Brian Keene's Blog, page 118

Labyrinth – Outlook Grim

Outlook Grim, featuring Doug Dobbs on vocals, Bob Snodgrass on guitar, Joey Scarpino on bass, and David Lay on drums, were formed in late 2011. Their debut album, GRIM REQUIEM, comes out April 14th. Here is a track from it, called “Labyrinth”. The band says: “Lyrically, Doug wrote about the mythology of horror writer Brian Keene (Anthrax never shied away from writing about Stephen King, and we likewise support our influences). It’s a brooding track that set the tone for other songs. Plus, this is the first tune we wrote together, so it has some sentimental value. Whatever you do… Don’t open your eyes in the Labyrinth!” Please show your support by Following the band on Facebook and pumping your fist to “Labyrinth” (below).

The Labyrinth saga starts at 4AM…

THIS IS AN ACTIVATION OF THE EARLY WARNING SYSTEM. 4AM is a new limited edition softcover chapbook, written by Brian Keene, illustrated by Alex McVey, and published by Thunderstorm Books. It costs $12. It contains the following stories: “Something Pretty”, “Keepsakes”, “Fetish” and “In the Closet (A Prelude to The Labyrinth)”. It goes on sale 4/12/14. (Note: Lifetime subscribers will receive a copy with their next shipment).

New Newsletter?

So, while I’m in the midst of doing all of this, I had to update some settings in my WhoSay account. I like WhoSay because it allows folks like myself to retain copyright of things we post on social media (rather than them being owned by Twitter, Facebook, etc.), monetizes those postings (a few news organizations used some of my flood pics a few years back — thanks to WhoSay, they had to pay for that, rather than simply grabbing the pics from the web), and speeds things up (if I want, I can post to all of my social media outlets simultaneously via WhoSay). One thing I didn’t realize WhoSay would let me do (until this morning) is an email newsletter.

I’ve had two email newsletters in the past. Both were quite successful. Both died simply because getting them past spam filters became an exercise in futility. I also ran the JOBS IN HELL email newsletter, which existed before spam filters were a thing, and was so successful that it earned me a Bram Stoker Award. And I also had a short-lived print newsletter that ended only because my then-second-wife was editing and publishing it, and it didn’t seem fair to me to ask her to continue doing that after we got divorced (subscribers to that newsletter get a free book called APOCRYPHA which will come out later this year from Thunderstorm Books).

Anyway, I looked into the WhoSay email option, and figured “Why not?” If you’re signed up for WhoSay, then spam filters aren’t going to be an issue. So, if you’d like to receive a free monthly email newsletter from me, in which I will probably jabber about stuff or maybe even do another free serialized fiction thing, all you have to do is follow me on WhoSay. You do that by clicking ‘ADD’ on my profile page (and you can join WhoSay with your Twitter or Facebook accounts, as well, making it a very easy process).

BATTLE ROYALE SLAM BOOK – On Sale Now

On sale today in both paperback and Kindle is THE BATTLE ROYALE SLAM BOOK, edited by Nick Mamatas and featuring my brand-new essay “Children Playing With Guns”.

Also features new non-fiction by John Skipp, Sam Hamm, Toh EnJoe, Gregory Lamberson, and many more.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOR KINDLE

CLICK HERE TO BUY IN PAPERBACK

A Confession From a Forsaken Landscape

My name is Brian Keene and I have a confession to make.

For the last decade, I have been trolling the Internet under an alternate identity known as Nickolaus Pacione.

That’s right. Nickolaus A. Pacione (Nicky to his friends) — the deranged man from Illinois who preys on minors — and who publishes authors’ work without their permission in his “publications” — and who has stalked, harassed, and/or threatened over four dozen of our peers including myself, Ramsey Campbell, Kealan Patrick Burke, Mary SanGiovanni, Ray Garton, Karen Koehler, David Niall Wilson, Cherie Priest, Darren McKeeman, Poppy Brite, Gabrielle Faust, Clive Barker, Mike Brendan, Brian Knight, and countless others — doesn’t exist. I made him up. He’s an alternate identity. There is no Nickolaus Pacione. There is no Lake Fossil Press or Broken Mindframe Books or Tabloid Purposes. It was all an elaborate prank played on the entire genre. And I feel that April Fool’s Day is the perfect time to come clean about this and admit the truth.

“But Brian,” you ask. “There are pictures of Nicky online, and countless videos of him threatening people, and there was the time he gained access to the HWA Membership Directory and called people at their homes to harass them. How did you pull that off?”

Well, the man you saw in pictures like this

And in videos like this

That man is actor Robert Baupader. Robert has played Nicky for over a decade now, but he’s afraid of getting typecast, so that’s another reason why I decided to go ahead and reveal the truth. I’d also like to thank the great Lewis, an unknown voice actor who lent us that ‘meth-crazed chipmunk on helium’ voice for all these years anytime “Nicky” called someone or made a video.

So… apologies to anyone who has been offended by Nicky’s antics over the last ten years. It was all in jest. And apologies to anyone who may have been Angry in Illinois. We never meant to cast a shadow on your fine state. No need to stab us with a Rusty Nail. It was all meant in good fun. Obviously, there is no need to submit to his various publishing projects or follow him on social media any longer. Now that I’ve revealed that Nickolaus Pacione was a fictional character, perhaps I’ll make up a new character named Lloyd Phillip Campbell, and troll with him for a while.

Happy April Fool’s Day to you all.

Enjoy the Silence

Expect mostly radio silence around here for the next few weeks. I have to finish writing INVISIBLE MONSTERS and THE LOST LEVEL, finish manuscript reviews (which are admittedly kicking my ass), do preliminary work on a TV channel development offer, write a few short things under my new pseudonym (yeah, you didn’t know that was going on), work out a programming schedule for Scares That Care Weekend, hopefully finish the post-production on FAST ZOMBIES SUCK, travel to Portland and receive my Grand Master Award, be a father, be a boyfriend, be a friend, and at some point sleep.

As always, Twitter will be running in the background, so you can reach me there. And there will probably be a few announcements (a surprise chapbook by me from Thunderstorm Books called 4AM, for example). But mostly, just the sounds of me typing.

Works In Progress – March

Here’s what I did this month.

4 AM



Previously unannounced chapbook forthcoming from Thunderstorm Books. Finished!

ALL DARK, ALL THE TIME: THE COMPLETE SHORT FICTION OF BRIAN KEENE, Vol. 2



Just waiting on the introduction from J.F. Gonzalez. Then it’s off to Kealan Patrick Burke for the cover art and Robert Swartwood for design and layout.

THE LOST LEVEL



Lost world novel. Long past deadline, but almost finished!

INVISIBLE MONSTERS



New Levi novel. Long past deadline, but more than halfway there!

THE BLACK BIBLE



Collaboration with J.F. Gonzalez

HOLE IN THE WORLD



Long past deadline, but can’t be finished until THE LOST LEVEL is finished as they share continuity.

SUBURBAN GOTHIC



Sequel to URBAN GOTHIC

If you don’t see it here, then that means I didn’t work on it this month.

World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award

I’ve been sitting on this news for a few weeks, but now that it’s been made public, I’m very happy to announce that I’ve been selected to receive the 2014 World Horror Grand Master Award.

We’re lucky enough to work in a genre with a LOT of awards — the Bram Stoker award, Shirley Jackson award, British Fantasy award, Chainsaw award, the Rondos, and many others. In my mind, the two highest honors a horror author could ever hope to achieve are a Stoker LAA and the WHC Grand Master. When I was informed I’d been selected for the latter, I began laughing and crying at the same time. Then, there were a tense five minutes where I thought I was going to have a second heart attack. Once that passed, I shared the news with a small handful of people I love. Then, hours later, I convinced myself that this was all some practical joke. And though several weeks have passed, I’m still half-expecting Christopher Golden or Kelli Owen to jump out from behind a curtain and shout, “Ha! Got you again!”

The previous Grand Master Award winners are (in order) Robert Bloch, Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Anne Rice, Clive Barker, Dean Koontz, Peter Straub, Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Charles L. Grant, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Jack Williamson, F. Paul Wilson, Ray Garton, Joe R. Lansdale, Robert McCammon, Tanith Lee, James Herbert, Jack Ketchum, T. E. D. Klein, and Dan Simmons. The impact every one of those writers had on me cannot be stressed enough. I was a fan of this genre long before I ever began making my living from it, and every one of those previous winners inspired or entertained me at some point in my life. That I am lucky enough to call several of them friend or mentor has always been a blessing and a dream, even after all these years. That I am somehow now considered worthy enough to accept this honor alongside them is, quite simply, astounding.

I’ll have much more to say about this honor during my acceptance speech. And if you’d like to come hear the speech, and celebrate with me, I’d be ecstatic. It will take place at WHC 2014 in Portland, Oregon next month. Click here for details. (And yes, I will sign your books and we will drink many whiskeys or coffees or waters together).

MIA MOJA – Update: SOLD OUT

This book is a celebration of Thunderstorm’s 100th hardcover title. Edited by Michael McBride and Nate Southard, it contains ten long stories (approximately 10,000 words each) by Brian Keene, Bryan Smith, Ronald Kelly, JF Gonzalez, Mary SanGiovanni, Kelli Owen, Shane McKenzie, Gene O’Neill, Michael McBride, and Nate Southard. Limited edition hardcover, signed by all authors. Sure to sell out quick.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER UPDATE: SOLD OUT

Note: My contribution is a reprint of “Babylon Falling”

MIA MOJA

This book is a celebration of Thunderstorm’s 100th hardcover title. Edited by Michael McBride and Nate Southard, it contains ten long stories (approximately 10,000 words each) by Brian Keene, Bryan Smith, Ronald Kelly, JF Gonzalez, Mary SanGiovanni, Kelli Owen, Shane McKenzie, Gene O’Neill, Michael McBride, and Nate Southard. Limited edition hardcover, signed by all authors. Sure to sell out quick.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Note: My contribution is a reprint of “Babylon Falling”