Good morning. I’m Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth, a long-running weekly newsletter for fans, friends, and family.
I have reached crisis level, in that my inbox currently has over 2,000 unread emails, my phone currently has 13 new voice mails and 76 unread text messages, and I have 18 unread direct messages on Twitter and 7 unread direct messages on Bluesky. There are also countless unread direct messages on Patreon and Instagram, even though I’ve been pretty clear with the public that if you message me on there, I’m not going to see it.
I’m either late or behind on everything. I’ve got more than normal going on professionally right now, but I’ve also been struggling with some heavy personal stuff lately. What I need to do is get away from everything for a week or so and clear my head and then begin tackling things with a renewed strength and spirit..
I've written at length in END OF THE ROAD (available here) about my perpetual wanderlust. It's been with me since I was a little kid, riding for 6 or 8 or sometimes 10 hours in the backseat of my parent's car, reading comic books and watching the big world whizz by through the window. It's why summers and weekends were spent on the back of my BMX Mongoose, riding and ranging all over the small towns and small cities and massive forests of Central Pennsylvania. (Indeed, I was the only 4th grader I knew who'd peddled his bike all the way to the border with Maryland, and I still managed to make it back home the same day, albeit after nightfall and boy was I in trouble when I did). I was the only 6th grader I knew to hop a box car outside the papermill and ride it to the next destination (which turned out to be Hanover, PA, which wasn't very exciting since I could have gotten there on my bike... and again, not worth the trouble I got into for doing this). When I was a sophomore in high school, some friends and I spent two weeks hiking a portion of the Appalachian Trail by ourselves. At 17 I was literally traveling the world, and by the time I was old enough to legally drink, I'd been on every continent except Australia and Antarctica, had crossed both the equator and the arctic circle, and knew how to order a drink or flirt with a girl in a dozen different languages. And that love of the road has served me well in my career as a writer of popular fiction and comic books and social nonfiction. And though I may try to cut back on the touring, sooner or later I'm back at on the road again.
At least once a year, and oddly enough usually around November, I take a week for myself and hit the road not to sign books, or to see sights, but to clear my head. And next week is no different, because as I said above… I really need to clear my head. On Monday morning I'll pile a week's worth of clothing, toiletries, and bourbon into Red Sonja and then drive about two hours south of Richmond, Virginia, to deliver a check for $10,000 to one of our Scares that Care 2024 beneficiaries. On Tuesday, I then drive to Lexington, Kentucky to sign a whole bunch of books for Apex (so they can use them in the coming year for Kickstarter prizes and such). I'll also meet up for dinner with another friend in Kentucky. Then on Wednesday, I need to start heading toward West Virginia so I can be at my grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. She's 99 now, so I feel it's important not to miss this one. And then, on Friday, I begin making my way back north so that I can open the store again on Saturday.
"Sounds like every other road trip ever". Except it's not. Because for the first time in my life, I'm letting the universe guide the steering wheel. It's not lost on me that I've scheduled a full week to make a drive and do tasks that could ostensibly be completed without hurry or delay in 48 hours. But in the last few months, I've begun to allow that there are larger forces at work than we know. Folks have different names for them. God. Allah. Karma. And so forth. I call it the Universe, and lately, I've been letting the Universe guide me.
"Okay, Universe," I said one fairly recent night during a whiskey-fueled bought of grief and stress and confusion and despair and near collapse. "I've controlled my own destiny for 56 years. Let's see if you can do any better."
And the Universe accepted that challenge and has been showing me things. Things about myself. Things about the people in my life. Things about the world we all inhabit. And things about itself.
Mary is half-fearful that I've become a closet fundamentalist Christian, and that I may begin speaking in tongues during an episode of What We Do In The Shadows, but it ain't like that. I'm merely listening for a change, and for the first time in my life, I'm hearing a response. It's a frightening and disconcerting business, given that I'm a control freak and master of my own destiny, but so far, it seems to work. It's definitely allowed me to put a few select demons to rest, something that not even talk therapy ever did completely. A few folks have commented that I seem happier lately. More like my old self. And who knows? Maybe they're right. Maybe I am.
But there are still a lot of things I want answers to, and so, I'm allowing myself that extra time next week so that the universe can drive. And if it decides that I should stop at every single flea market or comic book store or seedy-looking biker bar or honkytonk that I pass by, well who am I to argue?
I am open, and so is the road.
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My 16-year old and I were at the bowling alley on Friday night. When we got home, he checked the mail, and his official driver’s license had arrived. (He’s been driving around on his temporary license for a few months now).
He’s never had my wanderlust, at least not that I could tell. But I suspect it’s starting to bloom in him, perhaps fed and watered by the independence that comes with that license to drive. At first he only drove himself to school and back. Then it was to places like Dollar General and the convenience store. More recently, he’s begun driving himself to parties and friend’s houses and such. Next week, he wants to range a little farther, driving to author Somer Canon’s home (which is about a 45-minute highway drive from us) so he and her son can hang out for the day.
It occurs to me that this newly occurring wanderlust might account for his recently expressed desire to join the military after he graduates from high school. This has been a source of consternation for his mother and I as he finishes up this, his junior year. Before he discovered the road, his plan was to go to college and become a writer. And it looked like a doable plan. After all, I don’t know many 16-year olds who are selling short stories for five or eight cents per word. We toured a few college campuses and he seemed excited by all of the opportunities they had to offer. But then, in the space of a month, he decided A.I. was going to take all of the writing jobs and that he instead wanted to become a Marine. If you want to see the world, then don’t join the Marines. You know how they travel? Via us, the Navy. If you want to use the military to see the world, you need to go Navy or Air Force (and even in the case of the latter, you’re gonna be stuck on a base).
(And look, no disrespect to my readers who were jarheads or airmen. I had many dear friends amongst the 24th MAU, who always deployed with us, and my grandfather was career Air Force from World War II and the Pacific up until he retired at Fort Detrick. But the fact of the matter is, if travel is your stated goal, then the Navy is your best option).
For two of our regular movie nights, I showed him Full Metal Jacket and explained that was what boot camp was like. And then the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan and explained that’s what the rest of it is like. So he’s kind of off joining the military now, but still dubious about college. Instead he wants to travel the world and have adventures and help people with their problems, like some Gen Z version of Kung-Fu.
Yeah, he’s my kid alright. Except that he’s no longer a kid. He’s licensed to drive, and the day is coming soon when he’ll wander off into the world for good, coming to visit dad only on occasion, rather than because he lives here.
And that’s okay. Because it means we raised him right.
But my backseat feels so empty without a car seat back there, and a little blonde boy reading comic books or playing Minecraft on his tablet or asking me questions or signing along with Dad’s radio.
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Speaking of Dad’s radio, there might perhaps be a half dozen of you who noticed that I pulled the plug on Brian Keene Radio this past week. It was never exactly a failure, but it was never exactly profitable either. It existed at a constant break-even state, and as we head into 2025 and the economy begins a downturn* I’m cutting expenditures now. The station had primarily become store muzak for Vortex Books & Comics, and Spotify can serve in that regard for cheaper.
*(My gut tells me it will start getting bad after Christmas, with a slight upturn when folks get their tax refund checks, and then a steep decline around May and heading into summer).
Also debating a lot with myself about the relaunch of THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE and what the format should be. I’d said earlier that it would be full cast again, minus Dave, of course — meaning myself, Mary, and Matt in studio every week, with occasional guest-hosting by Coop, Lombardo, and Dungeonmaster 77.1. But I’ve been rethinking that lately, and wondering if I should go for something more stripped down. The Horror Show… Unplugged, if you will. Just me and a guest and two microphones, rather than the big production it used to be.
In truth, my mind changes in this regard several times a day. I’ve talked at length about it with Mary and Matt, and with a few other close friends. Bottom line is that I’m going to need to just get behind the microphone and see what feels right.
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On last week’s episode of HOW TO SURVIVE 2025, Jim, Dacia and myself discussed The Four Pillars of Financial Preparedness. This area of prepping is very neglected, but on a day-to-day level, it's critically important. Learn from us about Debt Reduction, Emergency Savings, Retirement Planning, and The Death File.
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Currently Watching: Survivor Season 47, Elf, Safety Not Guaranteed, The Gentlemen, and Good Will Hunting
Currently Reading: Yes, I Am A Vampire by Stephen Kozeniewski
Currently Listening: Wizard and Glass: The Dark Tower IV by Stephen King
Elf and Safety Not Guaranteed were recommended to me by a friend. I’d never watched the former because Will Ferrell has just never done it for me. I’m sure he’s a nice person, but I dunno… his stuff just always fell flat with me (except for the Land of the Lost remake). But turned out that Elf was pretty funny. And Safety Not Guaranteed… man, if — like myself — you like a good romantic comedy-drama, and you haven’t seen this one yet, do yourself a favor and watch it next week. Really, really good.
Stephen Kozeniewski has said in interviews and such that I was a big influence on him. (Poor guy). I don’t think that’s ever been more apparent than with his latest book — Yes, I Am A Vampire. Imagine of you took one of my short story collections and mashed them together with one of my nonfiction collections. That’s what he has done with this thoroughly enjoyable book. Yes, I Am A Vampire is part short story collection and part autobiography and you’re never sure if it’s 100% true or 100% nonsense or 50% metafiction. Some of the stories can be read in one sitting. others over an evening. It’s a perfect little collection, and I highly recommend it. Available for Kindle and in paperback here.
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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
So last week you talked about your newsletter open rate falling and a friend of yours being unsubscribed. I left you a comment saying that has happened to me multiple times as well. This morning the newsletter wasn't waiting for me and I subscribed again this morning! Something is up with substack not pulling their weight!
Brian, you made me laugh when you said Mary might think you were going off in religious zeal regarding letting the Universe take the wheel. I know you and my husband Chris spoke a lot back in the day before he passed in 2020. Like you, he was ex Navy and had joined right after high school in '86 only to have that terrible car wreck in '87 while in the Navy paralyzing him for life, so although his two best buds joined after him, he never got to see the world as they did via the Navy. But you also have in common with him the Universe/Spirituality thing (myself as well). Chris called he and I "wanderers" or seekers. The last five years of his life Chris delved deeply into this, wanting to learn about mediums, channeling, meditation and the like and his family, like Mary, thought he and I were both becoming nuts (they also blamed me for turning him vegan as well/bad influence LOL). Chris also had a few NDE's in his life; 1) in '87 while he lay clinging on to life after the accident in the UK/Wales he told me he had a NDE seeing his dead grandmother beckoning to him before they brought him back; in 2015 he had severe sepsis at the VA Hosp in Seattle; then in '2019 while in the ER here locally he passed out for a few min and almost died. They figured out he had been bleeding internally from a prior surgery that hadn't been tied off right apparently. But one minute he was there with me at the ER, I watched his eyes roll up in his head and he was gone. I believe he died those few min and I watched in horror while they brought him back again, so i believe all of those instances as well contributed to his growing spirituality. Maybe getting older does too as we all edge closer to meeting God/the Universe/the Other Side. Just wanted to say that I know Chris, Jesus and your other buddies on the other side fully support your new journey with the Universe. I myself have been trying to learn to meditate, it's not easy I'm Italian, type A, and love coffee so I can barely sit still LOL Don't think I'll ever get close to Chris' dedication but I have my moments. Good luck on your new journey.