Letters From the Labyrinth 310

This past week was nuts, work-wise. I wrote from 8am to 5pm most days, and then after dinner, evenings were spent reorganizing my office — a job that was kickstarted by me selling all of my albums to fellow Scares That Care board member Brian Smith. Why did I sell him all my albums? Because:

1). I haven’t put an album on the turntable since launching Brian Keene Radio. That little pirate radio station plays constantly in both my office and my car now, because I’ve fine-tuned it to only play songs I like.

2). After spending several months and weekends hauling Dave Thomas’s books and stuff up the basement stairs, I have nightmare visions of dropping dead tomorrow, and Stephen Kozeniewski, Mike Lombardo, and Wesley Southard having to haul all my albums down the stairs. Vinyl records are heavy and take up a ridiculous amount of space. Yes, the sound is demonstrably better, and yes, nothing will ever beat album artwork and liner notes, but how many more times in life will I play “Where’s Waldo” with Iron Maiden album covers, or reread the liner notes to Springsteen’s Nebraska? I know where all the neat little things are hidden on Somewhere In Time and and I have memorized what went into Nebraska. At 55, and after a life of adventures and misadventures and all of the physical maladies that come with age and adventure, I am all about downsizing rather than accumulating. (Strangely, the exception to this rule is comic books. I’ve completely rebuilt my childhood collection, but am now expanding it to comics I wanted as a kid but was never able to get my hands on). All of this makes Mary very uneasy and — despite my assurances that I don’t want to get rid of our books — she keeps standing protectively at the door to our library, saying “This feels like when Kramer sold his clothes to Banya!”

But I digress.

Having crated up my records, I was left with half a wall of empty shelves, so I began unpacking my archives, which consists of everything from newspaper articles and magazine interviews to letters from other authors, cover flats, production and marketing stuff, t-shirts, and other ephemera. Basically all the stuff I’ve accumulated in my 25-year career that isn’t an actual published book, comic or movie. Much of this will go to Ben at the University of Pittsburgh, but before I can give it to him, I need to sort through it all. I don’t think scholars will want to see C. Robert Cargill’s “Let’s ditch this place” memo hastily scrawled to me on a cocktail napkin at a hotel bar in Minnesota right before Mary, Jess, Amanda, and Eryn made us get up and sing “Bohemian Rhapsody” for karaoke. Nor will scholars need fifty Leisure Books cover flats for THE RISING. But they may want Richard Laymon’s red-line edits on the first chapter of THE RISING, and they might be interested in the eighty pages of handwritten notes J.F. Gonzalez and I made toward publishing a magazine (an endeavor we ultimately decided against because there’s simply not enough profit involved).

Anyway, right now, my office looks like a hurricane hit it, which is why I didn’t do a Livestream for Patreon subscribers this week. The last three evenings were spent cutting newspaper articles out and making them suitable for framing, along with my first interviews in Fangoria and Rue Morgue (because those were big deals for me, personally). One thing I was sad to discover missing from my archives is the 2004 New York Times spread on myself, J.F. Gonzalez and Tim Lebbon. I have the 2006 New York Times story on the rising popularity of zombies and how it’s partially my fault, but not that other one. If any of you happen to have a print copy, I’m willing to pay money for it. Reach out.

Dallas helped by making sure I took some breaks.

Good morning. I’m Brian Keene and this is the 310th issue of Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for friends, family and fans of my work. Thanks for joining me.

My plan is to have everything sorted, filed and catalogued by the time Stokercon rolls around next summer. Mary, Sonora Taylor and I are taking the Scares That Care van to that convention, because we’re going to rent a dealer table and raise some money for the charity. I figure I can simultaneously haul everything from my archives and perhaps some select things from J.F.’s archives (pending approval from the estate) that the university is getting, since the convention takes place in Pittsburgh. Mostly it will be correspondence and manuscripts.

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The latest book from Manhattan On Mars Press is a brand-new edition of LEADER OF THE BANNED: THE BEST OF HAIL SATEN Vol. 4, marking the book’s first time in paperback or eBook release (it was previously published in 2010 only as a signed limited edition).

"I fear this story will end soon..."

Thus begins the final volume in Brian Keene's Hail Saten series, collecting non-fiction and essays that chronicle the horror genre's turbulent 2006 to 2008 period. As message boards gave way to social media, politics gave way to partisanship, and protest gave way to violence, LEADER OF THE BANNED offers an uncanny look at the world which would soon follow -- global recession, wars and rumors of wars, celebrity-driven news cycles, and great sweeping changes to how people would consume books and entertainment. Featuring fan-favorites such as "The Year of Scorched Earth", "Just Like Stephen King", Silver Bullets" and the controversial "If I Were President" (which landed Keene under investigation from the government), this fourth and final volume -- in paperback for the first time anywhere -- brings the Hail Saten series to an incendiary conclusion.

Paperback: Amazon

eBook: Kindle - Nook - Kobo - Apple

Volumes 1 through 3 are also available here!

Cover by Kealan Patrick Burke (Elderlemon Design)

Next up from Manhattan On Mars Press will be paperback and Apple eBook editions of ALONE (it’s been available in audiobook and for Kindle, Nook and Kobo for several years, but this will mark it’s first time in paperback or on Apple). And early next year will see the trade and eBook release of THINGS LEFT BEHIND.

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I mentioned this in last week’s newsletter, but it wouldn’t hurt to repeat it here — I’ve built a new Store on my website, with everything now on one easy to navigate page. Books, comics, audiobooks, t-shirts, DVDs, foreign editions — everything is there, and with multiple purchasing options. Do check it out!

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A holiday contest is underway on The Keenedom message board forum. All month long, we’ll be giving away signed and unsigned hardcovers and paperbacks from Thunderstorm Books, Apex Publishing, Lividian Publications, and others. What kind of prizes? How about limited editions of Heart Shaped Box signed by Joe Hill, unsigned limited editions of Stephen King’s Revival, Apex’s Do Not Go Quietly signed by editor Lesley Conner, limited editions of my own Submerged: The Labyrinth Book 2, and many, many more! These items will ship directly from the publishers throughout the month, as the winners are announced.

How do you win? It’s easy. Simply participate on the forum.

Each day, I will pick a Board. For example, tomorrow I may pick David J. Schow’s Board or Hailey Piper’s Board or The Writer’s Room Board or the Music and Podcasts Board. The chosen Board will remain known only to me. At the end of the day, anyone who posted on that Board that day will be entered into the contest, and a winner will be chosen at random. The next day, I’ll pick a different Board and the process will start all over again.

Now, a few caveats. First of all, your participation has to be actual conversation. You can’t just post post an emoji. That’s not participating in a conversation. And you can’t just go to a Creator Board and post “Hi! I’ve never read you, but I want to win a free book, so I’m posting here simply for that.”

My own Brian Keene Board, the Rules Board, and the Announcements Board are disqualified from the contest. Posts on them will not count toward the prizes.

So, happy holidays from all of us at The Keenedom.

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This Week’s Blog: “Cognitive Disarray”

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Only 14 seats remain for Borderlands Boot Camp 2023. Click here to reserve your spot.

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Currently Reading: Winter’s Myths by Gage Greenwood and Ghost Music and Other Tales by Thomas Tessier.

Currently Watching: Something In The Dirt (Prime), Avenue 5 (HBO Max), Survivor (Paramount Plus), Tulsa King (Paramount Plus) and Small Town Crime (HBO Max)

I very much enjoyed Winter’s Myths. Without spoilers, a father has to keep his children’s’ hopes up in a dangerous and deadly post-apocalyptic landscape. It’s dark and funny and bittersweet and magical. Will appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman or John Urbancik. I’m looking forward to a sequel.

Thomas Tessier’s Ghost Music is a reread for me — probably my fourth or fifth. It’s a great collection.

Something In The Dirt is fantastic! Filmed during the pandemic, it’s a masterclass in doing more with less, particularly in the dialogue and the lighting. Required viewing for both writers and filmmakers.

Avenue 5 is quickly becoming the thing I look forward to the most each week. So funny and bizarre, and Hugh Laurie is a delight. Not enough of you are watching this.

Released in 2017, Small Town Crime flew under me and Mary’s radar, but we watched it this past week and loved it. Great neo-noir thriller with a fantastic performance by John Hawkes.

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Here’s a bonus cat pic of Daisy and Joy (both are Josie’s kittens, but from different litters) at their new home.

And that is it for this week. I hope that you’re doing good, and that you have someone to cuddle with on a blanket. If you don’t, may I suggest you visit your local animal shelter and find a friend? Hopefully this newsletter was a nice way to start your day. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you back here next Sunday.

— Brian Keene