Letters From the Labyrinth 288
In hindsight, it was a mistake to teach Dallas how to play fetch. He is fascinated by the caps atop bottles of Deer Park water. If he hears me open one (and he hears everything), he charges across the house and stares at me expectantly until I throw the cap. Then he’ll barrel after it, scrambling to snatch up the cap in his jaws and trot back to me, where he then proudly drops it at my feet and waits for me to throw it again. If I am busy writing, and don’t toss it right away, he nibbles on my feet and ankles until I throw the cap again. Occasionally, he will hide extra caps under the rugs, carpets, or in my slippers. And then later, when we are trying to sleep, he’ll pull them out, hop up onto the bed, and drop them on me. He will literally play fetch until he runs himself to exhaustion.
None of this is conducive to writing.
For you brand new readers wondering why this is remarkable, Dallas is a cat, not a dog.
Good morning. This is Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for friends, family and fans of my work. Previous issues can be read here. You can also leave comments, which I’ll read and answer as time allows.
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The wait is over! CURSE OF THE BASTARDS comes out in paperback and e-book this coming Tuesday (the 28th).
For some reason, the Kindle edition isn’t up for preorder yet, but I would imagine it will be live on Tuesday.
Steven, myself, and our publisher, Jason Sizemore, will be doing a Livestream on my YouTube channel Tuesday evening to celebrate the release of the book. The stream begins at 8:30pm EDT. If you’re free, show up and celebrate with us!
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Work this past week involved lots of spinning plates and lots of juggling. Progress continued on GWENDY’S BUTTON BOX, SPLINTERED: THE LABYRINTH Book 3, and ISLAND OF THE DEAD. I also worked on the programming schedule for next month’s Scares that Care Charity Weekend VIII. I worked on edits for INVISIBLE MONSTERS. I advised the beneficiaries of Charlee Jacob’s literary estate, and I worked a lot behind the scenes on J.F. Gonzalez’s literary estate. And I also did a ton of research for a new 2023 project that I am absolutely not allowed to talk about, and will have to give a codename to. Let’s call it PROJECT BROADSWORD. This thing is going to kick more ass than a donkey…
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If you are one of the many authors who is owed money by Silver Shamrock Publishing, and you are an are an HWA member, you should seriously consider filing a grievance with the HWA’s grievance committee. Even if you are going to hire an attorney, it’s still good to have a paper trail and show that you’ve made every good faith effort on your own.
And if you’re Silver Shamrock and you’re reading this, pay your authors, dude. Do the right thing, and pay your people what they’re owed. If you can’t pay them, then at the very least reach out to all of them, individually, and inform them of what’s going on.
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Everyone knows Chris Enterline as an artist, but did you also know that he writes? His debut novel, Kin, which is a werewolf story set in the immediate aftermath of America’s Civil War, is available right now in paperback and for Kindle. Chris has been having a tough time of it lately, so your purchase would really help him out. And who doesn’t love a good werewolf novel?
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Currently Listening: Various albums by Flock of Seagulls, Paula Abdul, and Anthrax.
Currently Reading: Plastic Monsters by Daniel Volpe and Red Nails and The Hyborian Age by Robert E. Howard.
Currently Watching: Stranger Things season 4 (Netflix), The Boys season 3 (Prime), Vivarium (Prime), and The Night House (Prime)
And I have thoughts…
The Night House is a slow burn that melds several of horrors’ different sub-genres. It’s supernatural. It’s psychological. It’s a thriller. It’s all of those things and none of those things. Plenty of twists and turns and some great special effects. Neat usage of shadow and proportion and lighting. I enjoyed it.
Vivarium will not be for everybody. Indeed, it almost wasn’t for me, because it stars Jesse Eisenberg — an actor whom I am deathly allergic to. (And look, I know a lot of people read this, and I know I’ve got at least two mutual friends with Mr. Eisenberg, so if you’re reading this, dude, I don’t mean offense. You just don’t do it for me). The only reason we watched it was because it was late, and we weren’t yet ready to go to bed, and I figured Mary could watch it while I bagged and boarded comic books. But despite the presence of Mr. Eisenberg, I found myself getting sucked in. The trope itself is one that will be familiar to anyone who has ever read Clifford D. Simak’s “New Folks Home” or read back issues of The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone comic books. I ended up really, really enjoying it. Again, though… it will not be for everybody. There is no neat and tidy ending and nothing is explained.
The Boys third season ups the shock factor, because (as often happens with extreme horror or bizarro fiction) the audience insists that they top themselves. It’s still a wholly enjoyable show, but the more they divert from the comic book series, the more frustrated I become. The Legend, for example. In the comics, he’s a send up of Stan Lee (everything in the comic series is a send up of other things from comics). I wish the show hadn’t gone the route of making him more like Robert Evans. I appreciate what they were trying to do, but I think they could have played it differently — along the lines of DC Comics’ Funky Flashman (who was also a send-up of Stan Lee).
Stranger Things season 4 was fun, but it takes too long to get going. The show is at its best when the cast is together on screen, and having them spread out cross the globe this season detracts from its core and its heart. The Eleven origin plot feels padded. It could have been condensed into one or two episodes. And the show comes to a crashing halt when we get to Suzie’s house. Seriously — what the hell was that? That could have been ten minutes of scene, total, and nothing of value would have been lost. I’m glad that the Dustin and Steve bromance continues to run strong, and I adore the new addition of Eddie. It’s nice to see 80s metalhead culture finally represented, and I thought it was clever that he shares a name with Iron Maiden’s mascot and looks like a young Eddie Van Halen.
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What follows is the preliminary (second draft) schedule for the author programming track at Scares that Care Weekend VIII. If you are an actor, your programming will be posted separately. With luck, I have included every guest author and vendor room authors in the programming track. If you fall into either of those categories, please check the schedule. If you are fine with your slot, you don’t need to do anything else. however, if you:
*Are attending as a celebrity or vendor and are not listed.
*Are listed for a time when you won’t be available.
*Are dissatisfied with your schedule for any other reason.
Then please contact me ASAP either via Twitter or via email to briankeene@live.com.
FRIDAY:
6:00pm to 7:00pm: Adam Cesare, Matt Serafini, Patrick Lacey, Scott Cole, and Aaron Dries – Reading and Q&A
7:15pm to 8:15pm Times of Trouble: How do creatives stay productive in times of stress, grief, or trauma? Panelists Jessica McHugh (moderator), Ronald Malfi, V. Castro, Stephen Graham Jones, Rio Youers, Briana Morgan, Nicole Wilson, and Dea Scholfield discuss.
8:30pm to 9:30pm: Ronald Kelly, Steven L. Shrewsbury, and Wile E. Young – Reading and Q&A
9:45pm to 10:45pm: Kristopher Triana, Thomas R. Clark, and Chase Will – Reading and Q&A
SATURDAY:
10:15am to 11:00am: Russel R. James and Tom Deady – Reading and Q&A
11:15am to 12:30pm: V Castro and John Edward Lawson – Reading and Q&A
12:45pm to 1:30pm: Cullen Bunn and Nicholas Kaufmann – Reading and Q&A
1:45pm to 2:30pm: Somer Canon and Laurel Hightower – Reading and Q&A
2:45pm to 3:30pm: Daniel Kraus and Stephen Kozeniewski – Reading and Q&A
3:45pm to 4:30pm: Stephen Graham Jones and Rio Youers – Reading and Q&A
4:45pm to 5:45pm: Wesley Southard, Tim Meyer, and Kenzie Jennings – Reading and Q&A
6:00pm to 7:00pm: The World’s Greatest Horror Novel: Panelists Lucas Milliron (moderator), Daniel Kraus, Shawn Burgess, James D. Dean, Holly Jennings, Bryan Nowak, Sheri White, and Kyle Lybeck share their picks for the greatest horror novel of all time.
7:15pm to 8:00pm: John C. Foster and Dacia M. Arnold – Reading and Q&A
9:00pm to 10:00pm: The Economics of Publishing: Representatives from Apokrupha (Moderator), Raw Dog Screaming Press, Stygian Sky/Death’s Head Press, Dark Recesses Press, Bleeding Edge Books and St Rooster Books discuss how they operate amidst today’s global financial uncertainty.
10:15pm to…: The Gross-Out Contest: Contestants who enter will have three minutes to tell their grossest, vilest, and maybe funniest stories to judges Kristopher Triana, Samantha Kolesnik, Candace Nola, Jay Wilburn, and John Wayne Comunale, emcee Brian Keene, and bouncer Steven L. Shrewsbury. Winners get prizes. Please Note: This is NC-17 content. Audience discretion is strongly advised.
SUNDAY:
11:15am to Noon: Amanda Headlee and Rachel Brune – Reading and Q&A
12:15pm to 1:15pm: Boom or Bust: Right now, horror is in a boom period. How will the festering global economic uncertainty impact the genre? Panelists John Quick (moderator), Cullen Bunn, Ronald Kelly, Somer Canon, Laurel Hightower, Ronald Malfi, Todd Keisling, and Jeff Strand discuss what may happen.
1:30pm: to 2:30pm: Kenneth Cain, Nathan D. Ludwig, and JC Walsh – Reading and Q&A
2:45pm to 3:30pm: Brian Keene and Sonora Taylor – Reading and A Passing of the Torch.
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For this week’s installment of Brian Keene’s Time Machine, let’s take a look at various signings over the years at Comix Connection — a Central Pennsylvania comic book store chain operated by two old friends of mine, Bill Wahl and Ned Senft, whom I’ve known for more than 30 years.
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I’ve put a new batch of books from Dave Thomas’s estate up on eBay. If you’re a new reader or fan, Dave was the co-host of THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE and Matt Wildasin’s The Ghost Writer’s Podcast for many years. He also wrote for various video game and movie companies, and was a prominent figure in the fan community. He died earlier this year after a long battle with cancer. He had an extensive library, which is now slowly being sold off, as per his wishes, with the proceeds going to his long-time partner, Deena.
This week’s auctions:
Eye by David J. Schow. Signed hardcover. Bid here.
Falling Idols by Brian Hodge, still in shrink-wrap. Bid here.
The Keep by F. Paul Wilson. Signed first edition trade hardcover, personalized to Dave by F. Paul. Bid here.
Reservoir Gods by Brian Knight. Signed hardcover. Bid here.
RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL by me. Hardcover. Signed and I also personalized it to Dave. Bid here.
4 FEAR OF by myself, Richard Chizmar, Thomas F. Monteleone and Brian James Freeman. Signed by all four of us and personalized to Dave by myself and Tom. Bid here.
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Traumatic times here at Casa Keenegiovanni. Found our albino possum dead in the neighbor’s yard this morning. I just saw him yesterday so it must have happened last night. My best guess is he got hit by a car and crawled into their yard. It didn’t look like he’d been attacked by a fox, coyote, or bald eagle (all of which are common here).
I wasn’t emotionally attached to the possum, but I did like him — enough that I named him Whitey. I would go outside and talk to him some nights. He wasn’t fearful and would usually allow me to sit down within touching distance and then listen respectfully while I talked. He did a good job at eating ticks and other nuisances, and he will be missed.
I’ve got a bit of anxiety, though, because Josie hasn’t been around for three days. I’m telling myself logically that this is because she’s weaning the kittens, and hat she has done this before, but finding that possum didn’t help enforce that logic in my brain. The kittens, however, are great. There are four left to find home for (with one of them probably going to their new home next week). If you’re local and you want one, let me know.
My 14-year old and I rescued a baby turtle yesterday. The mommy turtles tend to lay their eggs in the sandy soil behind our house, near a row of pine trees. Sadly, when the babies hatch, they've got a pretty long trek to find water. They often end up in our neighbor's koi pond instead of the river, because it's closer. I suspect this little guy was a straggler. We helped him find the river.
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And that does it for this week. I hope to see some of you on the Livestream this coming Tuesday night. In the meantime, take care of yourselves and each other. Now more than ever. I’ll see you back here next Sunday.
— Brian
We have a possum that comes to our back porch nightly and eats watermelon rinds and, of course, ticks. Also a three legged raccoon that hobbles around. We leave veggie scraps for them. We had a barn cat, Dizzy, as well. Sometimes we'd see all three of them hanging around the back porch. Dizzy went missing some weeks back though.
I think Kasey was signing Impossible Monsters and her CD's. If it is from that day, I had you sign The Damned Highway for me (Buy the ticket, take the ride). Kasey signed my Impossible Monsters copy and her new CD. She was so cool! She chatted with my 13 year old daughter (who is now married and expecting my first grandchild in November!) and was so kind!