Letters From the Labyrinth 307

Good morning from my bathroom, where it is 6:23 on a Saturday morning. I’ve been ensconced on the toilet since around 4:50 this morning, because I have food poisoning from the haddock I got at the diner during me and Mary’s date-night last night. The rest of date-night was nice. We went to Cooper’s Comics* in Columbia, PA where I bought comic books and she bought Magic the Gathering cards. Then we went to our local diner, which has always been wonderful. The food poisoning, however, is less than wonderful. I would describe to you exactly what is happening, but this is not a Gross-Out Contest. This is Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for friends, family and fans of my work.

Anyway, during one brief intermission where nothing was coming out of either end of me, I decided to grab my laptop and work on today’s newsletter. A toilet, after all, is a chair, of sorts, and I’ve worked in far worse conditions.

*(We have about a dozen comic book stores spread across York and Lancaster counties. My favorite — my home store — will always be Comix Connection in York. But I also shop at Cooper’s in Columbia quite often, because they have fantastic deals on Bronze Age Marvel and DC (right now they have 25 long boxes filled with Bronze Age books priced at 3 for $2. Understand, these are not CGC-slabbed or mint condition comics. They’re mostly in Good or Very Good condition, perfectly fine for reading, which is what I like to do. We also occasionally frequent The Comic Store in Lancaster and Comic Store West in East York. If you’re in Central PA, check any and all of them out, and tell them I sent you).

The last time I had food poisoning, Blogs were still a thing and social media was in its infancy. Instead, we used online message boards to communicate with each other. Those were better ways to communicate and have conversations. I know this to be true because earlier this week, I began Blogging again and then I created a message board as an alternative to social media, and they feel right. They feel better. And judging by the number of texts and calls and emails I’ve received from peers around my age, they think this is better, too. And judging by how quickly the message board community is growing, it seems a lot of readers feel the same way.

I’m done with social media. I loathed Facebook from day one. Instagram was okay for a little while, but the novelty wore off. Tumblr and TikTok are maddening in their functionality. I have used these platforms because I needed to reach the audience who buys my books, but I never enjoyed it. I quite liked Twitter, and had a lot of fun there, but it is the Titanic barreling toward the Hindenburg right now, and if you doubt that, then you’re not old enough to remember MySpace or Xanga or Geocities, and if you are old enough and still doubt it, then you weren’t paying attention.

What I forgot is that back in the day, the audience who buys my books came to me. They came to my Blog and to the message board, because there was content there that appealed to them. That’s my idea this time around, as I dial back to the past in an effort to move forward. The message board isn’t just for me and readers of my books. It’s for everyone in this genre — fan, reader, aspiring creator, or professional — who is sick of using 20 different social media apps, and just wants a big circus tent under which to find each other, and have real conversations again about things that we love with other people who love them, free from all the incessant toxic bullshit that comes with social media.

If that sounds like something you might dig, then join us there. It’s free. I’m there. So are Paul Tremblay, Josh Malerman, Mary, Edward Lee, Hailey Piper, David J. Schow, Jed Shepherd, Carver Pike, Wesley Southard, Jamie Flanagan, Samantha Kolesnik, and pretty much everyone else.

(A note: You must create a brand new account. If you were a member of the old forums way back in the day, and you try to log in with your old account, it will send you to the shell of those old forums, which are now defunct. To know that you are in the right place, here is what you should see):

And as for the Blog? You can find it right here. If the message board is for the larger horror community (and it is) then the Blog is for me. At fifty-five, I still have some things I want to talk about, and this is a healthier, better way for me to do that than putting it on social media.

I hope that you enjoy them both.

I’m not “done” with social media. I recognize that it is a necessary evil, and that I need to keep my presence in such places in order to sell books. But going forward, my social media accounts are pretty much just going to mirror whatever news item is on my website. More meaningful interaction and conversation will take place in these new-old oases. It’s better for me. You’re welcome to join in, if you like. And if not, that’s okay, too.

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As you know, THE RISING is currently in development for a video game. As of Friday morning, the development team were working on, quote: "Enemy AI, many weapons (flamethrower included of course), zombie lion & animals." They are laboring hard to make sure everything matches up with continuity. There are also going to be some fun surprises and Easter eggs in the various mini-games nestled inside the main game. One of those mini-games is BAKER’S AQUARIUM. You can lay it right now, for free. )It will also be included in the full video game release). To play the free mini-game, go here.

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Speaking of minis, next Saturday, November 19th, Ronald Malfi, Richard Chizmar and I will continue our little mini-signing tour — this time with an appearance at Barnes & Noble 1809 Reisterstown Rd, Pikesville, MD 21208. We will be there from noon to 2pm, so don’t be late.

Then next Sunday, November 20th, myself, Mary SanGiovanni, Samantha Kolesnik, Robert Swartwood, Mike Lombardo, Wesley Southard, Stephen Kozeniewski, Lesley Conner and many more will be doing an appearance from noon until 6:00pm at Lovedrafts Brewing Company 165 Gateway Drive Mechanicsburg, PA, 17050

These will be my last two signings of the year, so I hope to se you at one or the other or both!

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Thanks to all of you for a great first week of sales on SUBMERGED: THE LABYRINTH Book 2 in paperback and for Kindle - Nook - Kobo and Apple. The audiobook edition will follow shortly.

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I provided the Introduction to Wesley Southard’s new short story collection They Mostly Come at Night. It is available in both paperback and for Kindle from Cemetery Gates Media.

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I am very pleased to offer my readers the cover reveal for The Legend of Charlie Fish — the forthcoming new novel from Josh Rountree. Why am I sharing it? Because it is a fantastic novel that will appeal to fans of my work, as well. Indeed, my official blurb says it is: “A fantastic work of dark historical fiction, in the spirit of Lansdale, Gorman, Pronzini, and McMurty.”

The Legend of Charlie Fish will be available in July of next year from Tachyon Publications. The paperback is available for preorder here.

But let’s hear what others have to say and take a look at the cover.

“Odd, creepy, funny, The Black Lagoon meets the Six Gun universe. High up on the way-cool factor. You need this.” —Joe R. Lansdale, Edgar Award–winning author of the Hap and Leonard series

In this debut, neo-gothic Western novel, an unlikely found family flees to Galveston, Texas, and a psychic young girl bonds with an enigmatic gill-man. While two bounty hunters are determined to profit by the spectacle Charlie Fish, the Great Storm—the worst natural disaster in U.S. history—is on its way. With vivid imagery, evocative emotion, and uncanny wit, Josh Rountree enters the tradition of Texas storytellers, as he wades into the waters of True Grit by way of The Shape of Water.

As is his wont, Floyd Betts rides into town alone. He arrives for his father’s funeral but is re-turning to Galveston, Texas, with two orphaned siblings he has rescued. Nellie, who is descended from a long line of witches, has visions from other people’s minds. Hank, her impulsive younger brother, just wants to break out his outsized revolver.

Along the way home, Floyd, Nellie, and Jim encounter a dubious traveling salesman, Professor Finn, and his henchman, Kentucky Jim. They are struggling to capture a fish-man in order to put him on cruel display. When Nellie taps into the peril of the gentle Charlie Fish, Floyd’s makeshift family expands to include the lost, two-legged amphibian.

With the circus charlatans in pursuit, ominous winds are picking up from an impending hurricane. Meanwhile, all Charlie Fish wants is to return to his home at sea.

Again, The Legend of Charlie Fish will be available in July of next year from Tachyon Publications. The paperback is available for preorder here. I highly recommend it!

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Currently Watching: Avenue 5 (HBO Max) and The Cabinet of Curiosities (Netflix)

Currently Reading: What’s In A Name: The Stories Behind Some of Stephen King’s Original Titles by Bev Vincent and Slasher vs. The Remake (aka Ex-Boogyeman) by Kristopher Triana.

Currently Listening: Brian Keene Radio (I got away from doing the morning news live every morning at 8:30 last week, because it was an overwhelmingly busy work-week and I needed the extra time. But I’ll try to get back to it this week).

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And that’s it for this week, I think. I’d meant to write more, but in the time that I’ve taken to write this far, my legs have fallen asleep and I can’t seem to gt up from the toilet. At least the food poisoning seems to have passed. Mary and Somer Canon are having a “Girl’s Day” later today, and I would have felt terrible retching in the background and stinking up the house while they did whatever girls do on Girl’s Day. (I like to think there are pillow fights involved, but I am probably very wrong in that assumption).

Later today I have to drive a truck down to Baltimore and haul another load of Dave Thomas’s books out of the basement. (“How many books could Dave have possibly had?” a mutual friend of ours asked me earlier this week. The answer is, “More than I have ever seen in any personal library.” In truth, I don’t think even Dave realized just how many books he had amassed. Don’t misunderstand. It wasn’t a hoarder situation. Not at all. But sweet Jesus and Cthulhu there are a lot of books…

And tomorrow, Sunday, when you are reading this, I will be enjoying not scrolling through social media. I may even write about it on my Blog…

Have a great day, and I’ll see all of you back here next week (or on the message board between now and then).

— Brian Keene