[Letters From the Labyrinth] Brian Keene 1/15/17

Hi. My name is Brian Keene and this is the 24th issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly email newsletter. If you're a new subscriber, previous issues are archived here.

The Maelstrom 2016 set sold out. Thanks to everyone who purchased a copy.

Paul Goblirsch at Thunderstorm Books and myself have been discussing the future of the imprint. This year, we'll be publishing limited editions of CLICKERS FOREVER: A J.F. GONZALEZ TRIBUTE, RETURN TO THE LOST LEVEL (after its publication in paperback and digital), THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH BOOK ONE (near the end of the year), FUCKED (a collaboration between myself and Bryan Smith), and another non-fiction collection entitled OTHER WORDS. In this economy, that's a pretty sizable investment for the average book-buyer or Keene-collector.

On top of that, if the writing and publishing gods are kind and I get them finished (and the whole reason I've gone into semi-public retirement is so that I can, in fact, get them finished) you will also see limited editions of HOLE IN THE WORLD, END OF THE ROAD, DEAD AIR, INVISIBLE MONSTERS (the next Levi Stoltzfus novel), DISSONANT HARMONIES (a collaboration with Bev Vincent), and THE MOTEL AT THE END OF THE WORLD this yer, as well, from various publishers. In this economy, that's an even more sizable investment for the average book-buyer or Keene-collector.

So, right now, the general thinking between Paul and myself is that we should give Maelstrom a year off, and bring it back in 2018. That way, you don't go bankrupt and we don't flood the market and accidentally create another small press horror crash.

Speaking of getting things done, the final draft of RETURN TO THE LOST LEVEL is sitting with pre-readers right now. I'll be turning it in to the publishers as soon as they get it back to me. Worked a little bit this week on HOLE IN THE WORLD, DISSONANT HARMONIES, THE MOTEL AT THE END OF THE EARTH, and a story and Introduction I owe to Michael Bailey and Scott Edelman, respectively, but didn't get nearly as much done on those as I had hoped.

That's because I've got a sick kitty cat who spent two days at the vet this week, and is still sick. And by sick, I mean, is having accidents all over the house. And by accidents, i don't mean falling down.

Basically, I type a few words, and then vacuum and steam-clean and disinfect the parts of our home where he has pissed blood or sprayed cat shit. This has been going on since last Monday. And because I am an idiot, I didn't think to confine him to one room until last night. The good news is the vet swears the antibiotics they sold me for $200 should start working "any day now". The other good news is that I am singlehandedly responsible for the stock price increases in shares of Lysol Disinfectant, rubber gloves, and Febreeze.

A reminder that my weekly podcast, THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE, reaches its milestone 100th episode later this month. To celebrate, we’ll be doing a live, 24-hour telethon from 12pm (EST) on Thursday, January 26th to 12pm (EST) on Friday, January 27th. During this live broadcast, we hope to raise $10,000 for Scares That Care — a 501C charity which you can learn more about here.

This live event will be streamed online worldwide via my YouTube Channel, and will feature an array of special guests, surprises, and all the usual stuff you’ve come to expect from the show over the last two years.

If you’d like to watch it in person and perhaps appear on the show yourself, you can come be a part of our live studio audience. We’ll be recording at Holiday Inn Express Hunt Valley, 11200 York Road, Cockeysville MD 21030.

We’ll be using the hashtag #HorrorShow100 on Twitter, mostly because that’s what the young people like.

I hope to see some of you in person at the event. For those who can’t make it, I hope you’ll tune in, listen, and donate to this very worthy cause.

My good friend Nathan Carson is the drummer for the heavy metal band Witch Mountain. He's also a very successful show promoter and booking agent for other bands, as well. And now he's an author. I've interviewed him on my podcast and talked about his first novel, STARR CREEK, here in this newsletter before. It will appeal to anyone who likes Lovecraft, Laird Barron, TWIN PEAKS, STRANGER THINGS, or my own novel GHOUL.

Nathan has just released what is, in my opinion, the best book trailer ever -- an absolute game-changer that every other author, including myself, is going to have to beat.

Watch the trailer here.

Seriously, how the hell is any other author going to compete with that?

That's it for this week. I have to put on my Haz-Mat gear and go check on the cat.