[Letters From the Labyrinth] Official Brian Keene Newsletter 10/2/16

Hello. My name is Brian Keene and this is the ninth issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly email newsletter that is guaranteed to be more entertaining than Kanye West's Twitter feed.

I'm participating in author Sarah Pinborough's #OfflineOctober, which means I'm off social media for the entire month of October. You can click here to read about why. Although, if you've been reading this newsletter, some of those reasons were already known to you.

I haven't missed it yet. Indeed, I almost forgot to send this newsletter today, simply because I haven't missed being online and thus, hadn't thought about sending the newsletter out until an hour ago, when I was siting riverside, working on a short story and enjoying the cool autumnal air and thought, "Gee, I should write an essay about autumn for the newsletter."

I've also been under the weather all week, which pisses me off. I'd hoped to finish an Introduction for author Scott Edelman's new book this weekend, as well as the final draft of my story for the PAINFREAK anthology, and I haven't finished either. First I had one of those colds that threaten to turn into the full-blown flu but then don't. And then this morning, I woke at 4am with such an excruciating pain in my ear that I got up and did something I never do -- I went to the doctor. Or, in truth, I actually went to one of those affordable health care facilities that do things like fix broken bones and give you flu medicine without an appointment. Except that when I got there, I found out they didn't open until 8am. And then I figured out that the pain in my ear is actually a hard, swollen little nodule right on the inside. I'm guessing it's either a cyst, a boil, a pimple, or an ingrown hair. In any case, the fucking thing is infected and hurts and so I've been doctoring it all day with q-tips and hydrogen peroxide, and dosing myself with leftover antibiotics from a previous infection.

This is the life of a self-employed full-time writer with no health insurance.

The beauty of being off-line is that, after typing this, I won't have a bazillion strangers on Twitter or Facebook diagnosing me as having everything from ear cancer to ear worms.

Back on the road this month. Here's the schedule:

October 7 – 9
Imaginarium
Crowne Plaza Hotel
830 Phillips Ln.
Louisville, KY 40209

October 22
Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival
Haverhill Public Library
99 Main Street
Haverhill, MA

October 26
KGB Bar
85th East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003
Reading 7pm to 9pm with Christoph Paul and Mary SanGiovanni

Some answers to common questions concerning these three appearances:

1. I'll be signing books all weekend long at Imaginarium in Kentucky. Books available for sale will include PRESSURE, THE COMPLEX, THE LOST LEVEL, and KING OF THE BASTARDS. You may also bring books from home to be signed. I'll also be on a number of panels.

2. I'll be signing books all day long at the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival in Massachusetts. Books available for sale from me will include PRESSURE and THE COMPLEX. You may also bring books from home to be signed.

3. I will not have books for sale at the KGB Bar reading in New York City, but if you bring books from home, I will be happy to sign those. I ask that for this particular appearance, you limit it to two books from home, as the KGB will be very, very crowded.

A reminder that UNEARTHED and UNSAFE SPACES are both on sale now. They each make wonderful Christmas presents.

UNEARTHED features a story by myself and Richard Chizmar, and a story by Richard Chizmar and Ray Garton. It is available in paperback or for your Kindle.

UNSAFE SPACES is my new non-fiction collection. It features essays on Jack Ketchum, Tom Piccirilli, J.F. Gonzalez, writing advice, superhero movies, and more. It is available as a signed, collector's edition hardcover.

Currently Reading: JERUSALEM by Alan Moore
Currently Listening: CONCEPTION by Chyld
Currently Re-Watching: THE WIRE Season 1

THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH Book One is an online serial novel I'm writing over on Patreon. Pay one dollar a month and you can read it in it's entirety. Currently Teddy Garnett (from EARTHWORM GODS), Frankie Rodgers (from THE RISING, CITY OF THE DEAD, etc.), Tony Genova (from the CLICKERS series, etc.), Nelson LeHorn (from DARK HOLLOW), The Exit (from THE COMPLEX, etc.), Donald Bloom (from "Babylon Falling"), and the fallen angel Lucifer are facing against Kandara of the Thirteen and a group of ISIS extremists in the streets of Baghdad. If that doesn't get you salivating, then there's no hope for you. Click here to start reading right away.

That's all for this week. If you're still here, thanks for not unsubscribing.