Letters From the Labyrinth 240 - Brian Keene
Hello again. I'm Brian Keene and this is the 240th issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
It's Saturday morning as I type this, and I am still full of the lovely meal I had at a Mexican restaurant last night with Mary, John Urbancik, Wesley Southard, and Wes's wife Katie. First time Mary or myself have eaten in an indoor restaurant in well over a year. It felt very strange, at first. But it was also the most fun I've had in a long time. Some of that was the company, of course. And I think some of it was just the semblance of returning to normalcy.
The Mexican restaurant, if you are curious, is El Rodeo, a local chain which we often frequented before the pandemic. J.F. Gonzalez and I frequented it a LOT. After he died, it used to feel weird eating there without him.
Now, it felt weird to be sitting there without a mask on.
Pre-orders for THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH Book 1 will remain open until July 5th. Why? Because I've talked at length about how important this novel is, and we want to make sure everyone who wants this special autographed collector's edition has the opportunity to purchase it. We know that each reader's financial situation is different, and some folks couldn't reserve their copy when it was first announced, and inquired about having more time. So...yes. You've got until July 5th.
Fans who have not read the first draft which was serialized on Patreon have asked about the cover. Those are your protagonists. There's Frankie (from THE RISING series and her cameos in THE LAST ZOMBIE, DEAD SEA and a couple of short stories), Tony (from the CLICKERS series and various short stories), The Exit (from THE COMPLEX and various short stories), Teddy (from the EARTHWORM GODS series), LeHorn (from DARK HOLLOW), Bloom (from various short stories), and Lucifer whom you non Patreon readers have not yet met. Not pictured but also in the novel are Ob, Nodens, Kandara, Shtar, Amun and a host of other characters.
The series itself is six books long. The second book - SUBMERGED: THE LABYRINTH Book 2 - is completed, serialized in full on Patreon, and will be out in book form next year.
I published my first short story in 1997. I published my first novel in 2002. It was all building toward this. This is the end...
So, if you want in on this historic moment, and you'd like my signature on it, and you'd like a beautiful collector's hardcover that you can show off to your friends, you've got until July 5th. Click here to reserve your copy. The books will ship in August.
Exploring the Labyrinth is a series by Kit Power in which he reads and chronicles every fiction book I have ever written, in chronological order. This month, he’s discussing GHOST WALK. Click here to read his thoughts.
My sole remaining podcast, DEFENDERS DIALOGUE (which I do for fun and love with my pal Christopher Golden) made this list of The Best MCU Podcasts over at CBR. Thanks to the for that.
Chris and I joke on the air about how we have no listeners, but the truth is we've got a pretty sizeable audience. It's not THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE numbers (nor would it be given the subject matter) but it brings me joy that our impassioned weekly discussion of 1970s and 1980s Marvel Comics is bringing joy to so many other people, too.
WITH TEETH is now available in audiobook on Audible, narrated by Time Winters.
Click here to start listening.
It is also, of course, available in paperback and on Kindle.
By and large, readers really seem to be enjoying this one, which makes me happy.
This past week's work progress:
*Wrote several more chapters on INVISIBLE MONSTERS
*Discussed vetting of producers for an in-development movie adaptation of one of my books.
*Initial discussions of a tie-in novel for a rather big media property (not sure I'll get the gig, nor am I sure I'll end up saying yes even if I do. Depends on a number of factors).
*Signed signature sheets for THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH Book 1
*Talked with a filmmaker about a documentary that I'll be appearing in (can't say any more about it for now, except that I'm not the subject of the film, but I apparently am in it quite a bit, and there will also be some footage of J.F. Gonzalez, so that's very cool).
*Recorded two back-to-back episodes of DEFENDERS DIALOGUE with Chris Golden so that we could get back on schedule.
Didn't get as much actual writing done as I would have liked to, but that couldn't be helped. My youngest son was here all week so I spent a good bit of time hanging out with him. And a family member had surgery on Tuesday and spent the week recovering, so that took precedence.
The mayflies made their annual return this past week, as well. This year, I got to watch it happen in real time. On Monday at 5AM, I walked out onto the front porch with my coffee, and saw two lone mayflies. By 9AM they had swarmed and covered my neighbor's RV. By noon, they had covered the entire front of our house. And then today, by Saturday, all that is left is their dead little corpses -- literally millions of them caught up in spiderwebs and clinging to every available outdoor surface.
Now, we wait until next year.
Originally released in 2006, my second non-fiction collection is back in print for a new generation of readers!
RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL chronicles the immediate pressure that followed the success of THE RISING, and the perils and pitfalls of sudden fame. This is a blunt, hilarious, heartbreaking, uncomfortable and unvarnished look at the highs and lows of hitting the bestseller list...and everything that happens after that, culminating in a search for the answers to life during the author's first cross-country promotional tour.
Available now in paperback and for Kindle, Nook and Kobo devices.
I've grown to loathe the current United States Postal Service. I mean it. Straight up loathing. Not for the individual employees, but for the monolithic overall system.
They lost a shipment of books for my Lifetime Subscribers, setting me back about $250. (It was a shipment of personalized copies of WITH TEETH and the new edition of THE DAMNED HIGHWAY). Yes, it is supposed to be insured, but apparently, they don't issue that until they have "determined the status of the parcel". And meanwhile, Paul Goblirsch, who handles Lifetime Subscriber fulfillments for me, is stuck with half a shipment which is taking up space in the Thunderstorm Books offices, because we can't mail half a shipment, as it wouldn't be fair to the other half of the subscribers.
Then, Gord Rollo mailed me signature sheets for a novel he co-wrote with Gene O'Neill. I'm writing the Introduction, which is why I'm also signing the sig sheets. Except that they, too, have apparently now vanished into the ether.
Anyway, if you're a Lifetime Subscriber, I apologize again for the delay. I am working to resolve it. Thank you for your patience. Yes, there are other alternatives -- UPS, Fed-Ex, etc. But that gets expensive very quickly.
Currently Reading: Submitted For the Approval of the Midnight Pals II by Bitter Karella -- As laugh out loud funny as the first book. i've said it before and I'll say it again -- Bitter Karella is one of the best new voices in horror fiction -- the demented end result of what would happen if Jeff Strand and Sergio Argones created CreepyPasta. If you're not reading these books, you're missing a heartfelt, loving and hilarious lampoon of horror fiction and the people who create it.
Currently Watching: The Florida Project -- Devastating and all-too real. Great performance by Willem Dafoe. Prepare to cry.
Currently Listening: Sign O' The Times by Prince -- My personal favorite albums by him will always be Around the World In A Day and Purple Rain, but there's no denying that Sign O' The Times was his career best.
I need to get back into the habit of promoting other authors in this space. And since I mentioned Wesley Southard, John Urbancik, and Mary SanGiovanni at the start of this newsletter, let's go with them for this week. A little bit about each:
WESLEY SOUTHARD - The kid grew up reading me, J.F. Gonzalez, Graham Masterton, Simon Clark. Edward Lee and Richard Laymon. If any of those appeal to you, here is a list of all his books. If you haven't read him, I suggest you start with Cruel Summer.
JOHN URBANCIK - If you like the dark fantasy stylings of Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, Clark Ashton Smith, or Victor Lavalle, then you'll dig John's stuff. Here is a list of all his books. If you haven't read him, I suggest you start with Stale Reality.
MARY SANGIOVANNI - Critics call her the "Queen of Cosmic Horror" and there's a reason for that. If you dig H.P. Lovecraft, Laird Barron, Ramsey Campbell, Brian Hodge, John Langan or Livia Llewellyn, then you'll love her stuff. Here is a list of all her books. If you haven't read her, I suggest you start with Thrall.
And that is it for this week. If you have the means, please do consider getting yourself a copy of THE SEVEN or RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL or WITH TEETH (links above). And if you don't have the means, that's okay, too. I'm glad you are here, regardless.
I'll see you back here next week.
-- Brian Keene