[Letters From the Labyrinth] Brian Keene 12/18/16
Hi. My name is Brian Keene and this is the twentieth issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly email newsletter. If you're a new subscriber, previous issues are archived here.
Apparently, the Polar Vortex has returned to Central Pennsylvania, at least, according to my local meteorologist.
I've never trusted meteorologists, but I do trust author Dan Padavona, who happens to moonlight as a meteorologist. So I guess they can't all be bad. I feel the same way about lawyers. I tend not to trust them, but Douglas Winter and Jamie LaChance are okay, so not all lawyers can be bad.
But I digress. The last time the Polar Vortex was visited upon us was 2014, and my son and I ended up losing our house -- a mountaintop cabin overlooking the Susquehanna River -- as a result of the storm. Survival prepping is a fine pastime, and one I engage in myself, but prepping accomplishes shit when a blizzard drops big oak trees on your emergency survival supplies and the big generator sitting next to them.
This time, we are enjoying the Polar Vortex from the comfort of our new home, just a mile from that old cabin, but at the bottom of the mountain, along the banks of the river. We've been here two years next April, and we like it much better. Today, instead of dodging falling trees or freezing to death, we sat next to the fireplace and watched one of my all-time favorite movies -- the original 1933 black and white KING KONG. I was eight the first time I saw it. The treat, for me, was watching the alternating expressions of glee and horror and wonder and fascination warring across his face. Keep in mind, this is little boy who has grown up with JURASSIC WORLD, etc. He's got access to movies that didn't even exist when I was his age. I worried that he might find the classic KONG to be dated or trite or boring, but he did not. He most certainly did not. Even though he's been raised on giant CGI monsters and full color mayhem, he understood right away that there was something special about that original KING KONG. When it was over, he immediately asked if we could watch it again.
This delights me.
Next weekend, I think I'll introduce him to THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.
If you were one of THE NAUGHTY LIST Kickstarter backers who selected a comic book, your signed comics will be shipping this week. I'm done touring now, and can focus on all this other stuff. Also, the person who selected the first edition of THE RISING -- that is shipping, too.
Did you watch the trailer for THE NAUGHTY LIST? If so, then go watch it again. We need more views. Tell your friends.

Made this as a joke to promote END OF THE ROAD, the weekly column I write for Cemetery Dance (which is archived here). You wouldn't believe how many people thought it was a real Tweet.
Fake news, indeed...
(Usual disclaimer that I consider myself apolitical and did not vote for either candidate, and this is not an endorsement of one over the other).
CURRENTLY WATCHING: We already covered that above.
CURRENTLY LISTENING: A mix-tape of early-80s hip-hop (Kurtis Blow, Fat Boys, Doug E. Fresh, Boogie Boys, Whistle, etc.)
CURRENTLY READING: 'Salems Lot by Stephen King
I'm in the early stages of remodeling my outdoor garage into an office and podcast studio. As a result, I was working from the kitchen this week, instead of my former office. At one point, Mary leaned over my shoulder to see what I was working on and saw 'A WEIRDISH WILD SPACE by Mary SanGiovanni' on my laptop screen.
This confused her, since she hasn't -- to the best of her knowledge -- written a book called A WEIRDISH WILD SPACE. That was the title of her Livejournal, long ago in the 00s and 01s, back when the Internet was still malleable and new, and everyone was using Livejournal. Now, the Internet has become just another stalking ground for marketers to sell you shit, and the only people still using Livejournal are Nick Mamatas and Nigerian scammers.
But I digress again. See, neither Mary or myself have much money this year. This is mostly because we are writers and also because she has a son that just started college and also because I spent all mine travelling around the country signing books for you people. So, since we don't have much money this holiday, we decided to make each other things for Christmas. I asked Mary last summer why she had never put out a non-fiction collection of her essays and articles on writing and the history of the horror genre and such. At the time, she told me she didn't think she had enough for a collection. As it turns out, when I sat down and compiled them all -- unbeknownst to her until she looked over my shoulder -- she's written a good 80,000+ words about writing and our genre. So, for her Christmas present I put them all together and edited them into manuscript format, so that she could turn around and sell it to a publisher and make some money.
Since she already figured out what she's getting, I reckon it's okay to tell you about it, too. I think it's some of her best writing. Her critical essays on film and books and the historical phases of horror bring to mind the writings of David J. Schow and J.F. Gonzalez. Her writing advice is in the vein of Thomas F. Montelone and David Morrell. And her more personal essays show (if I can say this without some asshat out there screaming nepotism) the influence of having myself and Nick Mamatas as friends over the years.
It's a really good book, if you like that sort of thing. If not, go buy her latest novel, CHILLS, instead, which is sort of H.P. Lovecraft meets the first season of TRUE DETECTIVE.

This year's Maelstrom set is a little over halfway sold out. As a reminder, this year's set includes three books.
The first is SCHOOL'S OUT, which is an all-ages post-apocalyptic novella written by me (and based on an idea, characters, etc. provided to me by my 8-year old). If you ever wanted to hand your kids one of my books, this one is safe.
Also included in this year's set is THRONE OF THE BASTARDS, co-written by myself and Steven L. Shrewsbury. It's a sequel to our award winning novel KING OF THE BASTARDS, once again mixing the genres of horror and sword & sorcery.
Finally, this year's set also includes COME TO DUST, a novel by Bracken MacLeod. Bracken has been getting a lot of notice this year by both critics and readers, and deservedly so. If you've not yet tried him, this is a fine gateway.
All three books are sold in a set of signed, limited edition collectible hardcovers, and as I said, the sets are a little more than halfway sold out. CLICK HERE TO SECURE YOUR SET.
Okay, that's it for this week, I think. I'm going to get back to work on trying to catch up on things. Regardless of whether or not you celebrate one of the several upcoming holidays, I hope you have good people in your life, and are not alone, and find some laughter and warmth this season. And if you are alone, then hit up the Unofficial Brian Keene Fan Page on Facebook. There are good folks there and they'd love to be your friend. (Note: I am not involved with that page, but the guy who runs it, Ron Davis, is the bee's knees).
Nobody should ever be alone...unless they legitimately want to be, in which case, that should be respected, too.