[Letters From the Labyrinth] Official Brian Keene Newsletter 1/22/17

Jan 22, 2017

Hi. My name is Brian Keene and this is the 25th issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly email newsletter. If you're a new subscriber, previous issues are archived here.

Five days until what I'm beginning to suspect could possibly be my last day on Earth. At least this incarnation of me.

If you listened to last week's episode of The Horror Show with Brian Keene,(and if you haven't, you can listen for free right here) then you know what I'm talking about -- the creeping suspicion held by both myself and co-host Dave "Meteornotes" Thomas, that we may have finally gotten in over our heads this time -- specifically in regards to hosting a live, twenty-four hour telethon.

But never mind all that, right? Fuck it. We're committed, already. No backing out now. We're going to do our best to raise $10,000 for Scares That Care, and also do our best to entertain and inform you in the process, and if I keel over from a heat attack twelve hours into the broadcast, is that really any different than keeling over from a heart attack while seated behind a laptop, writing a novel?

I've had a twenty year career built on taking risks, and daring to dare. Why stop now?

The broadcast starts at noon on Thursday (East Coast time). It will be streamed worldwide, live and for free via my YouTube Channel, which is located here.

If you live on the East Coast and would like to be part of our live studio audience, and meet authors, and get them to sign your books, we'll be broadcasting from the conference room of the Holiday Inn Express Hunt Valley, 11200 York Road, Cockeysville MD 21030.

Here is a partial list of authors who will be on hand, and have books for sale. They are also happy to sign whatever you bring from home: Ronald Malfi, Mary SanGiovanni, Damien Angelica Walters, Scott Edelman, Stephen Kozeniewski, Armand Rosamilia, Chuck Buda, Christian Jensen, Frank Edler, Tommy Clark, and Robert Ford.

Again, that is a partial list. There will be many more, weather and scheduling permitting.

I really hope you'll tune in for at least part of the telethon. More importantly, I really hope you'll contribute to this very worthy cause. Here are the people Scares That Care are helping in 2017. If you donate during the telethon, you'll be helping them, too.

JANE – 2017 SICK CHILD RECIPIENT

At her four month visit, her pediatrician discovered a murmur that would begin a difficult journey for Jane. A cardiologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital confirmed a litany of heart defects, including a coarctation of the aorta, a bicuspid aortic valve, pulmonary artery stenosis, and two holes in her upper heart chambers. But Jane’s challenges didn’t end there. Numerous trips to the emergency department for pneumonia and countless visits with her pediatrician for unceasing fussiness, screaming, and an inability to sleep led to some lab tests. The results were unexpected. In addition to her heart defects, Jane also has severe neutropenia, a condition that makes it extremely difficult to fight even the most routine bacterial infection. A stubbed toe or small cough can herald a life threatening situation. On top of Jane’s physical challenges, she also had a profound speech delay and can only use a small handful of words. It is a great source of frustration for her because she can not tell us what she needs, and a source of fear for us because she can not alert us to pain or early signs of infection. In spite of it all, Jane continues to wow us with her heart-melting smiles and contagious giggles. She has an adventurous and stubborn personality and a fantastic sense of humor. She is a treasure.

TIFFANY – 2017 BREAST CANCER FIGHTER RECIPIENT

When you are a single mother of two kids, working to make ends meet can be a difficult challenge. Imagine now that you can’t work because of you have been diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer. You’ve undergone a double mastectomy and had your lymph nodes removed. Chemotherapy is the normal course. You’ve had to sell your car and some of your furniture to keep a roof over your children’s heads. You are basically surviving on charity from friends and family. Yet, friends refer to you as a strong woman, never seen without a smile or kind word. Strength comes in many forms. So does help.

BERT – 2017 BURN FIGHTER RECIPIENT

In September 2016, Bert got off from working the overnight shift, excited about his son’s first birthday party on Sunday. He met up with a few friends for breakfast, then went home for a short nap. He had planned to shop for party favors later that afternoon. While Bert was asleep in his room, his roommate’s mentally unstable girlfriend attacked him without provocation or warning. She burned him with boiling oil and stabbed him repeatedly when he tried to escape her. Bert suffers from second and third degree burns to his head, face and chest. Since that date he has had three skin grafts with many more to come.

Okay, look. Do I really think this twenty-four hour live broadcast will kill me? No. But it may very well fuck up my health. I imagine both Dave and myself will reduce our immune systems to nothing by the end of the broadcast, not to mention the complications that talking non-stop for twenty-four hours will probably create.

No, I don't think I'll die. But I am nervous. Alexander has no more worlds to conquer, and it's been a long time since I failed at anything in my professional life. I'm nervous that we won't be able to pull this off -- be it a for real health scare or a technical glitch, or not being entertaining, or not being able to raise the amount we're setting out for.

So, why do it?

For those people above. I believe in Scares That Care. I believe in it's mission statement. I believe that much of my career happened so that one day I would meet the other folks involved with the charity. And I believe in you, my audience.

Please tune in. Please give.

Because as I said, it's too late for me to back out now.

It's not just going to be those other authors, either. I have a few surprises in store, during the broadcast. I plan on reading at least two brand-new stories. And I may have something to unveil that's related to THE RISING V, should we reach our target goal...

CURRENTLY READING: The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
CURRENTLY WATCHING: The Best of The Dick Cavett Show
CURRENTLY LISTENING: Various John Lennon albums

That's it for this week. It takes me a full day to prep for our weekly podcast (which usually runs 90 minutes or so). I've done zero prep for this twenty-four hour live show. Better get started...

See you Thursday. And don't forget, if you want me to talk about something on the air, use the #HorrorShow100 hashtag on Twitter.