Brian Keene's Blog, page 218

DELUGE – Behind the Scenes, or, 'Eel Penis'

NOTE: This is a special supplement contains spoilers. If you have not yet read chapter 62, click here to do so.

Mark 'Dezm' Sylva, one of my long-time pre-readers, is very good at his job. He catches my errors and keeps my mythos straight. But occasionally, he gets carried away. Take this week's chapter of Deluge, for example. The starfish-man has a tentacle for a penis. Originally, he was just supposed to have a regular penis. But that wasn't good enough for Dezm. See his notes, diagrams, and the accompanying email, below:

"We get monster penis in Ghoul, Dark Hollow, Urban Gothic, and Castaways. We don't need more. Hell, if it's got a starfish as a head why not put a moray eel or electric eel between it's legs. I can see an electric eel darting out and biting down on it's victim to electrocute it to give the starfish head time to do it's job. Too much? I can't believe I'm writing up a correction about monster dicks. "

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DELUGE (Part 62)

Gail, Novak, McCann and Simon all turned at the same time. Gail swept the shotgun up, ready to blast the attacker at point blank range. Her finger twitched on the trigger. She barely had time to stop herself from squeezing it as Caterina stumbled out of the rain. The woman was clearly distressed. Her wet clothes were torn and covered with blood, but she had no visible wounds. Her eyes were wide, her hair flattened and streaming water. She reached for them, hands flailing wildly. Novak stepped forward and took her hand. Caterina collapsed against him, sobbing. Great shudders racked her thin frame.

"It's okay," Novak soothed. "It's okay, darlin'. What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Th… they… heads like… oh God…"

Gail and McCann pressed closer, crowding around the hysterical woman. Gail noticed that Simon held back, carefully watching the perimeter.

"Caterina," Novak lowered his voice. "What happened? Where are the others?"

"M-morgan… and then… he killed Riffle. He… and then they… came, and… Paris… their heads are wrong! Why are their heads so wrong?"

"Calm down," Novak began, but got no further. Caterina pushed him away and glared at them all. When she spoke again, Gail had to struggle to hear her whispered warning above the sound of the storm.

"They're coming. They'll be back. The others went below but Paris and I stayed up here. That's how they… they're coming. You guys have got to hide!"

"Who's coming?" Novak reached for her, but Caterina flitted out of reach. "Who did this?"

"They did. The men with no heads."

Another volley of gunshot erupted beneath their feet, followed by a long and agonized scream.

"Fuck this shit." McCann turned back to the open hatch. "I'm heading below decks. Anybody coming with me?"

"I would recommend that we all stick together," Simon said.

More shots echoed from below. The boat rolled hard to the right as a wave crashed against the hull.

"We've got to hide," Caterina sobbed. "Please!"

Gail held up a hand and took a step forward. "Caterina. It's me. Gail. Who did this, honey? Who are these men with no heads?"

Caterina started to answer, but then her eyes grew wide. Her mouth hung open. Gail realized that the frightened woman was not staring at her, but at something over her shoulder. Before she could turn to see what had terrified Caterina so much, McCann screamed.

"I think," Simon shouted, "that we just found out."

Gail spun around, shotgun at the ready. A moment later, she forgot all about the weapon. The thing that stepped out of the open hatch door startled her so badly that she could barely breathe, let alone act.

The creature emerged onto the wet deck and rose to its full height. It towered over them all. Gail judged it to be at least eight feet tall. Its naked body was that of a well-developed human—two legs and arms, slightly longer than normal, all attached to a powerful torso. The skin was pale, and the muscular chest sported what looked like gills. Still, the overall effect was that of a human male except for two differences. Where its penis should have been, there was a tentacle, and in place of a head, the monster had a giant starfish. Its short, stumpy neck merged with the starfish, right between two of the creature's five upper stalk-like appendages. At the tip of each stalk was an eye. In the center of the creature's face (although Gail supposed it wasn't a face—it was just where she'd expected a human face to be) there was a circular, lipless mouth lined with razor sharp teeth.

The beast lunged forward, thrusting at McCann with a weapon. Gail blinked, trying to determine what it was exactly. It looked like a piece of coral fashioned into a trident. McCann parried the blow with his sword, but the force of the creature's attack knocked him backward. He slipped on the wet, rolling deck and landed on his back, sprawled at the monster's feet. McCann shrieked. The sword fell from his grasp. The thing raised the trident over its head and thrust at him again.

CLICK HERE FOR A SPECIAL BEHIND THE SCENES SUPPLEMENT TO THIS CHAPTER

WHC WRITING SEMINAR

For those attending next year's World Horror Convention in Austin, TX, the convention is offering the following seminar:

THE BUSINESS OF WRITING AND PUBLISHING

Have you ever thought about writing a horror novel, but weren't sure how to go about it, or what to do with it when you were finished? Popular horror novelist Brian Keene will teach you how in an exclusive, intensive, one-day course that will give you the tools and know-how. The afternoon will be divided into two units exploring all aspects of writing and publication, covering everything from the fundamentals of writing to finding a publisher and successfully selling your finished novel.

Brian will teach you:

THE BASICS

• Turning your idea into a book

• Developing characters, plot, pace and more

• How to stay focused and avoid distractions

• Finding time to write with a busy schedule

INTERMEDIATE

• Proper manuscript formatting

• How to write a query letter

• Selecting a publisher or agent

ADVANCED CLASSES

• Submitting your finished novel

• Negotiating contracts and rights issues

• What to expect after you've signed a contract

• Marketing and promotion

Registration for Brian's seminar costs $50 and is only available to attending members. Due to space constraints, this seminar is limited to 10 participants. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Straub. Lansdale. Keene. Garton. Burke.

Four Killers

Featuring Peter Straub, Joe R. Lansdale, Brian Keene, Ray Garton

Four Killers is an original anthology of SERIAL KILLER stories by four of the genre's most collectible authors — and this Limited Edition is signed by ALL FOUR authors!

We'll be publishing this special volume of original stories and classic reprints as a SIGNED Limited Edition that is exclusively printed just for the new Cemetery Dance Exclusive Collectors Set — and to make this an even more incredible deal for collectors, Four Killers will NEVER be printed again anywhere in any form! Not a trade edition or an eBook or even a paperback from another publisher!

The signed Limited Edition you get in the new Cemetery Dance Exclusive Collectors Set will be the ONLY VERSION OF THIS SPECIAL BOOK that will ever be printed anywhere by anyone, and this book will NOT be available to the general public: no dealers, no wholesalers, no bookstores, no individual copy sales. IT WILL NEVER SEE PRINT AGAIN!

Keene. Oliveri. Dunn. Comics.

[image error] February 2011

Antarctic Press

When humanity rapidly devolves into a monstrous state, teenager Rick Donovan joins his fellow townspeople in makeshift trenches to defend their homes. However, the monsters may already be among them…

New post-apocalyptic horror from Bram Stoker Award-winning horror novelists Mike Oliveri (The Pack, Werewolves: Call of the Wild) and Brian Keene (The Last Zombie, Dead of Night: Devil Slayer, Doom Patrol) and Godfather of American Manga Ben Dunn (Marvel Mangaverse, Ninja High School, Warrior Nun Areala)!

DARK HOLLOW Movie Update

Last week, the producers gave you an update on the film version of Ghoul. This week, director Paul Campion gives us an update on the film version of Dark Hollow. He posted on The Keenedom last night: "Thanks for all the continued interest in the Dark Hollow movie. Not allowed to say too much at the moment, such is the complexities of getting a film funded and into production, but I can mention  that it 'might' now be set back in Pennsylvania (but 'might' not shot there),  Adam's second name 'might' be back to Senft (and I still can't figure out how to pronounce it) and the actor I REALLY want to play Hylinus is just about to appear (kind of) in a film about a boat and a lion."

That Book You Couldn't Find?

Long-time F.U.K.U. members have fond memories of DanUK, a fan and reader who passed away several years ago (and whom Castaways was dedicated to, along with Richard Laymon and other forum member BabblinBoo, both of whom had also passed). Dan had one of the largest, most complete Brian Keene collections in the world, including many hard-to-find items. His wife, Helen, is now selling them via The Marketplace section of The Keenedom. Many items have already been listed and there are many more to come. I can assure you that you'll have a great buying experience with her. So if there's some rarity you've been looking for, check it out!

Give Levi or Scratch for the Holidays

Russell Dickerson, cover artist for the hardcover editions of A Gathering of Crows and Scratch, has a new online store at Zazzle. And just in time for the holidays, he's got some very cool Brian Keene merchandise, including real, USPS-authorized postage stamps. Click the links below for:

A Gathering of Crows postage stamp : Depicts Levi tossing salt at the Revenants.

Scratch postage stamp : Depicts the aftermath of the flood.

A Gathering of Crows coffee mug : Same image as the postage stamp.

Scratch coffee mug : Depicts a Civil War platoon battling Scratch's ancestor.

WHC 2011 Grand Master

Voting for the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award for 2011 is now open. If you registered to attend the convention, you can vote. If you can vote, allow me to make a suggestion. Jack Ketchum. Yes, there are many worthy and eligible candidates. But I'm voting for Jack Ketchum. You should, too.

Ob Returns

Several weeks ago, I showed you what Ob did after the end of City of the Dead. Now, F.U.K.U. member Josh Penrod sends along this pic from Annapolis, Maryland. He says, "Thought you'd like to know that Ob has a restaurant near the Naval Academy." This brings us to three bars/eateries named Ob: New York, Los Angeles and now Annapolis. Anybody know of any more?