[Letters From the Labyrinth] Official Brian Keene Newsletter 3/26/17

This is Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. If you're a new subscriber, previous issues are archived here.

Busy week.

Worked on edits for HOLE IN THE WORLD.

Worked on DEAD AIR and THE MOTEL AT THE END OF THE WORLD.

Worked on the new office/podcast studio (picture below).

Worked on a new chapter of THE SEVEN (which I'll post to Patreon tomorrow or Tuesday).

But the bulk of the week was spent prepping for last Thursday's podcast episode, which featured an in-depth remembrance of Horrorfind founder Mike Roden and a retrospective of his career. If you've never heard of Mike, don't be embarrassed. He wasn't a writer or a filmmaker or an actor. He was a businessman and web developer and convention organizer. More importantly, he was a fan of the horror genre.

Mike was absolutely essential in aiding this industry's post-90's comeback. Indeed, I don't think it would have happened without his efforts. Mike helped bring this genre back into prominence, and I felt it was important to talk about that. So we (Dave, Lombardo, and myself) dedicated an entire episode to doing just that. If you haven't listened to it, you can do so for free here.

Mike passed away several weeks ago. We used to be super tight. Great friends. We had a falling out a number of years ago, and never got the chance to squash it.

That bothers me...

My nine-year-old snapped this pic yesterday afternoon. It doesn't look like it now, but when finished, this will be my new office and podcast studio. I'm not a carpenter, but I can hide most of the uneven cuts and cracks between boards with paint and foam insulation. What matters is I've been doing this shit myself. All of it. Putting up the insulation. Measuring the boards. Cutting the boards. Nailing the boards.

It's been many years since I worked manual labor to pay the bills, and this experience has made me look back on those days with a deep sense of nostalgia. In the past, before I became a full-time writer, I worked a number of manual labor jobs -- roofing, loading docks, ditch digger, foundry, machine operator, truck driver, etc.

Of course, were I actually to go out and get a manual labor job again, I'd hate it by the end of the first week and wonder what the hell I was thinking.

Mary SanGiovanni has started a Patreon. Right now, for $1, you can get a sneak peek at a collaboration we're working on together. Click here to get started.

Look for the audiobook of GHOST WALK (narrated by Chet Williamson) to go on sale some time this week. The file is uploading to Audible right now. It will be followed by the Author's Preferred Version of THE RISING.

Author James Newman writes: "This Sunday, my son is hosting a bake sale at church. It's part of his senior project, for which he chose the topic "Being a Straight Ally." All profits will go to Cyndi Lauper's TRUE COLORS FUND, an organization dedicated to fighting homelessness among LGBT Youth. Obviously, my wife and I are proud of this young man more than words could ever convey.

The last thing I wanna do is turn this into a promo opportunity for my own endeavors, but considering the subject matter of my novella ODD MAN OUT I think it's only fitting that I donate my royalties earned from this month's sales to the cause. If you've been on the fence before now, please pick up a copy within the next few days?

Let's allow our kids to be themselves, and keep them off the streets. It's just the right thing to do!"

ODD MAN OUT is available in paperback and for Kindle right here.

CURRENTLY WATCHING: Hap & Leonard, Season Two
CURRENTLY LISTENING: Unearthed by Johnny Cash
CURRENTLY READING: Death Stalks the Night by Hugh B. Cave

At some point on the podcast, Dave, Coop, and I intend to do a history of Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror (which are NOT the same thing, but which are indeed connected). To do it correctly, we'll have to start with Matthew Lewis Gregory and his novel THE MONK (published in 1796). But someone else that we'll focus on is Hugh B. Cave, whose contributions to the Weird Menace pulps of the 1930's laid the groundwork for what was to come. DEATH STALKS THE NIGHT, edited by Karl Edward Wagner, collects the best of these tales. It is a delightfully gruesome time capsule.

I mentioned Mary's Patreon above. A few others you might want to check out:

Nate Southard
Wrath James White
Kelli Owen
Project Entertainment Network

Check them out!

That's it for this week. My nine-year-old just finished setting all this up (I get to be the Godzilla characters). I'm off to play.

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

TWITTER - The only social media outlet I still use regularly.

Take care.