Letters From the Labyrinth 363

Bear, Books, Covid, and The Rising Game

Came down with Covid on Christmas Day and it wasn’t one of the mild cases, so I’ve been out for the count most of the week. If you sent me an email or a direct message, I guarantee I haven’t seen it. Like the last time I contracted it, Paxlovid has kept me out of the hospital, but even on the meds there were a few hairy days, breathing-wise.

I usually open these newsletters with some sort of essay or thought-piece, but just didn’t have the energy for that this week.

I spent most of the week reading books and watching television, because I was in no shape to write. But I did get some work done. I edited the final draft of LOVE AND HATE IN THE TIME OF COVID: SELECTED NONFICTION 2015 - 2022 and turned it in to Paul at Thunderstorm Books. (And yes, there is a funny irony to editing a book with that title while suffering from Covid).

I also worked on some more commissioned Lost Level stories, and began the serialized first draft of FALLING ANGELS: THE LABYRINTH, Book 4. Like the first three books, the serial appears on my Patreon. When finished, it will then be made available in printed form. If the time-frame remains what it was for the first three books, then that means around this time next year. So, if you can’t waitt until then, hop on my Patreon. It’s only five bucks a month.

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I’d like to take a moment here to acknowledge the loss of Bear, who passed away earlier this week after a very, very long life. Bear was Kristopher Triana’s dog, but she was also kind of the horror genre’s adopted dog. If you've ever attended a convention that Kris was at, then you've probably met Bear. She was the genre's very good girl, and I adored her. Kris wrote a lovely farewell to her here.

My favorite memory of Bear is from earlier this year. It was a few hours before the wedding, and I had gone out to get the drinks for the reception. When I got back, Kris and Bear were all the way across the field with some other folks. Nobody realized I was back yet, except for her. At which point she tugged her leash so hard that Kris let it go and then she ran as fast as her old legs would let her, tail wagging, all full of doggy smiles, all the way over to say hello to me and get some of Uncle Brian's tummy rubs. 

You know that hotel convention bar I write about at the end of END OF THE ROAD? The one where we all get to see each other again? I like to think that when I get there, Bear will notice me before anyone else and she’ll come running over to get another tummy rub.

Rest in peace, you very good girl.

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An update on THE RISING video game. The review application was approved and the Steam page should be live right after the New Year. To stay caught up on everything, follow here.

And don’t forget, the Baker’s Aquarium minigame is already available and free to play right here.

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Some forthcoming book updates, as well. The Lettered edition of WITH TEETH is at the binder. The signed hardcovers of THE DRIVE-IN: MULTIPLEX are in route to Thunderstorm Books from the freight company, and the signed hardcovers of SPLINTERED: THE LABYRINTH Book 3 should be right behind them.

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We’ve got a New Years fundraiser in progress for Scares That Care. If helping burn victims, women with breast cancer, and kids with illness, and also seeing me dressed in a diaper like the Baby New Year is how you'd like to begin 2024, then this is for you! To donate, click here. To donate by text message, text Baby2024 to 41444 (no spaces between Baby and 2024).

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Currently Watching: Lost (Hulu)

Currently Reading: The Long Walk by Stephen King, Broken On The Wheel of Sex by Jack Ketchum, Picking You Out Of My Teeth by Somer Canon, Electric City’s Neon Infection by John Wayne Comunale, and Find The Torch by Tyler Jones, Michael Marshall Smith and Josh Malerman.

All of these are fantastic. Just an incredible reading week. The Long Walk and Broken On The Wheel of Sex are rereads for me. The former is my favorite of Steve’s ‘Richard Bachman’ output, and the latter is a great collection of Dallas’s similar alter-ego ‘Jerzy Livingston’.

One of the things I like most about discovering an author at the beginning of their careers is that you get to see them grow as writers in almost real time. You can mark the changes in their craft as they progress. Electric City’s Neon Infection is one of those moments for John Wayne Comunale — a book in which he steps way outside his comfort zone and tries something new with narrative voice and plotting and pace, and the results are stupendous. A marked progression, a great read, and a fantastic final book for 2023. It, along with Somer Canon’s book, are available in gorgeous signed paperback editions from Thunderstorm Books for just $20 each. Click here to check them out.

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A reminder to all of you who’ve been ordering signed books from the Manhattan On Mars website. The links on the website will be inactive for the next few weeks. That’s because we’re transitioning the website to serve as an online store for Vortex Books and Comics). When it’s live again, you will be able to preorder signed and personalized books not just by Mary and myself, but by every author whom signs at the store.

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And that does it for this week. Have a safe and happy transition from 2023 into 2024, and buckle up. My gut tells me this coming year is gonna be something. I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine. Let’s go into it together.

— Brian Keene