Letters From the Labyrinth 388

That Gum You Like Is Going To Come Back In Style (Maybe)

Good morning. I’m Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth — a long-running weekly email newsletter for fans, friends, and family.

It’s 5:55am on Saturday morning as I type this, and it’s cool enough outside that when I woke an hour ago, I turned the air conditioners off and opened the windows for a bit. There’s a nice summer breeze and it’s wonderfully quiet outside, with only the sounds of the gulls, geese, and ducks out on the river. No traffic or jet skis or drunken doctors and lawyers accidentally running their boats up on the sand bar in a drug-fueled orgy of nonsense. I’m happy. The cats are happy. The waterfowl are happy. (I suppose Mary is happy, too, as she is still asleep, and sleep is something that always makes her happy).

It was a good mail week here. Among the packages I received was a first edition paperback of my novel THE RISING which had been signed by my friend and mentor Jack Ketchum (Dallas Mayr). That was a gift from author John Goodrich, who no longer remembers why he had Dallas sign the book. (I am reminded of a copy of Dallas’s novel The Girl Next Door that I’ve seen, which was signed by Karl Edward Wagner a few years before his death). And Larry Roberts sent me the original art to the cover of one of my books that he published years ago. Very grateful for both of these. The art is by Alex McVey, who’s original painting for TEQUILA’S SUNRISE hangs in my office. This will now hang beside it. (I’ll post a pic when it’s hung).

Also received in the mail this week was a package from… well, security protocol prevents me from saying, but inside were two gifts from former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. He signed and personalized a book for me and she signed and personalized a book for Mary.

You might remember that there was a possibility of having him as a guest on THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE to talk about comic books and novels back when we were still on the air, but sadly, we were never able to get the scheduling worked out. Sometimes I think about bringing the podcast back for a limited run, mostly so I can interview (in The Horror Show’s style) Todd Keisling, Laurel Hightower, Hailey Piper, and Stephen King. But I think the former President would be a good addition to that return performance.

I dunno. Maybe. I go back and forth on whether to bring it back. If I did, it would be a different format. No news. And no weekly banter, of course, because it would feel weird doing that without Dave. No bullpen at all, really. It would just be me and the interview subject. When Dave, J.F. Gonzalez, Coop, and myself originally conceived the previous incarnation, it was ‘The Howard Stern Show meets Inside the Actors Studio’. And that’s exactly what we gave the world for five years. If I brought it back now, it would just be Inside the Actors Studio, but with horror people. Really deep, meaty, intimate conversations. Like those old episodes of The Horror Show with Jack Ketchum, Jonathan Janz, and Maurice Broaddus, or the one where my son interviewed me.

And then in addition to that short list of people above (Keisling, Hightower, Piper, and King), I start thinking things like “Oooo! Nat Cassidy would be a fascinating interview, I’ll bet. And Clay Chapman. He’d be great. And Eric LaRocca. And R,J, Joseph would be excellent. And Bitter Karella. And I had Joe, but never Keith or Kasey. And we never had Dean Koontz during the original run. And we never had Steve Tem or Lucy Snyder, either. Geez, there’s a whole bunch of people. I should make a list.” And then those plans to bring it back for a limited run become a full time gig again.

I’m adamant about the no news thing, though. That I know. That way lies madness. And honestly, there’s so many good people fighting the good fight now (special shout-out to Gabino Iglesias) that I don’t need to get involved, like at all. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? Sooner or later, people would find a way to involve me regardless. And then I’m back to reporting the news again.

But still… maybe. I know there are a couple of networks who’d be interested…

In the meantime, however, my pal Jim Cobb and I will 100% be launching a new limited series podcast very soon called HOW TO SURVIVE 2025. It’s preparation tips for folks who don’t consider themselves “preppers” as America and the world slides further and further towards chaos. More on that here next week.

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I don’t normally put Vortex news in this newsletter (and Brian Keene news in Vortex’s newsletter) but we have a schedule change that I want to make sure our customers know about, so…

We had originally announced Paul Tremblay and Gary Frank for a signing and Q&A next Friday night (August 2). That has changed a bit, due to some scheduling conflicts.

Gary Frank will now sign books and do a Q&A next Saturday (8/3) from 1pm to 3pm. He’ll be joined by Wesley Southard.

Paul Tremblay will now sign books and do a Q&A next Sunday (8/4) from 11am to 1pm. He’ll be joined by Stephen Kozeniewski.

Plan accordingly.

Saturday afternoon now, as I write this segment, and Chuck Wendig and Jessica McHugh just finished up a successful signing. Great fun was had by all.

(Photo by Todd Keisling).

Yes, I’m back on my full beard BS. (I keep shaving it off then growing it back). And yes, my Bells is acting up in that eye, because I’m tired. And yes, Mary had her eyes closed, but Chuck and Jessica look fabulous.

I’ll try to get some sleep before Gary and Paul hit town next weekend.

I dunno. I’m a little self-conscious about that eye. Mary says it’s sexy, like “scars” but you never saw anyone claiming that Quint from Jaws was sexy, so…

That’s something else I secretly struggle with, in regards to bringing back the podcast. When I’m tired, and the Bells is acting up, my speech can be slurred. And that’s not conducive to podcasting.

But… maybe. I’ll test the waters with HOW TO SURVIVE 2025, and see how I feel about things.

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A reminder that AuthorCon IV is taking place in St Louis October 4th through the 6th at the Marriott Renaissance Airport Hotel. We’ll have over 100 horror authors and publishers in attendance. Our guests of honor and full info can be found here. That is also where you can buy your ticket to attend. Please note — there are a few surprise Guest of Honor announcements to come, still.

If you are an author who has purchased a vendor table, we’ve now begun putting together Programming for the event. If you would like to participate with a reading or panel discussion, then I need you to fill out this quick survey. It won’t take more than two minutes. If you don’t fill out the form, then you can’t be on programming.

And this isn’t to call anyone out, but an additional reminder that AuthorCon is a registered trademark of the charity. There are several unaffiliated events who have begun using that name (as in multiple, so again, not calling anyone out). If you are an individual or an organization using that phrase for your event or as part of your branding, we ask that you change it going forward so as to not confuse the public, whose donations we rely upon. Thank you for your understanding and attention in this matter.

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Speaking of Texas, I’ll be at KillerCon in Austin a few weeks from now. I am not bringing books to sell, but if you have books at home that you’d like to get signed, you are very welcome to bring them with you and I will happily sign them. Note: I’ll only be there Friday and Saturday.

I’ll also be in New York City on business sometime in late-August or early-September. I won’t be doing a signing or any appearances (other than in office buildings) but if you’ve been wanting to meet up for something business related, reach out and we’ll get together while I’m there.

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Work Updates:

I know that I’d said you might see the line-up for THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT: NEW TALES FROM STEPHEN KING’S THE STAND here this week, but I’ve been asked to hold off a little bit longer. I can tell you that I wrote my Afterword for the book this week, and Chris wrote his Foreword, and Steve wrote the Introduction a few weeks ago. Everything is done, save the copyedits, which editorial and our authors are working on now. I expect you’ll start getting a lot of occial news on it very soon.

I also turned the manuscript for BENEATH THE LOST LEVEL over to my pre-readers. Worked on the script adaptation for GWENDY’S BUTTON BOX. Finished another commissioned LOST LEVEL story. And returned to making edits and revisions on INVISIBLE MONSTERS (A Novel). And finally, I also proofed the galleys for THE RISING: MORE SELECTED SCENES FROM THE END OF THE WORLD (which is up for preorder).

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The special Lettered Edition of my novel WITH TEETH is down to less than a dozen or so copies. It is signed by me. Red cover foil and frontis art by Alex McVey. You can get your copy here.

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Currently Watching: Mayor of Kingstown season 3 (Paramount+), Narcos: Mexico season 1 (Netflix).

Currently Reading: Dirty Money: Memoirs of A Stripper by Erin Louis and two unpublished manuscripts by F. Paul Wilson

Currently Listening: Brian Keene Radio

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And that does it for this week. Thanks, as always, for reading. I’ll see you back here again next Sunday.

— Brian Keene