Letters From the Labyrinth 405
Living The Scream
I’m back from my road trip — reloaded and re-energized.
Last Monday, I drove to Virginia and hand delivered a check for $10,000 to Christy, Scares That Care’s 2024 Breast Cancer gift recipient. When you attend one of our events, or bid in one of our auctions, or donate directly, you are helping folks like Christy and so many more. Thank you for your continued support of the charity.
On Tuesday, I was in Kentucky, where I met up with Jason Sizemore of Apex Book Company. I signed several cases of ISLAND OF THE DEAD and a few spare sets of The Lost Level series, all of which you can order direct from the publisher’s website.
On Tuesday night, I met up for dinner with Laurel Hightower. We went to a restaurant that she assured me had the best Old Fashioneds, and she was correct. They also had some fantastic salmon. We discussed plans for a project that the two of us are going to surprise you all with next year and had a lovely time and laughed for so long that when we looked up, the very busy restaurant had emptied out and the waiter was signaling that he’d like us to leave so he could bus that section.
On Wednesday morning, I met up with Laurel again and had breakfast with her and her son, Tiny, who is my new best buddy.
Then I hit the road again and spent Thursday with family. Mary left for New Jersey on Friday, and I reopened the store on Saturday (yesterday).
Writing-wise, I finished a few more commissioned Lost Level stories, an Introduction for the Gauntlet Press edition of F. Paul Wilson’s The Upwelling, and continued production on J.F. Gonzalez’s Conversion. I also posted a daily journal to Patreon (available to all subscribers). This has been so popular that I intend to continue it daily.
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Good morning. I’m Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth, a long-running weekly newsletter for fans, friends, and family.
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My long-awaited new graphic novel, THE FALLEN, is finally available and shipping right now from Thunderstorm Books,
THE FALLEN is a vampire story set during the American Civil War. It is written by me, illustrated by Steven Wands, and based on a screenplay by Richard Chizmar and Johnathon Schaech. This Thunderstorm Books edition is full color, signed by all four of us, costs $99, and is limited to 66 copies. I suspect given the limitation and the rarity, it will sell out pretty fast. Get your copy here.
And while you’re there on Thunderstorm’s website, you’ll note that there are still a few copies of the signed limited edition hardcover of LOVE AND HATE IN THE TIME OF COVID available for purchase, as well, along with signed limited by Mary, Laurel, Edward Lee, Christopher Golden, Bryan Smith, Wile E. Young, Hailey Piper, Kristopher Rufty, and many more!
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Next Saturday, December 7th, S.H. Cooper, Laurel, and myself will be co-hosting LIVING THE SCREAM — a free charity livestream to benefit the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). It starts at 7pm Eastern time and in addition to us, features Todd Keisling, Victoria Nation, Katherine Silva, Cat Voleur, and many more.
I don’t yet have a link to share with you, so mark your calendar now, and then check my social media next Saturday for the link.
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I was very pleased to see that my short stories “Blood Roots” (from Deathrealm: Spirits) and “Masks” (which I co-wrote with Richard Chizmar, from October Screams) both made the Recommendation list for Ellen Datlow’s The Best Horror of the Year Volume Sixteen.
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On last week’s episode of HOW TO SURVIVE 2025, Jim, Dacia and myself discussed Prepping With Pets.
Dogs. Cats. Birds. Hamsters. Snakes. Goldfish. When disaster strikes, it doesn't just impact us. It also impacts our furry, feathery, and scaly friends. Jim, Dacia, and Brian discuss pet-centric preparedness, and what you should do now to make sure your animals are okay in the future.
Listen free via: Web Browser ~ Spotify ~ iHeartRadio ~ Apple ~ Amazon/Audible ~ YouTube ~ Podbean ~ Player FM
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Currently Watching: Survivor Season 47 (Paramount Plus), Woman of the Hour (Netflix)
Currently Reading: Wizard and Glass: The Dark Tower 4, The Wind Through The Keyhole: The Dark Tower 4.1, and Wolves of the Calla: The Dark Tower V, all by Stephen King
Currently Listening: Evil World Machine by Crossbone Scully and John Tesh’s cover of Patrick Swayze’s “She’s Like The Wind”. How’s that for sonic dissonance?
Woman of the Hour is a remarkable film. The actors and the director of photography do a fantastic job of showing all of the subtle little indignities that women endured in the 1970s (and still endure today, in many cases). If you’re in the mood for a real life serial killer flick, I highly recommend it.
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This week’s book recommendation is Borealis by Wile E. Young.
It isn’t the right time of year; it isn’t the right geography.But the lights are still there. Drifting out of the stars, the people of Atlanta, Texas are eager to sit on their porches and take in the sight of this “once in a lifetime” event. Even when they crash their cars, they watch. Even when they’ve been standing outside all night, they watch. And unbeknownst to those below, the lights are watching too…
If you liked my novel DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN then you’ll love this gripping cosmic horror novella, which can — and probably will — be read in one sitting. It’s available in paperback and Kindle 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
Good thing I'm up relatively early today. I snagged one of the 66 copies of The Fallen. I'm a sucker (pun intended) for vampire stories, so happy to add this one to the collection.