Letters From the Labyrinth 247 - Brian Keene
Hello again. I'm Brian Keene and this is the 246th issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
Normally, I write this newsletter on Saturday and you read it on Sunday morning. This week I'm writing it pretty much live... at 5:33AM Sunday morning (which is when it is normally sent). That's because I was signing books all day yesterday at the Creature Feature Weekend convention in Gettysburg, PA. I'll be there again today until 5PM, as well. It takes place at the Wyndham in Gettysburg, so stop on by.
Sales were good yesterday, and lots of people brought books from home. Thanks to everyone who showed up to see me. I appreciate all of you.
The convention wasn't packed, but it was steady. In the era of Covid-19, that's the best you can hope for. You want a steady stream of people but you don't want a crowd jammed in like sardines. I'd say maybe fifty percent of the crowd wore masks. I would have liked to see more people in them, but I don't control what other people do. I only control what I do.
Keep in mind, my son's mother is immunocompromised, so I'm not taking chances. I scheduled each of my signings before the emergence of the Delta and Lambda variants, so what I've been doing now is watching the scientific data for those particular towns and regions, and deciding on whether to still do them or not based on that. Next weekend, I'm supposed to be in North Carolina, but I am going to postpone that appearance, given how the infection rate in that particular county is steadily rising. I'm still on track to do Harrisburg next month, though.
Also signing at the convention this weekend are locals Mary SanGiovanni, Somer Canon, John Urbancik, Wesley Southard, and Stephen Kozeniewski, and out-of-towners Wile E. young and Kristopher Triana.
On Thursday, we had a vaccinated Boy's Night here at the house. So all of those guys were here. Author Robert Ford and Director Mike Lombardo joined us, as well. And Bear accompanied Kris. You can see her happy face here in this pic with us below. She sends her sincere thanks to everyone that donated to her fundraiser. She has begun treatment and is responding well. Those of you who purchase personalized short stories set in the world of THE RISING -- I have contacted each of you at this point. Two of the stories are finished. two more are in first draft form. I'll get to the rest of them this coming week. I am also sending some autographed books home with Kris today, to be include on the fundraiser website.
Anyway, here's the boys and Bear. Left to right from the top: Wesley Southard, Wile E. Young, Stephen Kozeniewski, Mike Lombardo, Bob Ford. Bottom: John Urbancik, myself, Kristopher Triana, and Bear.
Speaking of Lombardo, THE BRILLIANT TERROR documentary premiered in London last Thursday. So far, it's getting great reviews! Hopefully it will be viewable by a wider audience soon.
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With CURSE OF THE BASTARDS slated to come out in paperback, ebook, and audiobook soon, Steven L. Shrewsbury and I sat down with publisher Jason Sizemore to talk about the Rogan trilogy and the upcoming finale. You can watch that interview here.
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The first printing of SUBURBAN GOTHIC is almost sold out via the distributor. There will be a few weeks delay before the next batch of paperbacks are printed and shipped to booksellers and stores. The Kindle edition will remain available during that time.
During that brief period of unavailability, the publisher will fix an error that crept onto the cover of some of the paperbacks. So...that will make it easy for collectors to know if they have a true first edition paperback.
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This next thing is what we call a big tease...
If you are a reader or an author or a publisher who wishes there was a huge Scares That Care-type event strictly aimed at readers and writers, save the date: April 1 - 3, 2022.
If you are a fan of mine who wishes I'd do that Keene-Con thing I've always talked about doing, save the date: April 1 - 3, 2022.
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This next part is what we call another big tease.
You will, of course, remember that Havenbrook Labs is where THE RISING happened. They seem to have a Twitter account. You should probably follow them and keep a watchful eye on things...
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Finished work this week on a new edition of J.F. Gonzalez's VOYEUR. Written and originally published under the pseudonym Angel Garcia, it is one of his fans most sought after books. Original paperbacks are rare, and when they do pop up on the secondary market, they are ridiculously expensive.
VOYEUR is a straight up thriller with no supernatural elements. it ties in firmly with SURVIVOR and related novels, but you don't need to have read any of those to understand or enjoy it.
Rob, Kealan and myself hope to have the paperback and ebook editions available by October. There will also be a hardcover published via Thunderstorm Books' Dark Worlds imprint.
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Speaking of J.F. Gonzalez, check out these Clicker and Dark One miniatures that Wile E. Young made with his 3D printer. Each person who orders a copy of the forthcoming CLICKERS NEVER DIE by Wile E and Stephen Kozeniewski from thunderstorm Books will receive one of each. So stay tuned for that.
An update on Josey Wales and her kittens. She has decided that she does not want my help with them, and has moved them on me. Earlier in the week, she led me and my neighbor Dianne on a wild goose chase, deliberately misleading us as to their location. But she still hangs out on the porch when not nursing, and though she has decided I'm allowed to sit next to her and talk to her while she's eating, if I do any more than that, she hisses.
One of the kitten -- a black one with white feet, decided to explore this weekend and ended up at my other neighbor's front door. She called me to come catch it. When I tried to do so, the little ball of fur literally scaled the side of her house (it is a wood exterior). It then jumped back down and scampered off back to wherever Josey has hidden them. I have named it Spidey.
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And that's it for this week. I appreciate all of you being here, and reading this. Do me a favor? Be kind to someone who thinks differently than you this week. i'm not saying you have to agree with them, or understand them. Just be kind to them.
I'll see you back here next week.
-- Brian