Brian Keene's Blog, page 113
September 9, 2014
TIEF BEGRABEN On Sale Now
Available today in Germany is my newest book, TEIF BEGRABEN. (For U.S. readers, this collects ENTOMBED, AN OCCURRENCE IN CRAZY BEAR VALLEY, and LOST CANYON OF THE DEAD).
TIEF BEGRABEN is available for Kindle right now. Click here to download.
The paperback will be available in a few weeks. Click here to pre-order.
And click here for the first review!
September 8, 2014
LAST OF THE ALBATWITCHES Paperback On Sale Now
Brian Keene’s fan-favorite ex-Amish occult detective Levi Stolzfus, the star of GHOST WALK and A GATHERING OF CROWS, returns to face demons and monsters in LAST OF THE ALBATWITCHES, an all-new book collecting two novellas, The Witching Tree and The Last of the Albatwitches!
Click here to purchase in paperback. (Digital forthcoming in two months).
The Witching Tree
In the woods of Pennsylvania there is a clearing with only one lone tree in the center. And from that tree, there comes only death.
Levi has been brought in to investigate the mysterious killings. In doing so, he must face a force much older than mankind – – an evil that will threaten to take his life and leave his faith shattered.
The Last of the Albatwitches
There’s an old legend about the forest surrounding Chickies Rock – how it’s the home to a reclusive race of Sasquatch-like creatures known as the Albatwitches. But after a recent murder, Levi suspects there might be some truth to the stories.
Now he must race against both the Cryptid Hunters reality television team and a squad of private security contractors from the mysterious Globe Corporation, to unravel the source of the legend and determine what manner of monster has turned the forest into a killing ground. But will doing so reveal an even bigger mystery — a conspiracy against reality itself?
September 3, 2014
AN EVENING WITH BRIAN KEENE (Updated)
This charity event will be my only public appearance for 2015.
Inspired by similar events with Kevin Smith, Stephen King, and Neil Gaiman, AN EVENING WITH BRIAN KEENE is a live, 2-hour performance including brutally honest, incendiary, hilarious stories and anecdotes from two decades of writing horror fiction, a lengthy Q&A with the audience, the exclusive world premiere of my new short film FAST ZOMBIES SUCK, and much more. It takes place Thursday, July 23, 2015 at the Doubletree by Hilton in Williamsburg, VA as part of the 2nd Annual SCARES THAT CARE WEEKEND Charity Horror Convention.
Admission to the performance is free with the purchase of a Scares That Care Weekend pass. As with all other Scares That Care events, 100% of the proceeds go to the charity. (If you would like more information on the charity, click here.)
AN EVENING WITH BRIAN KEENE will be filmed for eventual release on DVD. Proceeds from that DVD will also go toward the charity. As this charity is very near and dear to me, this event will be my only public appearance for 2015. I will be available all weekend long to sign books. It is my sincere hope that you will come for the weekend, see the show and the movie premiere Thursday night, and have me sign your books and offer you my thanks throughout the rest of the weekend. Bring the family and make it a summer vacation. Both the convention and the town of Williamsburg have lots to offer.
We expect the hotel to sell out quickly, so don’t delay. Click here to secure your Scares That Care weekend pass and reserve your hotel room. And I’ll see you next year.
* * *
UPDATE #1: As of 9/4/2014, there are less than 40 hotel rooms left. Reserve yours now!
September 2, 2014
WIDOWMAKERS up for pre-order (UPDATED)
As previously reported, horror novelist James Newman was the victim of a freak accident involving a tree.
WIDOWMAKERS is a new benefit anthology for James and his family. It features stories by myself, Brian Hodge, J.F. Gonzalez, Elizabeth Massie, Ray Garton, Maurice Broaddus, Ronald Kelly, James A. Moore, Tracy Carbone, Tim Waggoner, Shane MacKenzie, Jeff Strand and many more. The Kindle edition is currently available for pre-order for just $4.99. A paperback edition is forthcoming, as well.
UPDATE: FOR THOSE WHOSE ORDER WAS CANCELLED BY AMAZON – According to the publisher, the file wasn’t uploaded to Amazon in enough time prior to the release date and they deep-sixed the pre-orders. The editor states that he is uploading the final file tomorrow night and it will be available 12-24 hours later. If you preordered the Kindle version you will need to repurchase it when it goes live.
WIDOWMAKERS up for pre-order
As previously reported, horror novelist James Newman was the victim of a freak accident involving a tree.
WIDOWMAKERS is a new benefit anthology for James and his family. It features stories by myself, Brian Hodge, J.F. Gonzalez, Elizabeth Massie, Ray Garton, Maurice Broaddus, Ronald Kelly, James A. Moore, Tracy Carbone, Tim Waggoner, Shane MacKenzie, Jeff Strand and many more. The Kindle edition is currently available for pre-order for just $4.99. A paperback edition is forthcoming, as well.
August 31, 2014
OPERATION ICE BAT .99 Labor Day Sale
This Labor Day*, all Kindle, Nook, and Kobo editions of OPERATION ICE BAT are on sale for just .99 cents!
*Please note, the sale ends at midnight, 9/1/14.
August 28, 2014
ONE NIGHT ONLY
The Bizarro Across America Tour has featured a rotating assembly of Bizarro authors. It comes to York, PA on Friday, September 5th, and since both Kelli Owen and I have written Bizarro, and since we live in York, we’ll be joining them that night. This is my last public appearance for 2014, so I hope to see you there!
August 27, 2014
APOCRYPHA – Coming Soon
The three books featured in the upcoming 2014 Maelstrom set are APOCRYPHA by Brian Keene, the Conan-esque KING OF THE BASTARDS by Brian Keene and Steven Shrewsbury, and HAG by John Goodrich. Print run of 260, set price $135, and you’ve got about two months to save your money. (Official early warning system will come later)
Today’s post centers on APOCRYPHA. This book of rarities is being produced primarily in a trade paperback edition, a free copy of which will be sent to each and every former paid subscriber to the OF KEENE INTEREST print newsletter. Copies of the paperback will not be offered for sale to the public. If you were not a former subscriber to the newsletter, and you want a copy, then you can purchase the hardcover as part of this year’s Maelstrom set. THESE WILL BE THE ONLY TWO EDITIONS. A limited hardcover run. A limited trade paperback run. No further paperbacks or e-books or whatever new format comes along a decade from now.
The book itself is broken into four parts. The first section contains (mostly) unpublished excerpts from things I’ve written that you probably haven’t seen. For example, there’s a lengthy excerpt from my “lost” novel, LOVE AND WORMS, which fans have been asking me about since the year 2000. There are also things like the original first chapter to CITY OF THE DEAD, which differs greatly from the published version you’ve read, and excerpts from several unpublished “trunk” novels that will probably remain unpublished for the rest of my life (and after that, too, if my heirs respect my wishes).
The second part of the book features a selection of rarities — fiction or articles that I wrote a long time ago, and that, for one reason or another, have never been reprinted or collected anywhere before now. While you may have heard of some of these, I expect this will be the first time the majority of you have actually seen them in print.
The third part of the book is my personal favorite. It contains pitches and treatments I was asked to deliver for novels, comic books, movies, etc. that were never approved. For example, did you know I was asked to write for such properties as BATTLESTAR GALACTICA or TERMINATOR? Or that J.F. Gonzalez and I were going to collaborate as ghost writers for a deceased New York Times bestselling author? This section details those projects, and what I would have done, had they not been cancelled.
The book’s final section features juvenilia — things I wrote as a child and a teenager, long before I became a writer.
I think that covers everything. More information on the rest of the Maelstrom set will be provided once we do the official early warning system, alerting you that pre-orders are imminent. But yes, as I said, you have around two months to set aside your $135. And if you were a former OF KEENE INTEREST newsletter subscriber, and you moved and have not yet updated your address with me, please do so.
August 22, 2014
Before Coffee
In case you’re unaware, I Blog daily over at Tumblr. Think of it as a morning devotional. Every day, I get up and capture my first thoughts over my first cup of coffee. It satisfies the needs of those of you who miss my old social and political commentary and personal slice-of-life essays, and also works for me as a warm up exercise before I start the day’s writing.
August 19, 2014
PRESSURE (with anticipated F.A.Q.) – Updated
First, the official announcement (which appeared in Publisher’s Marketplace and elsewhere today):
PRESSURE by Brian Keene
Fiction: Thriller
Brian Keene’s PRESSURE, pitched as JAWS meets ALIEN, the story of a world-class free diver who is called in to investigate a seismological event in the Indian Ocean, when events quickly take a deadly turn and she and her crew must fight the monsters in the depths and those ashore, to Nicole Sohl at Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan.
And now, your anticipated frequently asked questions:
Q: You’re going back to a Big 6 mass-market publisher? What gives?
A: I’m writing a new novel for a Big 6 mass-market publisher, yes.
Q: But, after everything that happened with Dorchester…WHY?
A: Here are my Top Five Reasons
1. Because they offered me a big payday and I need the money.
2. Because I’d estimate that 20% of my audience is still unaware of what happened with Dorchester, and are also unaware that there’s a place called Amazon.com where you can buy books from home — books that aren’t carried by bookstores — and every week, those readers wander the aisles of their local BAM or B&N, wondering where all my books went to. Now they will be able to find one there.
3. Because they offered me a big payday and I need the money.
4. Because it pleases me to confuse and confound industry watchers.
5. And mostly because they offered me a big payday and I need the money.
Q: What does this mean for you and other publishing partners like Deadite Press, Thunderstorm, etc.?
A: It means I’ll continue to write for Deadite Press, Thunderstorm, etc, because I am very happy with them. But this Big 6 publisher offered me a big payday to write a novel for them and I need the money.
Q: Since this will be available in bookstores, will you do one of those legendary book-signing tours like you used to do?
A: Count on it.
Q: When can I buy it?
A: Slow down. I haven’t even written the damn thing yet. But I’ll let you see it when it’s done.
Q: Can you tell us more about the book?
A: It’s called PRESSURE, and it’s JAWS meets ALIEN, and you’ll want one.
Q: Does Jeff Strand know you stole his title?
A: I didn’t come up with the title. The publisher did. And Strand owes me money for the last time he went on a bender at a convention, and turned a llama loose in my hotel room, so I reckon this makes us even.
UPDATE: Jeff Strand responds via Twitter
@BrianKeene Cover art to my upcoming novel! pic.twitter.com/Djyq5TUvgX
— JeffStrand (@JeffStrand) August 20, 2014
