[Letters From the Labyrinth] Official Brian Keene Newsletter2/5/2017

Hi. My name is Brian Keene and this is the 27th issue of Letters From the Labyrinth. If you're a new subscriber, previous issues are archived here.

With last year's signing tour and last month's telethon now behind us, this was a pretty productive week. For the first time in over a year, I was finally able to get back to my old, reliable work schedule. Sliding into that zone felt wonderful.

(It will feel even better once I finish converting the outside garage into an office and recording studio -- something which I've ceased working on for now because it's too damn cold outside, and also because the next part involves cutting 2x4's and sheets of plywood and I'm terrible at that).

But yes, finally having a normal work schedule again led to a level of productivity I've not seen in a year.

*I turned in the final manuscript for RETURN TO THE LOST LEVEL to my editors at Thunderstorm Books (who will be doing the hardcover) and Apex Book Company (who will be doing the paperback and e-book).

*I turned in an Introduction to Scott Edelman's forthcoming collection, and a comic script adaptation of my short story "Fade To Null". Both of those went to editor Michael Bailey at Written Backwards.

*I signed signature sheets for the Definitive Edition of Richard Laymon's FUNLAND, coming this Spring from Dark Regions Press. Then I mailed the sheets to Jack Ketchum. I provided an Afterword, talking about how Laymon got the idea for the novel, and a bit of it's history. Jack Ketchum provided an Introduction,

*I began packaging up the DVDs for THE NAUGHTY LIST backers. (Comic books have all shipped. They went media mail so please be patient).

*I worked on novel-in-progress HOLE IN THE WORLD and novella-in-progress THE MOTEL AT THE END OF THE WORLD. I also researched the financial impact of the Bush and Obama administrations on retail shopping malls, for use in novel-in-progress SUBURBAN GOTHIC.

*I worked on Author and Podcast programming tracks for this summer's Scares That Care Charity Weekend.

*I worked on the CLICKERS FOREVER: A J.F. GONZALEZ TRIBUTE anthology.

*And I sent you this newsletter.

Something else I did this week was sell a gun and some books.

Money has been super tight the last few months. All forms of entertainment--especially books--seem to flatten, sales-wise, during an election. The royalty checks I'm recieving now are for books sold during that period last fall.

So, I've had to sell some things to make sure there's extra cash on hand. Yesterday, I sold one of my AR-15 rifles (my Wyndham model, my least sentimental of the three) to a gun dealer, and then sold a bunch of books to The York Emporium. Some of those books were signed, which leads me to what I'd like to talk about here today.

First time I ever met author Hal Bodner, we were in Las Vegas. I was out promoting DEAD SEA, which had just been released. Yeah, it was that long ago. Anyway, I found Hal delightful, and as writers often do when they first meet and hang out for a weekend, I gave him a book--a signed copy of DEAD SEA. It is not Hal's style of reading or writing, and I know this. Fast forward now to late last year. David J. Schow and his partner, Speedy (not her real name, but the only name I'll give you, the public) are shopping in a used bookstore, and they find that copy of DEAD SEA, signed to Hal by me.

Did I get mad at Hal? No. Was I offended or hurt? No. Did I think it was funny? Yes. Why did I think it was funny? Because it filled me with relief that I'm not the only author who does that. It was proof that I am not a sociopath, and am instead, normal just like everyone else.

Here's the thing, folks. I own over 4,000 hardcover books. Complete lines from Midnight House and Necro Publications. A nearly complete Gnome Press collection. A half-complete Arkham House collection. The collected works of Richard Laymon, Joe R. Lansdale, Brian Hodge, Stephen King, Hunter S. Thompson, Michael Marshall Smith, etc. Then there are my paperbacks (stuff like Edward Lee's NIGHT BAIT, and Guy N. Smith's CRABS series, which aren't available in hardcover). And my collection of hardcover archival comic book reprints (Marvel Masterworks and The Spirit, for example). Now, add to that Mary's book collection (which is about 2,500), and her complete run of The Twilight Zone magazine. You try finding room for all those books in a two bedroom house along the banks of the Susquehanna River when one of those bedrooms is your eight-year-old's domain and filled with Legos and action figures and Hot Wheels and Godzilla toys and a bookshelf of his own.

Occasionally, I have to sell books. And occasionally, when money is tight, I have to sell signed books.

Sometimes, they are duplicates (Mary and I both owned a copy of Tim Lebbon's BLEEDING THING. Tim signed both our copies. We flipped a coin, kept Mary's, and sold mine). Sometimes, they are duplicates that are all signed to me. For example, I've somehow ended up with three signed paperback copies of Jonathan Janz's DUST DEVILS. I don't know how that happened. I suspect both Jonathan and myself forgot he had signed two other copies. I had Peter Straub sign a copy of GHOST STORY for me three years ago. When I got home, I discovered that I had another copy of GHOST STORY which Peter had signed for me about a decade before.

Occasionally, I've had to sell books that aren't duplicates. Several years ago, Mary, J.F. Gonzalez, and myself had a curated section at The York Emporium, where we sold books by both ourselves and other people. At one point during that endeavor, sales were going to help a friend of ours with cancer. During that time, in an effort to scare up some more money, I sold signed editions by James Newman, Edward Lee, Ray Garton, Ramsey Campbell, and others. A young man who purchased some of the Newman copies has wondered aloud online about why I would sell these. Well, I sold them to raise some money for a friend who needed the cash more than I needed those books. And since then, I've managed to replace each of those copies either via the secondary book market or Kindle. They just aren't signed -- and I can fix that next time I see Lee or James or Ray or Ramsey.

I suspect that most writers have been in situations where they've had to do this. They just don't talk about it. Maybe because it's embarrassing or maybe because they don't want to hurt people's feelings. But it happens, and it happens a lot more than you think.

Are there any signed ones that I absolutely wouldn't consider selling if the situation was dire enough? Probably only three I can think of. A signed copy of Arthur Machen's STRANGE ROADS (because yeah, it was signed by Arthur Machen). A personalized copy of Stephen King's THE STAND (because it's my favorite King novel). And my personalized paperback of Richard Laymon's THE CELLAR (because there's a funny story that goes along with the inscription, and every time I see that book on the shelf, it makes me smile). But even with those three -- if one of my sons needed a new kidney, I'd probably sell the Arthur Machen or Stephen King. I'd even sell the Laymon if I had to, although I would immediately regret it.

Anyway, yesterday I sold some books and an assault rifle. I got much more money for the gun than I did for the books. Which pretty much tells you everything you need to know about American society in 2017...

I was recently a guest on Jeff Burk’s JEFF ATTACKS podcast, along with authors Laura Lee Bahr, John Skipp, Nick Mamatas, and J. David Osborne. We talked about how writers can build their brand. Click here to listen for free.

Thunderstorm Books still has about a dozen copies of the limited collector’s edition of UNSAFE SPACES left in stock. Click here to purchase one.

I mentioned CLICKERS FOREVER: A J.F. GONZALEZ TRIBUTE above. Understand something -- despite the title, this is not just a collection of Clickers stories. There are Clickers stories in the anthology, but there are also stories featuring Jesus's other creations and settings, as well as some wonderful essays on the man, his impact on the genre, and his various works.

Want a sneak peek at some of the contributors? Okay. In no particular order: J.F. Gonzalez, Nick Mamatas, Wrath James White, Jonathan Maberry, Mike Lombardo, Gabino Iglesias, Jeff Strand, Wayne Allen Sallee, Mary SanGiovanni, Dave Thomas, Weston Ochse, Lesley Conner, Matt Serafini, Jonathan Janz, Gene O’Neill, Matt Hayward, Jay Wilburn, Gord Rollo, Stephen Kozeniewski, Mike Oliveri, Amber Fallon, Jeff Burk, Kristopher Rufty, Kyle Lybeck, Wile E. Young, Charles Rutledge, Michael T. Huyck Jr., Adam Cesare, John Urbancik, and Monica O’Rourke.

And that's not the complete list. That's just who has been accepted so far. There's more to come. Plus, I'm very happy to announce that the book will be illustrated by Jesus's daughter, Hannah.

More details in about a month, once the line-up is finished and contracts/payments have gone out.

CURRENTLY READING: Trapped In the Saturday Matinee by Joe R. Lansdale and A View From the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman.
CURRENTLY WATCHING: Nothing
CURRENTLY LISTENING: Random Seventies Country-Rock bands like Poco, James Gang, and The Eagles (this is David J. Schow's fault)

The Lansdale book is a short story collection. The Gaiman book is a non-fiction collection. One of them is being read in bed at night, and the other is being read in the bathroom during the day.

I'm not going to tell you which is which.

SAVAGE WOODS by Mary SanGiovanni (not her title of choice, but it's what Kensington wanted) is up for pre-order on Kindle. Click here to pre-order. The back-cover copy says:

Bram Stoker award-nominated author Mary SanGiovanni returns with a terrifying tale of madness, murder, and mind-shattering evil . . .

Nilhollow—six-hundred-plus acres of haunted woods in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens—is the stuff of urban legend. Amid tales of tree spirits and all-powerful forest gods are frightening accounts of hikers who went insane right before taking their own lives. It is here that Julia Russo flees when her violent ex-boyfriend runs her off the road . . . here that she vanishes without a trace.

State Trooper Peter Grainger has witnessed unspeakable things that have broken other men. But he has to find Julia and can’t turn back now. Every step takes him closer to an ugliness that won’t be appeased—a centuries-old, devouring hatred rising up to eviscerate humankind. Waiting, feeding, surviving. It’s unstoppable. And its time has come.

Praise for the novels of Mary SanGiovanni

“A feast of both visceral and existential horror.” —F. Paul Wilson on Thrall

“Filled to the brim with mounting terror.” —Gary A. Braunbeck on The Hollower

“Nightmarish and vivid.” —FearZone on The Hollower

That's it for this week. Be good to each other, and I'll see you back here next week. A few reminders:

END OF THE ROAD - My weekly column for Cemetery Dance

PATREON - Where I post new short stories, a serialized ongoing novel, and behindpthe-scenes stuff.

TWITTER - The only social media outlet I still use regularly (with the exception of my PRIVATE Facebook account).