Brian Keene's Blog, page 175
January 14, 2012
Digital Head
Robert Swartwood, Me, Nick Mamatas
My friend and The Damned Highway co-writer Nick Mamatas gave a reading in Wilkes-Barre this week, so Robert Swartwood and I drove up to visit him today and see him off to the airport. We had the honor of being the very first customers ever to eat at the just-opened Maers BBQ, for which we were given commemorative t-shirts. Both the food and the service were excellent, and Nick made it to the airport.
But this post isn't about that. It's about Rob, and the current marketplace, and how digital makes possible things that weren't possible even a few years ago.
Robert Swartwood is a good writer and a smart kid (anybody under the age of 35 is a kid to me at this point). He's part of that Sixth Wave I talked about a few months ago. I like Rob for many reasons, one of which is that he reminds me of myself back in the day — except that he's not a smart-ass or a troublemaker. But he does pay attention to the industry, and he's smart and savvy and able to anticipate trends and changes. More importantly, he understands how to build an audience and market to them. Writing and publishing are very different now than they were 15 years ago when I started out. Many young writers ask me variations of this question: "If you were just starting your career now, how would you go about it?" My answer is simple: I'd do exactly what Rob has been doing, focusing on digital, and especially Kindle.
On the way home, I was grilling Rob about his success and the challenges he's faced, and the opportunities digital has presented him with, and something occurred to me. About five years ago, a publisher asked me to pitch an ongoing adventure series similar to James Axler's Deathlands and Outlanders, but with a horror vibe, rather than sci-fi. I did, and as usually happens with such pitches, it went nowhere, because the marketing people and bean counters got involved. But digital makes such a thing possible. More importantly, digital gives me the ability to cut out the marketing department and the bean counters, and indeed, even the publisher if I so desire.
Tonight, I have to finish the script for the latest issue of The Last Zombie. Tomorrow, I have to work on the final draft of The Lost Level. But in between, I'm going to pull out that old pitch, and dust it off, and look at it through a digital lens. More on this later…
January 13, 2012
21st CENTURY DEAD
21st CENTURY DEAD, a new zombie anthology edited by Christopher Golden, is now up for pre-order. It contains my new short story "Couch Potato" – a tale set in the world of Dead Sea and Entombed.
It also contains stories from Mark Morris, Sons of Anarchy's Kurt Sutter, China Mieville, Elizabeth Hand, Jonathan Maberry, Duane Swiercyznski, and many more.
Click here to pre-order. Ships in July.
January 12, 2012
Plug-Fest
Things will be slow here until next week's re-release of Ghoul in paperback and the movie premiere. In the meantime, here are some things that might interest you. I've finished posting all the pics from last summer's set visit to Ghoul. Nick Mamatas announced The Big Click – a new online crime fiction magazine. John Urbancik announced his 12-in-12 challenge. He's going to write 12 novellas or novels in 12 months. Tom Piccirilli's Futile Efforts is available on Kindle for just 99 cents! Kelli Owen's The Neighborhood is available on Kindle for $2.99. Mike Oliveri's The Pack: Winter Kill is also available on Kindle for just $2.99. The audio-book version of Mary SanGiovanni's Thrall is up for pre-order. Wrath James White has not one, but two new novellas up for pre-order. And finally, the paperback of Bryan Smith's Kayla and the Devil is now available.
January 10, 2012
Keenedom Television
Three plugs for three friends. Jeff Burk, my two-fisted editor at Deadite Press, has a cameo appearance in this week's episode of PORTLANDIA. Nolan Gould, star of Brian Keene's GHOUL, ruled the set of the Ellen DeGeneres show yesterday. And Logan Tracey, star of Brian Keene's THE TIES THAT BIND, recently appeared in the most erotic donuts commercial you'll ever see.
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January 7, 2012
Big Time Crunch Time
This month, my time is split between being a Dad, finishing up a new novel called The Lost Level, finishing the scripts for issues #4 and 5 of The Last Zombie: Neverland, and preparing for the premiere of Ghoul. Sounds like lots of friends and fans will be at the premiere. In addition to the cast and crew, fellow authors Mike Oliveri and Michael T. Huyck will be there, along with long-time pre-readers Mark 'Dezm' Sylva and Tod Clark. If you can get to Utah, come hang out with us. Seriously. I'll even buy you a drink. Due to demand, more tickets have been made available to the public. Details on how to buy them are here.
With all of that going on, updates here will be sporadic (and if you're waiting for me to answer your email or phone call, don't). Thus, here's a big ol' information dump regarding various things, after the cut:
*There are still a few copies of Clickers vs. Zombies left, but they are going quick! Click here.
*Ditto Is There A Demon In You. Click here.
*Dig the new Frequently Asked Questions page. Use it.
*Over the next few days, I'll be posting pictures from the set of Ghoul on WhoSay. Today it's pics from the production office. Tomorrow the cemetery. Tuesday the tunnels. Etc. Some of these have been online before. Some have not.
*All Lifetimer packages have shipped. Please allow two weeks for delivery. (International might take longer).
*Many people are asking me about booking readings for 2012's Horrorfind. I have no information yet. If and when that process begins, I will inform you.
*We are finalizing things for 2012's Maelstrom set. As soon as contracts are signed, we'll tell you more. I can say that the novel will be the hardback of Deluge, and that the other author is someone whose books are hard to find and sought and fought over by collectors. We're going to un-fuck that (and there's a clue, right there in that last sentence).
*Still working on Apocrypha – the book exclusively for newsletter subscribers. The problem with reprinting a lot of this never-before-reprinted stuff is obtaining the appropriate rights and permissions. Thus the delay.
*Deadite and I have a tentative 2012 release schedule for my books. Subject to change, of course, but it looks like this:
January – Ghoul
February – The Cage
March – Dark Hollow
April – Ghost Walk
May – An Occurrence In Crazy Bear Valley
June – Entombed
July – Earthworm Gods
August – Earthworm Gods: Selected Scenes From the End of the World
September – The Rising
October – City of the Dead
November – The Rising: Selected Scenes From the End of the World
December – Suburban Gothic
January 6, 2012
Going, going… (UPDATED)
Approaching sell-outs on these three items. (Update: Due to demand, more tickets for the Ghoul premiere have been made available to the public)
Less than 200 copies remain!
Less than 70 copies remain!
Tickets going fast!
Going, going…
Approaching sell-outs on these three items:
Less than 200 copies remain!
Less than 70 copies remain!
Less than 30 tickets remain!
January 4, 2012
GHOUL PREMIERE: Tickets On Sale Now (UPDATED)
I'll be at the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals this month. Ghoul premieres at 4pm on January 22nd at Slamdance. Perhaps you'd like to be there.
If so, there are a limited number of tickets available for purchase to the general public. Tickets are $30, and include a Ghoul t-shirt. If you would like to attend, email info @ moderncine.com.
The movie debuts on Chiller in April, and will eventually be available on DVD.
Meanwhile, the new Deadite Press edition of Ghoul is on sale now. Click here to buy one. The audio-book version is also available. Click here to buy one.
GHOUL PREMIERE: Tickets On Sale Now
I'll be at the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals this month because Ghoul premieres at 4pm on January 22nd at Slamdance. Perhaps you'd like to be there, too.
If so, there are a limited number of tickets available for purchase to the general public. Tickets are $30, and include a Ghoul t-shirt. If you would like to attend, email info @ moderncine.com.
Meanwhile, the new Deadite Press edition of Ghoul is at the printer. Look for the paperback within two weeks (if not sooner). The audio-book version is on sale now. Click here to buy one.
No, I'm not allowed to tell you the air date for Chiller… yet.
January 1, 2012
CLICKERS VS. ZOMBIES – Pre-Order Now! (UPDATED)
In the aftermath of a devastating tsunami, hordes of Clickers swarm onto the California coastline, slaughtering everything in their path. When the creatures begin attacking other parts of the world, humanity fights back, unaware that a second foe is about to emerge—Ob, Lord of a supernatural race of beings known as the Siqqusim, who have the ability to possess and reanimate the dead.
Now, Earth faces an invasion from not one, but two enemies—the mindless, hungry Clickers, and the evil, and equally ravenous zombies. Both groups have only one goal in mind—the total extermination of the human race. But what happens when these two forces meet…
CLICKERS VS. ZOMBIES – No matter who wins, mankind loses.
$50. Signed hardcover limited to 350 copies. CLICK HERE TO ORDER
UPDATE: As of 1:02pm EST January 2nd, there are only 103 copies left.
(Yes, like the rest of the Clickers series, there will eventually be paperback and digital editions, but they are a long time off. This announcement is for people who prefer hardcovers or signed, limited editions or who want to read the book now, rather than wait a year. Respect those customers, and avoid complaining about the price or limitation).
