Brian Keene's Blog, page 217

Borders Down 74.4 Million

ICv2 reports that Borders financial results for the quarter ended October 30 aren't pretty. The company's loss was $74.4 million, nearly double its loss of $37.7 million in the year ago period. This news comes a week after Borders expressed their intent to purchase Barnes & Noble.

Weekend Update

Previously, on Brian Keene dot com…

Deluge continued.

The reasons for the delays of The Last Zombie, Of Keene Interest, and Hole In The World.

Only two seats left for my seminar at WHC in Austin, TX.

A charity auction for the mother of author Karen Koehler, who has been fighting breast cancer.

A rumor that Borders is seeking to buy B&N.

Vote for Solow! (Voting has closed).

DELUGE (Part 63)

Gail squeezed the trigger. The shotgun roared, drowning out the thunder overhead. Gail staggered backward across the wet deck. The blast hit the monster in the chest, punching through the pale skin and spraying reddish-pink pulp all over the bulkhead behind it. The creature dropped the trident and stumbled forward, squealing in pain. The sound reminded Gail of a boiling tea kettle.

"Hit it again," Novak shouted. "McCann, get the hell out of the way!"

McCann skittered away from the staggering beast. Gail braced her feet shoulder-width apart and fired again. The monster toppled over, convulsing on the deck. Blood and rainwater swirled around it. The stalks on its head waved weakly, and then went still. All five eyes stared sightlessly.

"Well, we know a chest shot works on them," Novak said.

While he helped McCann to his feet, Gail inched forward. Keeping the monster covered with the shotgun, she prodded the corpse with her toe. The beast didn't move.

"Nicely done," Simon said.

Gail nodded, unable to speak. Her chest hurt. The shotgun's kick had been worse than she'd imagined. She was certain that if she lifted up her shirt, she'd find a bruise.

"Caterina," Novak asked, "how many more of these things are there?"

The frightened woman shrugged. Gail noticed that her color was returning and her eyes no longer seemed dazed. Perhaps the shock was passing. When she spoke, she no longer stammered and her tone seemed more confident.

"At least seven. Maybe more. I'm not sure. It all happened so fast and things got confusing."

"How many of us are left? We've found Paris. Is there anybody else alive?"

Caterina nodded. "Morgan, Ben, Mylon and Tatiana."

"What about Riffle?" McCann asked.

"Morgan tossed him overboard when you guys left."

"Fuck these starfish men," Novak growled. "I want Morgan."

Caterina looked at each of them. "Where are Warren and Lynn?"

"They didn't make it," Novak said. "But this is Simon. We picked him up along the way. Simon, meet Caterina."

The Black Lodge agent smiled. "A pleasure."

"Simon's a wizard," McCann said, "but so far, the only thing we've seen him do is start a fire."

"I have other talents," Simon said.

"Then why didn't you do something just now?" McCann bent over and retrieved his sword. "Why didn't you wave a hand and turn this thing into a crab or something?"

Simon sighed. "It doesn't work like that—at least, not with me. This creature is natural, rather than supernatural. It comes from the Great Deep, but it is not supernaturally produced. An exorcism wouldn't work on it. There are spells that would have aided us, but by the time I would have finished preparing them, you'd have all been dead. And besides—the last thing you'd want me to turn that creature into is a crab. Obviously, you've never seen a Clicker."

McCann frowned. "A what?"

"Never mind," Simon replied. "Wrong level."

"Let's go," Novak said. "We've got people to help, a ship to regain, and Morgan to kill."

Simon picked up the fallen trident and tested its weight. "Lead on, Mr. Novak."

Novak turned to Gail, and held up his knife. "Want to trade weapons?"

"No."

"Then you've got point."

"Shit." Swallowing hard, Gail stepped through the hatch. Novak followed her, then Simon, McCann and Caterina.

"Morgan," Novak whispered. "You'd better hope these things kill you before I do."

Delays, or, "What's going on with The Last Zombie, Of Keene Interest, and Hole In the World?"

The title is pretty self-explanatory. Regular readers know the story. I suffered a series of setbacks, both personal and professional, in the first half of 2010 (beginning with a divorce and ending with the Leisure meltdown) that impacted deadlines across the board. Things have since turned around, but there are still three things that remain delayed. So let's update you on those.

THE LAST ZOMBIE: Scripts for the first five issues are complete. We are experiencing art delays. As stated, that will most-likely impact the release date for the first trade paperback. Antarctic Press announced that Benn Dunn will be illustrating the next story-arc (Inferno), and that the comic should come out on a more regular schedule as a result.

OF KEENE INTEREST: The Leisure situation left me almost penniless, and funds that should have been used for the newsletter were instead diverted to things like food, rent, and child support. Issue #3 was slated to come out in September. The news for it was already outdated, so I decided to go with fresh material. That fresh material has been collected, and funds are looking better. It was my sincere hope to release it this month. That is still my hope. However, it's more likely you will see it in January. To make up for the delay, issue #3 will include a Top Secret bonus that I think will please all subscribers.

HOLE IN THE WORLD: For the real-life F.U.K.U. members featured in this novel, I have to finish The Damned Highway (a novel I'm co-writing with Nick Mamatas) and The Witching Tree (a new Levi novella for Camelot Books), and then will focus all of my attention on Hole In The World. As of this morning, both The Damned Highway and The Witching Tree are more than halfway completed. I will certainly finish both by the end of the month.

As always, thanks for your patience and understanding. I went ten years in this business without blowing deadlines. I intend to renew that effort in 2011. And I want to take a moment to especially thank Tony and Kim at Camelot Books, Bill Schafer at Subterranean Press, Paul Goblirsch at Thunderstorm Books, and Tim Deal at Shroud Magazine, all of whom have been incredibly gracious, patient and supportive while I try to get caught up on various things for them. I hope that you will support them in turn.

30 Years Later

People say I'm crazy, doing what I'm doing,

Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin,

When I say that I'm o.k. well they look at me kind of strange,

Surely your not happy now. You no longer play the game,

People say I'm lazy, dreaming my life away,

Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me,

When I tell that I'm doing fine watching shadows on the wall,

Don't you miss the big time boy? You're no longer on the ball?

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,

I really love to watch them roll,

No longer riding on the merry-go-round,

I just had to let it go,

People asking questions, lost in confusion,

Well I tell them there's no problem, Only solutions,

Well they shake their heads and look at me as if I've lost my mind,

I tell them there's no hurry… I'm just sitting here doing time,

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,

I really love to watch them roll,

No longer riding on the merry-go-round,

I just had to let it go.

2 Left

Only two seats left for my writing seminar at WHC2011 in Austin, TX. Click here for details.

Borders to buy B&N?

ICv2 is reporting that "Financier and Borders investor William Ackman is ready to finance an acquisition of Barnes & Noble by Borders…" Click the link to read the entire article.

Charity Auction

Author Karen Koehler's mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. This has left her in debt with a staggering amount of medical bills. To help, the genre has pulled together for a massive charity auction. You can bid on items from myself, Ann Nocenti, Kealan Patrick Burke, Ray Garton, Jeff Strand, and many more. Additional items to be added. Click here for the auction.

Vote for Solow

Meet Aaron Solow. He's the son of my old friend David Solow. Aaron is trying out for a reality television show called Tough Enough For WWE. His father has asked me to enlist the help of the F.U.K.U., and since his father is a F.U.K.U. member in good-standing, I promised we would do our part. You can vote for Aaron by clicking here (scroll down until you see the vote button). You don't have to register for anything or sign up. Anyone can vote. You can vote once per day from now until January 22nd. Together, we can get Aaron cast in Tough Enough For WWE.

Weekend Update

It was an extremely busy week, with lots of breaking news. Here's what you might have missed:

Deluge continued.

And there was a special behind-the-scenes look at Deluge, as well.

My new comic, To Fight With Monsters (co-written with Mike Oliveri) went up for pre-order.

So did a new anthology I'm in with Peter Straub, Joe R. Lansdale, and Ray Garton.

And just in time for the holidays, A Gathering of Crows and Scratch postage stamps and coffee mugs!

Director Paul Campion gave us an update on the Dark Hollow movie.

One of the biggest Brian Keene collections in the world is being auctioned off at The Keenedom.

There are lots of other cool things happening at The Keenedom, as well.

I'll be teaching a writing seminar at WHC2011 in Austin, TX.

And speaking of WHC2011, Jack Ketchum should totally be Grand Master.

And finally, Ob opens another establishment…