Brian Keene's Blog, page 101

Less Than 2 Weeks Left For MAELSTROM 2015

The 6th annual Maelstrom set is available for pre-order until 11/3. After that, pre-orders will close and no further sets will be sold. The books will ship in time for Christmas, making them the perfect holiday present. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR SET.

As always, the set includes three signed, limited-edition hardcovers for one low price. These books are produced for the collectible market, using craftsmanship and materials not found in your average trade hardcover. Also, as with previous volumes, one of these books (THE CRUELTY OF AUTUMN) will never be reprinted. This year’s set includes the following titles:

THE COMPLEX by Brian Keene

Meet the residents of the Pine Village Apartment Complex. A young trans woman looking for acceptance. A suicidal middle-aged horror writer. A single mother worried about her child. A Vietnam veteran who feels the world has forgotten him. A pair of hunted would-be criminals. An elderly widow who lives for her cats. Two newlyweds just starting their lives together. And the serial killer known as The Exit.

Until tonight, they were strangers — to each other, and to themselves. Now, as their world teeters on the brink of an apocalypse and a murderous horde descends upon the neighborhood, they will have to reveal and embrace their true selves if they hope to escape…THE COMPLEX.

THE CRUELTY OF AUTUMN by Brian Keene

Autumn is the cruelest season. It reminds us with bleak, bittersweet, melancholy certainty that spring and summer are gone, never to returns, and that winter is coming. Poets like Yeats, Keats, and Verlaine knew this to be true. So did Ray Bradbury and Richard Laymon. And so does Brian Keene, in this new collection of short stories featuring fourteen tales, including “Hide and Seek”, “Fetish”, “Baby Talk”, “The Guardian of Tsalal”, “Going Under”, “Keepsakes”, and many more.

THE CRUELTY OF AUTUMN is exclusive to this Maelstrom 2015 set. The book will never be reprinted, making it a true collectible.

THE DAUGHTERS OF INANNA by Chesya Burke, Rachel Deering, Amber Fallon and Livia Llewellyn

The next wave in horror starts here! Thunderstorm Books and Maelstrom are proud to present this exciting anthology of all-new novellas by some of the brightest rising stars in horror fiction.

Featuring Livia Llewellyn’s “The One That Comes Before”, Chesya Burke’s “Cut. Pour.”, Rachel Autumn Deering’s “Husk”, and Amber Fallon’s “The Terminal”, as well as an Introduction by Brian Keene, THE DAUGHTERS OF INANNA runs the gamut from quiet supernatural tales to extreme and pulp, offering a diverse selection sure to please and terrify even the most jaded reader.

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Three signed, limited edition hardcover collectibles for one low price. But act now. To guarantee holiday shipping, pre-orders will close November 3rd! CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR COPIES

An Update For Fans of J.F. Gonzalez

A few updates for fans of J.F. Gonzalez’s work.

1. Before his death, Jesus was writing two prequels to SURVIVOR. One of them, MONSTERS, was completed. The second one, ANIMALS, was halfway completed. I’m happy to report that Jesus’s friend and occasional collaborator Wrath James White has completed the rest of ANIMALS. I have signed off on both manuscripts, and they are now in the early production stages. Look for those prequels next year from Sinister Grin Press.

2. Regular listeners to my podcast know that much of this year has been spent with me going through Jesus’s files and paperwork and manuscripts (which is a big reason why most of my stuff is delayed). I’ve found all kinds of things, including some unpublished novels, half-complete novels and stories, etc. There is plenty of new work to come.

You may have heard rumors this week about me possibly discovering a sequel to BULLY (something which Jesus had talked about in private with his wife but, to the best of my knowledge, had never actually written). Earlier this week, I found a corrupted Word file which was labeled BULLY 2. We thought it might be a sequel, but after computer sleuth John Goodrich managed to get the file open for me, we discovered that it was, in fact, just an earlier draft of BULLY with some minor textual differences.

So, no. No sequel to BULLY. But as I said, two prequels to SURVIVOR and a lot of unpublished novels and stories to come.

KING OF THE BASTARDS 2-Day Sale

For the next two days, you can get my sword & sorcery meets extreme horror novel KING OF THE BASTARDS (co-written with Steven Shrewsbury) for 40% off. Click here and use discount code King40.

If you haven’t bought it yet, this is a great opportunity. It also makes a fine holiday present. Then you’ll be all set for THRONE OF THE BASTARDS, coming in 2016!

MAELSTROM 2015 ON SALE NOW

The 6th annual Maelstrom set is now available for pre-order. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR SET. Pre-orders will close on November 3rd. The books will ship in time for Christmas, making them the perfect holiday present. As always, the set includes three signed, limited-edition hardcovers for one low price. These books are produced for the collectible market, using craftsmanship and materials not found in your average trade hardcover. Also, as with previous volumes, one of these books (THE CRUELTY OF AUTUMN) will never be reprinted. This year’s set includes the following titles:

THE COMPLEX by Brian Keene

Meet the residents of the Pine Village Apartment Complex. A young trans woman looking for acceptance. A suicidal middle-aged horror writer. A single mother worried about her child. A Vietnam veteran who feels the world has forgotten him. A pair of hunted would-be criminals. An elderly widow who lives for her cats. Two newlyweds just starting their lives together. And the serial killer known as The Exit.

Until tonight, they were strangers — to each other, and to themselves. Now, as their world teeters on the brink of an apocalypse and a murderous horde descends upon the neighborhood, they will have to reveal and embrace their true selves if they hope to escape…THE COMPLEX.

THE CRUELTY OF AUTUMN by Brian Keene

Autumn is the cruelest season. It reminds us with bleak, bittersweet, melancholy certainty that spring and summer are gone, never to returns, and that winter is coming. Poets like Yeats, Keats, and Verlaine knew this to be true. So did Ray Bradbury and Richard Laymon. And so does Brian Keene, in this new collection of short stories featuring fourteen tales, including “Hide and Seek”, “Fetish”, “Baby Talk”, “The Guardian of Tsalal”, “Going Under”, “Keepsakes”, and many more.

THE CRUELTY OF AUTUMN is exclusive to this Maelstrom 2015 set. The book will never be reprinted, making it a true collectible.

THE DAUGHTERS OF INANNA by Chesya Burke, Rachel Deering, Amber Fallon and Livia Llewellyn

The next wave in horror starts here! Thunderstorm Books and Maelstrom are proud to present this exciting anthology of all-new novellas by some of the brightest rising stars in horror fiction.

Featuring Livia Llewellyn’s “The One That Comes Before”, Chesya Burke’s “Cut. Pour.”, Rachel Autumn Deering’s “Husk”, and Amber Fallon’s “The Terminal”, as well as an Introduction by Brian Keene, THE DAUGHTERS OF INANNA runs the gamut from quiet supernatural tales to extreme and pulp, offering a diverse selection sure to please and terrify even the most jaded reader.

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Three signed, limited edition hardcover collectibles for one low price. But act now. To guarantee holiday shipping, pre-orders will close November 3rd! CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR COPIES

TO ALL BOOKSELLERS AND LIBRARIANS

If there is one thing that has been a constant in my almost 20-year career, it is signings and speaking engagements. I’ve been lucky enough to sign or speak in 45 of 50 states, as well as Canada. This would not have been possible without the help of an enthusiastic and dedicated group of booksellers and librarians. Indeed, I owe my success to their efforts. As I said on a recent episode of my podcast, a writer should always be grateful to their readers and fans, but they should be equally grateful to the booksellers and librarians who guide those readers toward them.

I am in the early stages of planning a signing/speaking tour for Summer 2016, in support of PRESSURE, my new trade hardcover forthcoming from Thomas Dunne Books (Macmillan). The tour will run from the end of June to the end of August. I intend for this to be my most extensive promotional tour ever, crossing as much of the continental US as I can. To do that, I need your help.

If you are an independent or chain bookseller in the continental United States who would like to host a signing or speaking engagement in your store, and can commit to ordering a minimum of thirty (30) copies of PRESSURE, please send an email to bkbooksellers@outlook.com. You are not being asked to pay travel costs, lodging, or anything like that. I’m simply looking for venues to sign/speak in. You open your store to me and my readers, and I’ll handle getting there. In your email, tell me about your store and where you are located (city and state).

If you are a librarian in the continental United States who would like to host a signing or speaking engagement in your library, and can commit to ordering a minimum of ten (10) copies of PRESSURE, please send an email to bkbooksellers@outlook.com. You are not being asked to pay travel costs, lodging, or anything like that. I’m simply looking for venues to sign/speak in. You open your library to me and my readers, and I’ll handle getting there. In your email, tell me about your library and where you are located (city and state).

Thank you in advance. I look forward to working with you.

OCTOBER RUST (Pressure, Signing Recap, and new J.F. Gonzalez & Geoff Cooper books)

This is the cover for PRESSURE — a new horror/thriller/corporate espionage novel that marks my return to mainstream publishing (because eventually, you have to do that no matter how comfortable you are in the indie press). It will be out in trade hardcover and digital on June 21, 2016. You can pre-order it here.

Off the coast of tropical Mauritius, an ecological catastrophe with global implications is occurring. The ocean’s floor is collapsing at a rapid rate. World-champion free diver and marine biologist Carrie Anderson joins a scientific expedition determined to discover the cause-and how to stop it. But what they uncover is even more horrific. Deep beneath the surface, something is awake. Something hungry. Something…cold. Now, the pressure builds as Carrie and her colleagues must contend with the murderous operatives of a corrupt corporation, an unnatural disaster that grows bigger by the day, and a monstrous predator that may spell the extinction of all mankind.

Jaws meets Alien in this hot new thriller from bestselling author and World Horror Grandmaster Award winner Brian Keene. Pressure is the perfect summer read for fans of Michael Crichton and Douglas Preston.

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This past weekend, I drove up to North Andover, MA to sign at the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. The inaugural event was spearheaded by Christopher Golden, and as someone who has spearheaded over a dozen such events, I can attest that he did a fantastic job.

I had a great time meeting readers and fans (the couple who got married last week, the guys without tickets, the dude with great questions, Char, the family from Atlanta, the guy in the Captain America shirt, the young woman whose sister is named after Wonder Woman — see, I really do remember everyone I meet, but I’m just terrible with names). It was also nice to catch up with friends like Joe Hill, Rio Youers, Jack Haringa, Paul Tremblay, John Langan, Sarah Langan, John Goodrich, Bracken McLeod, Eric Nunnally, and Gard Goldsmith, and meet new friends like Myke Cole and Mallory O’Meara. I shared a signing table for many hours with Mary SanGiovanni and Rio Youers, and participated on a panel and live reading of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Then we capped off the evening with a wonderful dinner and late-night conversation.

A special shout-out to author John McIlveen and his fiancee, Roberta, who entertained a bunch of us in their home and put us up for the weekend. Wonderful hosts, wonderful friends, and a wonderful time.

Here are a few pics.

Me and Joe Hill, suitable for all your future memes. (Photo copyright 2015 TT Zuma)

I don’t remember what I wrote in freelance editor Vikki Ciaffone’s book, but it obviously horrified Mary SanGiovanni. (Photo copyright 2015 by TT Zuma).

Christopher Golden, Jack Haringa, and myself starring in SEUSSICAL. (Photo copyright 2015 by Brian Keene)

Myself, Rio Youers, Joe, and Paul Tremblay in THE WORST SELFIE EVER (Photo copyright 2015 by Brian Keene)

The drive to the signing was miserable. It rained the entire way, turning what should have been an eight hour drive into a thirteen hour drive. I’m not supposed to be driving after dark, due to my deteriorating vision in my left eye, but ended up doing so because of the weather conditions. It was a pretty harrowing trip, but there were good friends at the end of it, and Rio had a beer waiting for me.

Me and Rio, taken 30 seconds after arrival. “Here you blind bastard. Have a beer.” (Photo copyright 2015 by Brian Keene)

Luckily, the drive home on Sunday was perfect. The weather was gorgeous — the first true autumn day I’ve experienced this year. The trees from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania were covered in October Rust, and the colors were breathtaking.

As a young man, spring and summer were always my favorite seasons, but as I get older, I find that I’m easing into liking autumn. It’s peaceful and beautiful, and offers a nice precursor to the eventual impending winter. Autumn is a chance to get the last few things done, and to do them with the people you love.

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Fans of J.F. Gonzalez’s work who are wondering about posthumous publications should listen to last week’s episode of The Horror Show with Brian Keene. In the final segment, right after the interview with Xander Harris, I talk about how many unpublished works are left, and what we intend to do with them.

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Geoff Cooper is one of my oldest friends. We collaborated on 4X4 and SHADES. He (along with Dave “Meteornotes” Thomas) co-hosts my podcast (linked to above). And he’s also one of my favorite writers. He is sort of the T.E.D. Klein of our generation, in that he releases something new about once per decade.

His new collection, ANSWERS OF SILENCE (which was previously only available as a limited edition hardcover via my Maelstrom imprint at Thunderstorm Books) is available now in paperback and digital from Deadite Press. If you enjoy the work of Jack Ketchum, or if you enjoyed me and Coop’s previous collaborations, then you’ll enjoy this.

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Pre-ordering for MAELSTROM 2015 is almost here. Get your money ready…

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UPDATE: And the memes are already starting. This one, created by TallyDude, made me laugh hard.

There and Back Again

MAELSTROM 2015 goes on sale in early October. The books in this year’s set are:

THE COMPLEX by Brian Keene

THE CRUELTY OF AUTUMN by Brian Keene

THE DAUGHTERS OF INANNA by Chesya Burke, Rachel Autumn Deering, Amber Fallon, and Livia Llewellyn (edited by Brian Keene)

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This Saturday, October 3, I’ll be speaking and signing books (along with Joe Hill, Christopher Golden, Mary SanGiovanni, Sarah Langan, and dozens more) at ACT Theater Company, 1632 Osgood Street, Osgood Landing, North Andover, MA 01845. You should totally road trip!

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This past Saturday, I signed and spoke at the 2nd Annual Albatwitch Festival. Thanks to everyone who came out. A good time was had by all, I think, and I’m told there will be a third festival next year. (The hope is to make it a regular yearly event, similar to the Mothman Festival).

I also met some folks to interview down the road for a non-fiction book about Central Pennsylvanian supernatural folklore that I’ve been making notes toward for the last year.

Speaking about Albatwitches. (Photo copyright Robert Swartwood)

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After the Albatwitch Festival, I had the honor of legally officiating my first wedding. It was a non-religious ceremony, and the bride and groom (dear friends of mine) asked me to keep it as short as possible, so I did. It was only twelve minutes from the initial greeting to “You may kiss the bride”. Then we all went to an awesome reception where I got to relax with non-writer friends, and talk about non-writer stuff, and even get my groove on the dance floor.

Thanks to Nick and Lindsey for asking me to be there for their special day, and thanks to my “soccer moms” for allowing me to escape the writing world, if only for an afternoon.

Reverend Keene and the happy couple.

Most Metal Wedding Photo Ever

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Teddy from EARTHWORM GODS, Frankie from THE RISING, Nelson LeHorn from DARK HOLLOW, Tony Genova from CLICKERS, Don Bloom from “Babylon Falling”, and the Exit just sat down to dinner with Lucifer and the Voice of God. You can join that dinner party for just one dollar per month as my online serial novel THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH Book One continues.

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Have you listened to my podcast, THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE? You don’t need any special equipment. A simple old computer will do. Last week, bookseller M. Stephen Lukac discussed the fall of Borders and the future of B&N. This week, we interview musician Xander Harris. Next week, F. Paul Wilson and Thomas Monteleone talk about their thirty-year friendship. Click here to listen.

Massachusetts and Pennsylvania — Last Signings of 2015

Tomorrow, I’ll be at the 2015 Albatwitch Festival in Columbia, PA. I’ll be signing from 9am to 11:45am at a sidewalk booth just below the intersection of 3rd & Locust Street. Then I’ll be speaking at 12 noon at the Columbia Historic Preservation Society building (note: the schedule says I’m speaking at 3pm, but this has been changed to 12 noon).

Next Saturday, October 3rd, I’ll be signing books from 1pm, to 7:30pm (along with Joe Hill, Christopher Golden, Mary SanGiovanni, James A. Moore, Sarah Langan, Paul Tremblay, Jack Haringa, Kelly Link, and about 30 other authors) at the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival at ACT Theater Company, 1632 Osgood Street, Osgood Landing, North Andover, MA 01845.

With that kind of line-up, we’re obviously expecting a big crowd. Only those with FREE tickets to the event, which are still available as of this writing, and who arrive at the theater by 1pm on the event date, will be guaranteed admission. Tickets can still be acquired free by clicking here.

If you are unable to get a ticket, or if you arrive after 1pm, admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis. We have every reason to believe that everyone will get inside, but once the venue has reached its legally mandated capacity, new arrivals will only be allowed in once other attendees have left the building. We do expect turnover over the course of the day.

These are the last two signings of 2015. There will be a 2016 book signing tour, in support of PRESSURE, but I don’t yet know where it will take me. If you can make it to Pennsylvania or Massachusetts this weekend or next, I encourage you to do so.

Dust to Dust

Some authors wait their entire careers for a book review from a reviewer who really gets what they were trying to do. I finally got mine after waiting twenty years — Blu Gilliand on WHERE WE LIVE AND DIE for Cemetery Dance online.

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A reminder that next weekend, I’ll be speaking and signing books at the 2015 Albatwitch Festival in Columbia, PA. The current schedule has me speaking at 3pm, but I have to leave the festival at 1:30pm to officiate a wedding. Therefore, I’ll be spooking at 12 noon. Also, I’ll be signing until then just below the intersection of 3rd & Locust Street.

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Some friends and I took an early birthday expedition to Centralia this past weekend. If you’re not familiar with the name, it’s a ghost town in Pennsylvania, site of an underground mine fire that’s been burning for decades, and the inspiration for a number of horror stories, including Silent Hill. (It will also feature in the final Levi Stoltzfus novel, BAD GROUND, which I intend to start early next year, after I finish the penultimate novel in his saga, INVISIBLE MONSTERS).

This was my fourth trip to Centralia in five years, and what’s remarkable is how quickly the place is changing. Trails I hiked on previous trips have vanished. Ruins that were there on earlier visits are gone, reclaimed by the wild. The place very much feels like it’s winding down. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust — which is perhaps an apt sentiment for a town that was killed by a mine fire. In a decade, I strongly suspect all traces of it will be gone.

Some examples:

I took a photo of this wall in 2013.

This is how it looks now.

This photo of author Michael T. Huyck Jr. inspecting some Cthulhu graffiti was taken in 2010.

Here’s what that same graffiti looks like now. It’s been added to, morphed, faded, and added to again. It’s also interesting to note how the road around it has changed, as well.

And then there are things that have been reclaimed by the wild or swallowed up by the ground, and exist now only in pictures.

This picture of Michael T. Huyck and Coop on this this hillside cliff was taken in 2010. You can see smoke from the fire drifting out of the ground around them.

That entire hillside is now gone. All that exists is a sinkhole. And the fire has moved on from that location. Indeed, the topography had changed so much, that I had to use GPS and a compass just to make sure I was in the same location.

This picture of me posing amidst a highway full of penis graffiti (which has delighted my friends) was taken in 2013.

Now, two years later, all of those penises are gone, and exist only in photographs.

In the past year, three of my best friends have died. Two of them were 50. Another was a few years younger than me. I turn 48 this week.

Soon, Centralia will turn to dust, existing only in photographs. And sooner or later, so will I -existing only in this picture of me and 100 penises that no longer exist, spray-painted on an abandoned highway that no longer exists in a town that no longer exists.

Enjoy your week…

The Answers Continue

THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH Book 1 is an ongoing web serial I’ve been posting online a chapter at a time. It only costs $1 a month to read, and stars characters from THE RISING series, the EARTHWORM GODS series, the CLICKERS series, DARK HOLLOW, and many more. It is very much my own Dark Tower or Crisis on infinite Earths, and is answering all the questions you’ve always had regarding my mythos. A new chapter went live this morning, revealing the secret origin of THE LOST LEVEL and the truth about Lucifer vs. Satan. Click here to start reading.