Brian Keene's Blog, page 189

Whither Borders?

The Wall Street Journal reports "Borders is on the brink of liquidation after the collapse of a deal with the Najafi investment firm… The development raises the likelihood that Borders will soon have to close its remaining 399 stores, lay off some 11,000 people and go out of business…"

The WSJ also cited a letter Borders President Mike Edwards sent to employees. Several anonymous sources sent me that letter:

"As you know, we have been working towards a successful sale of the Company and I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the latest developments.
Under the previously announced sale process, Borders had two alternate options for a Stalking Horse bidder: the Najafi proposal, or a group including Hilco and Gordon Brothers, who would purchase the store assets of the business and undertake an orderly wind-down.  Late this afternoon, Najafi informed us that they have decided to withdraw as the stalking horse proposal, and therefore we will submit the Hilco and Gordon Brothers proposal to the Court for the purposes of serving as the Stalking Horse bidder at the auction next week.

While we regret Najafi's withdrawal as the Stalking Horse bidder, we remain hopeful that they or other potential bidders who are interested in operating Borders as a going concern will choose to participate in the auction process on July 19.

In the meantime, as the process moves forward, we will continue to conduct business as usual.  Our stores remain open, and Borders.com is fulfilling orders as usual.  It's important that we all stay focused recognizing that media speculation will no doubt continue."
Here's what that means. Hilco and Gordon are a liquidation company. Should no other bidder step forward, and they make a successful purchase next week, the transition would take place July 29th, at which point all remaining Borders stores would begin liquidating their merchandise, and close.

New Releases – SHADES and KILL WHITEY

The Last Zombie: Inferno #2 (announced earlier) isn't my only new release today.

I'm very happy to inform you that the long sought after Shades (which was previously published as a limited edition hardcover and which commands high prices on the secondary market) is now available for the Kindle. Shades was co-written with Geoff Cooper, and is a dark coming-of-age story centered around magic. Think "Harry Potter as written by Slayer." Click here to download it.

Meanwhile, Deadite Press continues their noble mission to bring all of my books back into print. Today sees the paperback release of Kill Whitey, which was previously only available in hardcover. The paperback is available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com, BUT only in paperback.

The Nook edition of KILL WHITEY that B&N is offering is the German-language edition. That's fine if you read German. Not so fine of you only read English. B&N has been informed of this, but so far, they haven't updated the listing accordingly. Click here to order the paperback. English-language digital editions are forthcoming.

IN STORES NOW – The Last Zombie: Inferno #2

The Last Zombie: Inferno #2

Trapped between a state-wide wildfire and a radioactive wasteland, the team is confronted by the exodus of hundreds of survivors, some of whom blame the government for what happened — and thus blame the team — and others who just want the team's vehicles, rations, medical supplies and weaponry. As Warner tries to keep order in the ranks, the team argues over whether to help the survivors or leave them to their fates. Meanwhile, Planters struggles with PTSD and Ian struggles to keep his secret from the others.

Lake Fossil, The Lost Level, and Clickers vs. Zombies

I'm currently working on three things. The first is a bizarro novella for KHP tentatively titled Lake Fossil. The reason the title is tentative is because we're still not sure what works best. For a while, I wanted to call it Binky: A Bizarro Novel, but that might not work either. The second is a John Carter-esque novella for Apex called The Lost Level. It's a love letter to the man-out-of-time sword & sorcery epics of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Otis Adelbert Kline, Joe Lansdale, etc. (yes, hisownself wrote one). The third is a novel with J.F. Gonzalez for Bloodletting Press titled Clickers vs. Zombies, which is about Clickers and zombies and zombie Clickers. Here are the first sentences of each:

(From Lake Fossil): Phil Campbell was sure that living in Lake Fossil would suck.

(From Clickers vs. Zombies): As he did most mornings, Jim Thurmond had to remind himself that this was no longer his home.

(From The Lost Level): My name is Aaron Pace, and I'm writing this by hand in a spiral-bound, college-ruled notebook that I found in a backpack attached to a skeleton inside a school bus.

Internet 2.0

Couple of quick web-related things:

1. My old friend Dan Fox has started a new online auction site. It's called The Garage Market, and I told him I'd mention it here.

2. I've signed up for Google+. You can add me to your circle, if you want. While I still like Twitter the best, I do see the benefits of Google+ over Facebook, starting with the fact that, unlike Facebook, I don't have to have both a public page for fans and a private page for family and friends.

New Interview

While at CONvergence 2011, Taylor Kent interviewed me, Mary SanGiovanni, and David Wilbanks for Snark Infested Waters. You can listen to it for free by clicking here. We talk about zombies, paying it forward, transitioning from an angry young man to a wise old man, the next generation of horror writers, PS Publishing, Kelli Owen, Carlton Mellick, Joe Lansdale, Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, F. Paul Wilson, the next Stephen King, audio-books, and a bazillion other things.

Pre-order Eingesperrt

For my German readers (whose numbers now almost rival their American counterparts), I'm happy to announce that Eingesperrt (The Cage) is now available for pre-order. If you can't reserve it at your local bookstore, you can order it here.

And don't forget that you can order all of my other German editions, as well. Click here.

Eingesperrt

For my German readers (whose numbers now almost rival their American counterparts), I'm happy to announce that Eingesperrt (The Cage) is now available. If you can't find it at your local bookstore, you can order it here.

And don't forget that you can order all of my other German editions, as well. Click here.

Weekend Update… in drag

Missed a day? Missed a lot! Where to begin? Well, Deluge continued. We're only ten or so chapters away from the conclusion! I posted a handy FAQ for new readers. The author's preferred version of Dead Sea, which contains material that was cut from the original edition, is now available for the Kindle (as well as in paperback). My new novel The Damned Highway, which was co-written with Nick Mamatas, is heading for bookstores and goes on sale at the end of this month.

I went to CONvergence, had an absolute blast, and dressed in drag to the delight of thousands. The sight of me in drag inspired author Maurice Broaddus to do the same. Later this month, I'll be signing in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Not sure yet what I'll be wearing…

In genre news, Fangoria and Cemetery Dance have joined forces for a new line of books. And in sad news, veteran anthologist Martin Greenberg passed away.

Have a great weekend! And please don't forget about LA Banks. Please help if at all possible. Every dollar counts.

Fangoria and Cemetery Dance Join Forces

Fangoria Magazine and Cemetery Dance Publications have announced that they are teaming up for a new line of books. "I grew up reading each new issue of Fango from cover to cover, so I couldn't be more pleased and proud to be partnering up with them for a brand-new line of books," said Cemetery Dance's Richard Chizmar. "FANGORIA and Cemetery Dance should make one heckuva team!" Fangoria's Thomas DeFeo added "FANGORIA Entertainment is thrilled to be working with Cemetery Dance. Their specialty books have set the standard for high-quality craftsmanship and offer horror's most unique voices."