Brian Keene's Blog, page 188

MAELSTROM II Ships (and Second Chance)

From Paul at Thunderstorm Books: "All individual orders, domestic and international; all bookseller allotments, domestic and international; all contributor copies have shipped.  All orders so far have shipped.  (If you didn't get a shipping notification, you can email me (some of the notifications bounced as invalid email addresses). I do have a handful (and I mean handful) left due to some check reservations never coming through, as well as a couple of dropped memberships. These will be gone within 24 hours so act fast."

ROASTED

The annual NECON Roast is a big honor. Previous victims have included Stephen King, Robert R. McCammon, Rick Hautala, Douglas Winter, Charles Grant, and dozens more. I myself have participated in roasting James A. Moore, Weston Ochse, Yvonne Navarro, Elizabeth Massie, and Cort Skinner. That's why I didn't suspect anything this year when Christopher Golden contacted me a few weeks ago and said, "We're roasting Douglas Clegg this year, and I want you to close the show again, so bring your 'A' game." Thus, I've spent the last few weeks writing roast jokes for Doug Clegg like 'I enjoyed The Harrow series, especially Shirley Jackson's version'.

So imagine our surprise when, at the roast, Mary SanGiovanni and I discovered that Doug Clegg had been a ruse all along and this year's real victims were us! Over the next hour, our peers and friends took the podium and proceeded to savage us with love and laughter. Roasters included Christopher Golden, Craig Shaw Gardner (and his zombie jug band), Nicholas Kaufmann, F. Paul Wilson (with assistance from Gordon Linzner), John Skipp, Jonathan Maberry, Hank Wagner, Rio Youers, Linda Addison, Mike Myers, James A. Moore, Monica J. O'Rourke, Jack Haringa, and Matt Bechtel.

Below are some pics, all courtesy of F.U.K.U. member Kurt Criscione, who was in attendance.

Chris Golden and Bob Booth spring their surprise.

Note the Doug Clegg jokes in my right hand!

"Okay, fuckers. Do your worst..."

Craig: "I'm here with some of Brian's fans."

Nick: "I'm not saying Brian's fat, but..."

Jack: "It's called E-D-I-T-I-N-G..."

F. Paul: "You collaborate with Jesus and Nick Whatshisname..."

"If you wanted John Skipp, why not just date the original?"

Jonathan: "I actually make money from my zombie novels."

Jim: "It's payback time for you both..."

Rio: "We know you love each other. Now SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Linda: "I'm all about love... because that's worked so well for me."

Monica: "What can I say about Brian? Nothing..."

Hank: Comparing and contrasting Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Mike: "You might as well carry him home..."

Mid-Week Update

That's Comix Connection's Bill Wahl on the left, reading his advance copy of my new novel The Damned Highway (co-written with Nick Mamatas), which will be in stores next week.

While Bill catches up on his reading, Mary and I are hopping a train to NECON. We'll be there Thursday through Sunday, thus this mid-week update.

Kill Whitey came out in paperback and for Kindle and Nook readers. The second Maelstrom set ships next Monday! I posted a few pics from last Saturday's signing. We bid farewell to Borders. John Skipp's Rose reached it's target amount!

With both NECON and ComicCon happening this weekend, I imagine things will be quiet at The Keenedom. I'll be posting mainly to Twitter and TwitPic. Follow along if you are so inclined.

Much has been written about post-Borders, but I like Nick's the best.

Maelstrom Vol. 2 Shipping Update

As noted earlier today on The Keenedom, Maelstrom Set 2, which includes A Conspiracy of One and Alone (both by me) and John Urbancik's Once Upon A Time In Midnight, should begin shipping next Monday (July 25th). These were all sold out prior to publication. You may still be able to get them via Camelot, Overlook, or Horror Mall.

Borders Fades to Null

In an 11th hour move, Borders turned down a last minute offer from Books-a-million to buy the Waldenbooks brand and sold itself to liquidation company Hilco, rather than face bankruptcy auction today. In a statement, current President Mike Edwards continued to blame the "electronic reader revolution" rather than the actual factors which led to this outcome (chronicled on this site in previous articles). All remaining stores will close by September.

I've signed at countless Borders over the last 12 years. My heart goes out to all my friends in those locations, and all the other Borders employees who were always supportive of my work. As for the future, with Barnes and Noble unwilling to stock Deadite Press titles, I urge my readers to order my books from a good indie bookstore or purchase them online.

John Skipp's ROSE

3 days left and only 3 grand to go. I've pledged my money. If each of you only contribute a dollar, we can make this happen! Click here to help.

KILL WHITEY now in digital and paperback!

Last week saw the release of Kill Whitey in trade paperback. Click here to order it. Previously only available in hardcover, this new trade paperback edition is brought to you by Deadite Press (who are reprinting all of my out-of-print backlist).

For you digital readers, Kill Whitey is now also available for the Kindle and the Nook. Click here for the Kindle edition and click here for the Nook edition. These digital editions are brought to [image error]you by Cemetery Dance, who also released a digital edition of Shades (a novel I co-wrote with Geoff Cooper) last week.

For a complete list of all my Kindle and Nook editions, click here and scroll down to the appropriate section.

Horrible Saturday

Below are a few pics from the York Emporium's Horrible Saturday event with myself, Mary SanGiovanni, J.F. Gonzalez, Kelli Owen, and Bob Ford. Click on the pics to make them bigger. Thanks to everyone who came out, both local (like Nathan, Rich, Kim, Ginger, etc.) and out of state (like Amber, who drove all the way from Boston).

Me and reader Amber (Photo by Susan Scofield)

Mary, me, JF, Kelli, Bob (Photo by Robert Swartwood)

Local F.U.K.U. members get in line early (Photo by Brian Keene)

WEEKEND UPDATE

If you live in Pennsylvania, don't forget that I'm signing tomorrow with J.F. Gonzalez, Mary SanGiovanni, Kelli Owen, and Bob Ford at the York Emporium. And next week, I'll be at NECON in Rhode Island.

This week, Deluge continued. The Last Zombie: Inferno #2 was released, and is available in comic shops or online. Kill Whitey was released in paperback, via Deadite Press. And the long-out-of-print Shades, which I co-wrote with Geoff Cooper back in the day, was made available for Kindle and Nook. Meanwhile, in Germany, Eingesperrt (The Cage) went up for pre-order.

I offered up sneak peeks at three forthcoming books — Lake Fossil, The Lost Level, and Clickers vs. Zombies. There's a free podcast interview with me, Mary SanGiovanni, and David Wilbanks, courtesy of the Snarky Avenger. I signed up for Google+, and my friend Dan Fox built a brand-new auction site. And in industry news, I obtained and posted the letter Borders CEO Mike Edwards sent to employees. Looks like the writing is on the wall after years of corporate mismanagement (because no, e-books were not the cause of this). My thoughts are with all of the great Borders employees, past and present, who have to suffer through this trying time.

I'll be offline most of the weekend. I have that signing tomorrow, and the rest of the weekend will be spent moving things to the new house and working on The Lost Level. Things will probably be slow next week, as well, as I'll be spending time with my boys Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then hopping a train to NECON with Mary on Thursday.

In the meantime, why not stop by the forum? Registration has been wonky lately, due to spammer attacks, but it's still one of the coolest watering holes in the genre. Or holler at me on Twitter or Facebook.

DELUGE (Part 79)

Once they were all gathered together in the galley, Simon thanked the group for their attention.

"We have to make this quick," Novak warned him. "I dropped anchor because I don't trust letting us drift. Not with all the debris out there. But we don't have a guard posted on the decks, and I like that even less."

"I'll try to be as succinct as I can," Simon promised. "Although Sarah has some things to share, as well. "

She nodded.

"I suppose we'll start at the beginning," Simon continued. "In the beginning, God created—"

"I don't believe in God," Caterina interrupted.

"Yeah," Novak said. "I've got to be honest, Simon. If this is going to be nothing more than a Sunday School meeting, then I think we should get back to work right now. While we're down here talking, there's not telling what could be creeping up on us out there."

"You may call it God," Simon said, ignoring them. "Others know it as Yahweh, Allah, etcetera. All the name refers to is the power behind the creation of the universe. Regardless of your individual beliefs, there are certain universal truths, and one of them is that the Creator, whose true name is known only to a handful of people, created the heavens and the Earth. In order to create this new universe, the Creator needed a lot of energy. So the Creator destroyed the universe that existed before ours, down to the very last atom, and utilized the harvested energies as building blocks. The old universe ceased to exist."

Gail frowned. "So God is Galactus?"

"Pardon?"

She grinned. "Never mind. I'm sorry for interrupting."

"Thirteen denizens of that previous universe escaped the destruction. These beings are collectively known to my organization and other occultists as the Thirteen. They are not gods or demons, and are not susceptible to the same magic and supernatural laws that govern, banish or bind demons, angels, and other entities. Very specific methods must be used when confronting them. They are one of the reasons Black Lodge was created. The Thirteen have one single-minded goal—the total obliteration of everything the Creator has made, meaning our Earth and all of the other Earths, as well as the rest of our universe."

"Other Earths?" Henry asked.

"Yes. The universe is composed of alternate realities. In my organization, we referred to these alternate planes of existence as levels. Just as there are different planets in the sky, there are also different versions of those planets, existing simultaneously on a different level of the universe. The Thirteen wish to destroy them all."

"And Leviathan is one of the Thirteen?" Gail asked.

"Exactly. Our Earth recently came under attack by both Leviathan and Behemoth—two members of the Thirteen. I no longer sense Behemoth's presence, which means his physical form may have been destroyed."

"Is Behemoth a giant worm?" Sarah asked. "I mean, bigger than the rest of them?"

"Yes. Don't tell me you've encountered him, as well?"

"I think maybe I have."

"Then you do indeed have a story to tell. Nevertheless, Leviathan is still present. He is aware of me just as I am aware of him. Black Lodge operatives have stopped him on other levels. As the last of my kind on this Earth, he will seek me out and destroy me. That's what he is doing right now."

"But what is he?" Henry asked.

"I had a friend that called him Cthulhu," Sarah said.

Simon nodded. "That is one name for him, yes. As is Kraken, Tlaloc, Dagon, He of One Thousand Tentacles, and the Lord of the Great Deep. His true size and measurements are unknown. Suffice to say, he is massive. He has a squid-like head, a beard of tentacles, webbed hands and feet, a long tail, and wings."

"Sounds like Godzilla," Mylon mumbled.

"That's a remarkably apt comparison," Simon said.

Novak groaned. "And now he's coming for us?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Well, fuck that. Short of tossing you over the side so he leaves us alone, how do we get rid of him?"

"I'm hoping Sarah can tell us," Simon said, turning to her. "After all, if she's escaped him once before, perhaps she knows a way we can do so again. If not, then I'm afraid all might be lost."