[Letters From the Labyrinth] Official Brian Keene Newsletter 1/1/17

Hi. My name is Brian Keene and this is the 22nd issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly email newsletter. If you're a new subscriber, previous issues are archived here.

I'm just home from PartyCon 2017 in Allentown, PA. This was the last book signing of a nine-month long promotional tour. I've been writing about that tour in a weekly column for Cemetery Dance called END OF THE ROAD.

I am very tired.

There will be few public appearances in 2017. The live episode of the podcast in late-January. Scares That Care in late-July. Possibly a visit to CONvergence in Minnesota. I anticipate a year of hibernation -- a year of staying home and writing and finishing things and spending time with family. Probably less social media interaction from this year, as well -- at least, less than most of you are accustomed to.

2016 was spent touring and traveling. 2017 is going to be spent writing and hiding.

So, a few months ago, my son and I are walking through the mall, and he says, "Daddy, isn't The Sopranos your favorite show?" and I say, "One of my favorites, for sure." and he says, "Well, they have a poster of it in that store window over there but somebody scribbled on the picture."

It turned out the scribble was James Gandolfini's signature. I put the poster on layaway that day, and picked it up last week.

People have been asking me for my annual Top Ten Books of the Year list. I've been doing those lists annually since 2000. Over time, booksellers and other authors told me they became pretty influential, often leading to a short increase in sales.

Unfortunately, I will not be doing one this year. The reason is simple -- as some of you know, I am slowly going blind in one eye. While I was still able to read this year, I had to do it in shorter segments (same goes for staring at a computer screen). As a result, I only read 54 books in 2016. I don't feel that's representative enough of what was published this year. It's less than half the number I usually read. So I don't feel qualified to make any judgments on what 2016's best books were, since I didn't get to read a lot of 2016's offerings.

For a list of the books I did manage to read in 2016, click here. I wrote reviews for some of them, so maybe that will help.

Did you know that you can now text donations to Scares That Care? It's easy. Text SCARESTHATCARE to 41444, to do it.

Later this month, we'll be celebrating the 100th episode of my podcast, THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE, by doing a live 24-hour telethon to raise money for the Scares That Care. Our network, Project Entertainment, have partnered with TeeSpring to produce this limited edition commemorative t-shirt. All of the proceeds from shirt sales will also go to Scares That Care. Thanks to the network and TeeSpring for making that happen!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

I think that's it for this week, kids. I'm exhausted, and need to get to work. Hope your 2017 is off to a good start. See you back here next week.