Brian Keene's Blog, page 202

BACK IN PRINT!

Before Dorchester melted down, A Gathering of Crows was on track to become what might have been my best-selling title ever, possibly even out-doing The Rising. A stand-alone novel, it's the second book to feature Levi Stoltzfus, an ex-Amish Magus and occult detective.

As they have with Urban Gothic, Jack's Magic Beans, Take The Long Way Home, and Clickers II, the nice folks at Deadite Press have brought it back into print. Click here to order a trade paperback for just $11. Up next from Deadite – Dead Sea, Tequila's Sunrise, Castaways, and Darkness On The Edge of Town.

Things to Come

Thanks to Morbius Kromwell for the image to the left. Won't be much Blogging this week. I've got family stuff today through Wednesday. On Thursday, Mary and I are heading to Boston for a few days of R&R. And I'll be gone all of next week taking care of more family stuff. In the meantime, here are some things to be aware of.

Entombed will be going up for pre-order soon. Possibly this month. I don't know for sure, thus "soon". The next Maelstrom set will go up for pre-order this summer. It features A Conspiracy of One and Alone (both by me) and John Urbancik's Once Upon A Time In Midnight. For the first Maelstrom set, we put in writing that The Rising: Deliverance would not be reprinted in any other format for five years. For this set, I'm putting in writing that A Conspiracy of One will never be reprinted in any format, thus making it a true collectible. Kindle editions of Urban Gothic and Clickers 2 came out over the weekend. Kindle editions of Clickers, Clickers 3, Jack's Magic Beans, and Take The Long Way Home will follow shortly. Nook, Sony, and iBook users – be patient. E-books for those platforms are coming soon.

Author David Niall Wilson's dog says…

Horror Mall – Bad Moon Redux

As reported last week, Bad Moon Books was terminated from Horror Mall after HM proprietor Shane Ryan Staley accused BMB's Roy Robbins of unethical behavior, impropriety, and violating the seller's terms and conditions. (This wasn't the first time Robbins has found himself the center of controversy. Readers will remember a few years ago when he made homophobic slurs about a number of authors, and stated on a public message board that he hoped a gay customer who was unsatisfied with his service would "die of Aids", both of which Robbins later apologized for).

In last week's initial press release, Horror Mall assured customers that all pre-orders were secure, and that Bloodletting Books' Larry Roberts would take over unfulfilled BMB orders. But now there seems to be confusion amongst customers following an announcement from Robbins himself. As chronicled here on the Keenedom, long-time customer H. Kresby reports that after Horror Mall's initial assurances that all pre-orders would be secured, Robbins stated in email that those orders "do not have to be contractually fulfilled." Horror Mall responded with proof of further malfeasance on Robbins' part, and the two parties are now exchanging words in public at The Horror Drive-In.

So, what should customers do regarding their pre-orders? The answer seems to come from Horror Mall's Larry Roberts, who stated, "As for the orders that were placed at Horror Mall through BMB's shop I am making every effort fill those orders and after speaking to nearly all the publishers I believe that I'll be able to fill them all. If there is a very rare occurrence that an order cannot be filled the customers will receive a prompt refund. Let me state again that this would be a very rare occurrence indeed."

KINDLE!

Kindle editions of Urban Gothic and Clickers II are now available! More to follow. (Nook, Sony, and iBook users will have to wait a just little while longer).

The Week in Review

Busy this weekend with a family situation, and also trying to finish writing Alone before Sunday night, so am posting this early. It was another crazy week. Deluge continued, as did the Dorchester Boycott. Dorchester responded to the boycott via the press, and we fired back, refusing to surrender. And as the list of professionals and organizations supporting the boycott grew, the HWA released this statement. Meanwhile, bankrupt Borders payed millions of dollars in bonuses to its inept executives, and Roy Robbins was terminated from Horror Mall.

[image error]In better news, Odd Books said very nice things about my new book, Jack's Magic Beans. Overlook Connection announced collectors sets for The Last Zombie: Inferno. Kindle editions of my new Deadite books should be available next week. Deadite also made this funny April Fool's Day cover, and Smart Bitches celebrated the holiday with quite possibly the best joke ever. Author Tim Lebbon is climbing mountains for a charity near and dear to his heart. Two women near and dear to my heart, Mary SanGiovanni and Kelli Owen, both had new books come out this week. Finally, I offered proof that In Laymon's Terms really exists.

Bad Moon Books Terminated

I'm told this isn't an April Fool. Shane Staley reports "Bad Moon Books, owned and operated by Roy K. Robbins, has been terminated… from selling at Horror Mall due to a serious breach of sellers terms and conditions." Staley states there was "unethical behavior" and "impropriety." Larry Roberts will take over unfulfilled BMB orders, and pre-orders, pre-payments and current orders are secured.

April Fool x 2

1. Here is the cover to the forthcoming Deadite Press re-release of The Rising. As you can see, my new publisher stuck with Dorchester's hand motif. Okay. This isn't really the cover. But you might like to know that Deadite's Kindle editions of Urban Gothic, Jack's Magic Beans, Clickers, and Clickers II should be available next week.

2. For the best April Fool's Joke EVER, check this out. Explore the entire site. Thanks to Smart Bitches for the laughs.

It's been a busy morning. Here is a new Deluge chapter and HWA's letter to Dorchester.

New Deadite Press Edition of THE RISING

Here is the cover to the forthcoming Deadite Press re-release of The Rising. As you can see, my new publisher stuck with Dorchester's hand motif.

Okay. This isn't really the cover. But you might like to know that Deadite editions of Urban Gothic, Jack's Magic Beans, Clickers, and Clickers II should be available for Kindle users next week.

Also, it's been a busy morning here already, so scroll down for a new Deluge chapter and HWA's letter to Dorchester.

DELUGE (Part 70)

Henry grabbed the edge of the desk as the floor bucked and trembled beneath his feet. A deep, sonorous groan echoed from outside, followed by the sound of screeching metal. The tower shook harder, dislodging gear and hardware from the shelves. Items crashed to the tiles and rolled toward him. Henry cried out, terrified, but Sarah's reaction was quite different. Her screams abruptly turned into laughter.

She's snapped, he thought, as the ranger station shook harder. The sound of breaking glass came from somewhere over his head, but Henry squeezed his eyes shut, too afraid to look. Sarah's gone crazy. That must be it. But so fast! What the hell am I gonna do now?

Then, just as suddenly as they'd started, the tremors stopped. Henry didn't loosen his grip on the desk. He feared it would start all over again if he did. The only sound, other than his breathing, was Sarah giggling. And the rain.

Always the rain.

"Do it again, Henry," she said. "Make it go again!"

"It wasn't me, Sarah. I reckon it's the mold. We've seen how it turns everything into water. Figure it's doing the same thing to the station. We can't stay here."

"We'll be okay," she said. Her voice was clear and confident. Gone was any trace of insanity. "Kevin will be here soon."

"Kevin? Sarah… Kevin's dead. You know that. You told me that you shot him yourself, because he was turning into one of them."

"He'll be here," she insisted. "He's in the helicopter, with Salty. They'll be along any minute."

Henry took a deep breath. Letting go of the desk, he stepped toward her. "Sarah, we're alone here. Well, except for Earl and them others. Don't you remember?"

And then someone spoke behind Henry, making a liar out of him. Henry yelped in surprise. Spinning around, he saw that the station was empty, except for him and Sarah.

"Who's there? Come on out, god damn you!"

"My name is Steven Kazmirski. I'm here with my wife, Nahed Shahabi, and our Himalayan cat, Burman."

"The radio," Henry yelled, feeling foolish. "It's the radio."

He wondered for a moment what had become of the previous broadcaster, Sylva. The man had been infected. Had he finally succumbed? Henry glanced back at Sarah. She seemed calm now, though her eyes had a glazed look. She too was listening. Henry turned his attention back to the speaker.

"…left the John Hancock Tower and rowed over here in the darkness. We didn't want to use the boat's motor or spotlight, because we didn't want to attract predators. There were a lot of corpses in the water. They… bumped into…"

The signal faded. Henry cursed, tensing, until it came back again after a short burst of static.

"…have stayed in California. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, though. But we moved cross the country to Newton. We liked it there, especially with Nahed being pregnant. But then the rain… major pharmaceutical company in Cambridge, just across the Charles River. I solve protein structures with potential drug compounds… Nahed attended…"

There was a particularly long burst of static. Frantic, Henry ran over to the ham radio set, staring at the controls and wondering which one to use. Then the speaker returned. The signal seemed weaker.

"…the Prudential Building… Sylva's last communication was twelve hours ago. We came… dead. I had to shoot him three times. His last… for his son, Alex, whom I believe he mentioned several times during his broadcasts. I only wish our boat had washed up on our tower sooner, so I could have helped Sylva and his friends before the disease… am sure… my biochemistry and drug development background. If I can learn more about how it spreads… if the white fuzz is fungal, alien, or bacterial, but it's certainly alive, and therefore contains different proteins… obtain a pure sample of a protein that's essential in the machinery that replicates the white fuzz's DNA, then I could stop it with drugs. If the DNA can't replicate… can't grow, so I'll collect fungus samples and extract the protein… using gravity… chromatography columns. Then… add the drug… either a small chemical molecule or a bio-molecule that's been purified… once … the drug complex to crystallize, I could have a potential cure within a week."

"You hear this, Sarah? It's gonna be okay. This fella on the radio says he can stop the fungus!"

"I want to know," Sarah sang, "who'll stop the rain?"

"One thing at a time, I reckon," Henry muttered.

"…need an X-ray generator… university, pharmaceutical company, or government lab that's not underwater. I've heard that the Havenbrook facility in Pennsylvania is still functioning… try for that. I'll also need power to run… for the math and structure viewing. If Havenbrook doesn't have electricity, I can always rig up some gas generators… with a baby on the way… I'm doing everything possible to ensure my family's protect… but I'm itchy and my skin feels funny… the cat has been hissing at me…"

"He's got it," Henry whispered, feeling his heart sink. "This poor guy has it, too."

Sarah began to sing louder, punctuating the chorus with sobs and laughter. Henry felt like doing the same.