Letters From the Labyrinth 420
Exit the Warrior... But Not Quite Yet
Summer’s going fast–
Nights growing colder
Children growing up —
old friends growing older
Experience slips away…
Still pitch black outside at 5:59am on Saturday morning here along the banks of the Susquehanna River. Usually by now I can see the first few hints of sunrise out there — perhaps a few streaks of orange, or a glow on the horizon. But this morning, the only source of light is coming from the windmill farm across the water, sitting atop Turkey Hill, and that’s not the sort of light one can get lost in when one stops typing and glances out his office window.
This is my favorite time of day — the hours between 4 or 5am and 7am, This is when the entire world leaves me alone, and I can truly get things done. Soon, my phone will begin to ding and chime and buzz, and my email will begin the daily deluge, but for right now, I am the last person on Earth.
Very productive week here at Casa KeeneGiovanni. Finished the first draft of another commissioned LOST LEVEL story (this one for Jennifer C D) and made great progress on FALLING ANGELS: THE LABYRINTH Book 4. The latter is in great enough shape that the serialization on Patreon has begun. Five bucks a month gets you access to it, along with everything else there. As we always do, after the serialization on Patreon is complete, it will next be released as a signed limited edition hardcover, and then a paperback and eBook. I’d say audiobook, too, but we are still waiting on the audiobook for SPLINTERED: THE LABYRINTH Book 3, aren’t we? Trust me folks, I’m as frustrated about that as you are.
There was also a lot of behind the scenes work on DEAD FORMAT this past week — everything from meeting our new gaffer to ordering a case of special fluorescent bulbs. Filming starts next month. I’ve set aside the first week of April to finalize dates for the remaining Brian Keene Walking Tour people, so if you are one of those folks, be patient for just another week and change. The first Walking Tour is next Tuesday, and the recipient arrives at the airport on Monday night, thus beginning Brian Keene’s ‘I Didn’t Write For A Month Tour’.
Next Monday, I’ll be at the doctor most of the day, digging deeper into what might be causing my memory issues. Tuesday is the Walking Tour. Wednesday I’ll travel all day for Scares That Care AuthorCon V. Thursday is Spirited Giving. Friday through Sunday is AuthorCon V. Monday I’ll travel all day to get back home. The rest of that week will be spent, as I said, on setting dates for the other Walking Tours, and also on tax prep. The week after that filming of DEAD FORMAT begins.
So… poor Frankie is left hanging for a month, somewhere between the levels of TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME and DEAD SEA. (But don’t worry. She’ll be reunited with the rest of the cast soon enough. In May, apparently…)
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Good morning. I’m Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth — a long-running weekly newsletter for friends, fans, and family.
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So, yes, both Spirited Giving and AuthorCon V (a Scares That Care event) are next week. Both of these events will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel 50 Kingsmill Road Williamsburg, VA 23185.
Spirited Giving is on Thursday, March 27th. You can attend it without attending AuthorCon V and vice versa. (As it is a separate ticketed event). It features host James Sabata emcees and an evening of live readings by Jamie Flanagan, Rebecca Cuthbert, D.M. Guay, and myself. Plus, the debut of an original LIVE Midnight Pals performance with Midnight Pals creator Bitter Karella and your favorite horror authors playing themselves (including Laurel Hightower, Todd Keisling, Wile E. Young, Stephen Kozeniewski, and me). Cocktail hour and mixer from 6pm to 7pm with drinks designed by Scares That Care's very own Sonora Taylor. Show begins at 7pm sharp.
AuthorCon V begins the following day, Friday. I have posted the final Programming Schedule here, except that it’s not final because like always there are suddenly a bunch of people who never filled out their Programming Survey last year and now want to be included even though I already got the programs printed. So, what that means is that there may be extra last minute names added to the panels and presentations.
This year’s Guests of Honor are (in no particular order):
Look, we know there are a ton of horror fiction centric conventions you can go to, but other than StokerCon, this is the biggest and the best. And 100% of the proceeds go to charity. So why not join us next weekend? Tickets for both Spirited Giving and AuthorCon V (as well as the other workshops and seminars taking place throughout the weekend) can be purchased here.
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BRIAN KEENE’S SECRET HISTORIES is a video series in which I discuss my published works in chronological order. They are low-fi, bootleg, and intimate. Three new episodes went live on my YouTube page this past week. I took deep dives into CLICKERS II (with J.F. Gonzalez), GHOUL, and THE RISING: DEATH IN FOUR COLORS.
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Currently Watching: Survivor season 48 (Paramount) and The Deer Hunter (Prime)
Currently Reading: The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson
Currently Listening: Worship Music by Anthrax and Signals by Rush
Sunday morning now, as I type this part. Last night I got a rare Boy’s Night Out — except that it was really more on an Old Men’s Night Out. Myself, John Urbancik, and two friends of mine from high school — Tim Bahn and Bill Hersh — saw The RUSH Tribute Project at the Appell Performing Arts Center here in York. Tim is a patron there, so he was able to get us front row center seats. The band, as you might expect given their name, is a RUSH tribute band. They do a great job — phenomenal stage show and sound, and both the drummer and the bass player / vocalist / keyboard player look and sound like Neil and Geddy. The guitarist may not look like Alex but my god he’s a fantastic player. As someone who was lucky enough to see the real RUSH three times in his life, I had no complaints. They do a commendable job. Check them out if they come to your town.
And that does it for this week. Thanks, as always, for reading. I’ll see you back here again next Sunday.
Exit the warrior
Today's Tom Sawyer
He gets high on you
And the energy you trade
He gets right on to
The friction of the day
— Brian Keene
No, his mind is not for rent
To any god or government
Always hopeful, yet discontent
He knows changes aren’t permanent
But change is