some things are exclusive to Patreon.
Here's the thing, folks. In 2018 and 2019, Patreon accounted for my biggest source of annual income. And while I haven't yet finished my taxes for 2020, I suspect it will be so again. Now, my family has to eat and the utility companies like to get paid, so I'm going to stick with what is bringing in the most income. I get that not everybody likes to read on Patreon. It's no different than the fact that not everybody likes to buy expensive limited editions. But what do I eventually do with those expensive limited editions? I release them in paperback and e-book and audiobook. It's the same thing with Patreon. The majority of what shows up there gets released down the road in other formats.
For example, the short stories that appeared there last year will be collected in a book called STORIES FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC, which will be on sale in hardcover and paperback from Thunderstorm Books at the end of this month. Sure, my Patreon subscribers got to read them a year before the rest of you did, but you do still get to read them. And as for the exclusives like A FIELD GUIDE TO THE THIRTEEN, that is something that I am contractually prohibited from releasing in any other book format (other than the original limited edition hardcover). However, since I feel that folks other than just collectors should be able to read it, and since there is nothing that prevents me from putting it on Patreon, that's why it is exclusive to Patreon.
Make sense? For over two decades I have done my best to make sure that all fans -- be they collectors of limited edition hardcovers or casual readers who enjoy paperbacks and e-books -- are served. And I will always continue to do that. If you don't like Patreon or you don't have the extra five bucks a month, that's okay. It's not for everybody. All we need to remember is that everyone gets served. Some folks like collectibles. Some folks like inexpensive paperbacks. Some folks like Patreon. There's room for everybody, and there always will be.





For those of you whose email service providers allow you to see the images in this newsletter, you should see a GHOUL t-shirt, a DARK HOLLOW travel mug, a THE RISING t-shirt, an EARTHWORM GODS coaster set, and a THE HOLLOWER t-shirt above. For those of you who can't see them, trust me when I say they look pretty sweet.
People have been asking Mary and I to produce t-shirts, stickers, mugs etc. for a long time now, so we finally have. We're starting with a line of merchandise featuring the "classic" covers of our work (because yes, we are now old enough that folks think of the Leisure Books era as the "classic" era, even though it relly doesn't seem that long ago to me).
We've started with apparel (including shirts and hoodies), magnets, stickers, posters, mugs and coasters for THE HOLLOWER, THE RISING, EARTHWORM GODS (under its original title of THE CONQUEROR WORMS), GHOUL and DARK HOLLOW. We'll continue to roll out new stuff. Coming up will be FOUND YOU, CASTAWAYS, URBAN GOTHIC and more.
Click here to access the store and peruse the merch.
Currently Reading: THE BLOOM COUNTY LIBRARY Volumes 1 through 6 by Berkley Breathed
Currently Watching: THE HEAD HUNTER -- exclusive to Shudder, and an excellent blending of horror and sword and sorcery. The first 30 minutes are a slow psychological burn, and then the movie turns into "Steven L. Shrewsbury versus the Evil Dead". Great practical FX, gorgeously shot, and a fantastic example of how to make a budget of $30,000 look like a million dollars (as we ourselves did with I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE DOOMSDAY).
Currently Listening: I got the feeling that most of you weren't feeling the alphabetical album project, so I'm not going to list them all here. Suffice to say, this past week I worked my way through Blue Oyster Cult, Billy Joel, Billy Idol, Billy Squier, and Bruce Springsteen. Lots and lots and lot of Bruce Springsteen, including a dozen different bootlegs.
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Happy Valentine's Day to those of you who celebrate it. Mary and I are spending the day playing Magic: The Gathering, which she's been playing for about 6 years and which I've been playing since 1994.
This past week, I decided snowstorms be damned -- I was getting back to my daily hikes. I stopped back in November, during hunting season, and as a result, I started to put on more weight than is healthy again. Hiking the mountains and forests this time of year is great, because the only set of human footprints you encounter are often just your own. Indeed, on Thursday, I was about two miles back the Mason-Dixon Trail, still fairly close to our home but far enough from civilization that a bear or coyote could eat me, and decided to turn around and head home before dark. On my way back, I encountered a young woman obviously dressed for exercise. Not wanting to freak her out (because she obviously wasn't expecting to meet anyone either, let alone a bearded, crazed-looking middle-aged dude) I stepped off the trail a good ten feet and said, "Hello." And then commented that I wasn't use to seeing anyone else on the trails this time of year. She laughed and said she'd been following in my footsteps.
But indeed, other than her, the only other tracks I've seen are deer, coyotes, birds, and rabbits.
The other thing I like about hiking in the forest this time of year is that the snow gets deep, so it's more like wading than hiking, and makes for excellent cardio.
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Still waiting on pre-reader edits for WITH TEETH, so while they finish their notes, this past week wa spent working on PROJECT CASTLE and THE DRIVE-IN: MULTIPLEX. Although I've mentioned both before, we have some new subscribers, so let me explain what those two things are.
PROJECT CASTLE is the codename I've given to a Stephen King-related project I am working on. When I'm allowed to tell the public more, you'll find out what the real title is, and indeed, what it is.
THE DRIVE-IN: MULTIPLEX is an anthology of original stories set in the world of Joe R. Lansdale's THE DRIVE-IN Trilogy. It is being edited by Joe, Christopher Golden and myself. So far, we have accepted stories by Stephen Graham Jones, Owen King, Rachel Autumn Deering, Elizabeth Massie, Jonathan Janz, Nancy A. Collins, James A. Moore and Charles Rutledge. There are many more to come. Thunderstorm Books is slated to publish the limited edition hardcover (signed by everyone).
As I said earlier in this newsletter, at the end of the month, Thunderstorm will be releasing my new collection STORIES FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC along with Mary's new novel THE SHAPES OF NIGHT. These will be sold as a two book set as both signed, limited edition hardcovers and as limited edition trade paperbacks. I think the asking price for the trade paperbacks is going to be $21 for the set, which is a frigging steal, given that your average single trade paperback costs $15 to $17. So, look for an announcement regarding that in the next two weeks.
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And that's it for this week, I think. As always, I appreciate you being here. I enjoy sending these every week and I hope you enjoy reading them.
See you back here next week!