Letters From the Labyrinth 242 - Brian Keene

Like we always do about this time, I'm Brian Keene and this is the 242nd issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.

I used to be what they call a "cult writer". These days, I seem to be a farmer. The garden is out of control. I spent several hours daily over the last week picking, cleaning, and freezing green beans and peas, and picking more cucumbers than any one family could ever possibly eat. Seriously, our cucumbers this year are like fricking Triffids. And it looks like the tomatoes will begin ripening next week.

This evening, I'm going fishing, because the mayflies are done for the year and the fish will be hungry and striking. Between the veggies and whatever I catch in the river, our freezer should be nice and full for the winter months. Which is good, because... well, I don't know what it's like where you live, but inflation has definitely come to rural Pennsylvania. It is particularly noticeable at the supermarket and the gas pump. And while I've not yet found a way to make and refine my own gasoline, I can be assured that my loved ones won't starve this winter, and we won't spend 75% of our monthly income on groceries.

Every time I talk about my garden, people unsubscribe from this newsletter.

Hello to those of you who are still here.

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Last week, my youngest son took attended an online filmmaking course. Over the space of a week, he and the other students wrote, directed, and produced their own short film. I had the pleasure of playing an alien tribe leader.

The class was composed of students from all across the country, and they had to work together online to edit and do other post-production things.

Since he was engaged in that, I was able to really focus on work all week.

This Week's Progress Report:

Wrote several chapters of INVISIBLE MONSTERS.

Wrote the first three chapters of a new serial called ISLAND OF THE DEAD, which will make its exclusive debut on Kindle Vella when Amazon launches the platform later this month.

Lots of movie-related emails.

Lots of CLICKERS NEVER DIE-related emails. I can't remember if I've talked about CLICKERS NEVER DIE here or not. It's a brand new Clickers novel, written by Stephen Kozeniewski and Wile E. Young, with the blessing of the J.F. Gonzalez estate and myself. There will be at least two more new Clickers novels to follow, each written by another team (the next team will hopefully be Jeff Strand and kenzie Jennings, if their schedules allow).

Blocked out the second half of PROJECT CASTLE (meaning I drew stick people figure sketches in little panels that I can refer to while I script).

Worked a little bit on DEAD AIR and a western novel called THE LAST STAND.

Continued edits on TERMINAL and SUBMERGED: THE LABYRINTH Book 2.

Got the rights back to the Russian editions of my work. These were previously published by Poltergeist Press. I'll probably seek out a new Russian venue later in the year, but until then, for my Russian readers, please be patient.

Received an update on potential Chinese editions of THE RISING series. I can't really say much about it at this time, but hope to have an update for you soon.

Did an interview for a Spanish magazine so I could better promote the Spanish-language translations of my books.

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Chris Golden and I recorded a new episode of DEFENDERS DIALOGUE. It's available wherever you listen to podcasts, and also right here.

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The trailer and movie poster for THE BRILLIANT TERROR came out last week. This is Paul Hunt and Julie Kauffman’s forthcoming documentary about grassroots horror filmmaking. The main focus of the documentary is on my dear friend Mike Lombardo (I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE DOOMSDAY). The documentary was shot back when he was filming both THE STALL and FAST ZOMBIES SUCK (based on my short story of the same name). So yes, I'm in the documentary, too.

Here's the trailer.

(And yes, that's me getting slathered in fake blood).

And here's Mike on the movie poster.

I am so incredibly proud of him. I mean... I've always been proud of Mike. I've adored this kid since J.F. Gonzalez and I first met him, back when he was still in high school. I've cheered each new achievement and milestone in his life and career. But I continue to be proud of him.

And Mike...Jesus would have been damn proud, as well.

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Jesus was also filmed during the documentary. This past week, director Paul Hunt sent me all of the Behind the Scenes footage he had of Jesus. I sent it along to Jesus's wife and daughter. I tried to watch the clips myself, but the first one I opened was footage of Jesus and I clowning around on the set with his daughter, and I haven't been able to bring myself to watch the rest. Will give it another try this week.

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Finished reading Matt Cardin's WHAT THE DAEMON SAID: ESSAYS ON HORROR FICTION, FILM, AND PHILOSOPHY, which collects 20 years of his nonfiction. It is a crucial deep dive into some of the darkest, most important corners of the horror genre, by one of the field's most invaluable thinkers. Essential examinations of Ligotti, Romero, cosmic horror, vampires and much more. Look for it in early 2022 from Hippocampus Press.

Also finished a re-read of GONZO: THE LIFE OF HUNTER S. THOMPSON. There had been a dozen or so biographies released since his death. In my opinion, this is the best and the most definitive.

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Read some excellent newsletters from Paul Tremblay, Tim Lebbon, John Urbancik and Jeff Strand this past week. If you dig this newsletter, you might dig theirs, too. You can find inks to each on their individual websites.

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I'm still not convinced that the Delta or Lambda variants aren't going to get around the vaccines, but in the meantime, I want to do some signings. I've added dates for Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts over the next three months. Details and locations can be found here.

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And that's it for this week! Be good to one another, and to yourselves. I'll see you back here next Sunday!