Of keen interest to Of Keene Interest subscribers

This Blog entry is for subscribers to the Of Keene Interest newsletter (and perhaps Lifetime Subscribers, as well, since there's a bit in here for them). The rest of you can come back tomorrow, assured that you didn't miss anything.

Okay. Are they gone? As most of you know, 2010 was a shit year for me. In the space of 12 months, I got divorced, went through a very bad health scare, lost my grandfather, and lost 85% of my annual income when Dorchester decided it might be a good idea to start fucking the authors who kept them in business. Since then, things have gotten better. I'm a single Dad with two happy and healthy sons. My ex-wife is my best friend. My health is better than it's been in years. I've adjusted to the absence of our family's patriarch and am trying to live life by the lessons he left behind. I'm making more money with Deadite than I ever did from Dorchester (and, unlike Dorchester, Deadite pays on time–and monthly). Things are looking good.

But there have still been a few leftover items from last year that need cleaning up. The most important is, of course, the morass of missed deadlines that I'm slowly digging my way out of. The second is getting the Lifetime Subscribers back on track (which was mostly delayed by Dorchester selling hardcover book club editions of my work and then not sending me copies). The third is The Keenedom, which I've neglected for too long and have big plans for later this year. Fourth is the newsletter.

The newsletter started while I was still married. My ex-wife (then wife) edited, designed and produced it, because I'm an idiot when it comes to doing things like that. Since we are now divorced, it wouldn't be right for me to ask her to continue in that role. Also, Tomo, Dezm, and Dave have all had things going on in their personal lives the last year, and just as my time to work on the newsletter was limited, so was their time to participate on it. Finally, there was the problem of content. By the time we'd get an issue ready for publication, the news was already in danger of becoming old news.

With all of that in mind, and with the fact that I need to focus on the other three things leftover from last year (mentioned above), and given that my three contributors also have other obligations, and given that we don't really have an editor, I've decided to cease publication. At this time, we are not accepting further subscriptions.

However, to make absolutely sure that current subscribers get their money's worth, I am going to do the following. There will be one more issue published. It is in the design stage right now, and it reprints two very old and impossible to find short stories, as well as some other surprises. In addition to that final, double-sized issue, I am in the process of putting together an exclusive trade paperback book of original content that will be sent to each and every former subscriber. I am only printing enough copies of the book for the subscriber list. There will be no further copies printed, and no other format, edition or reprint — thus making this book an absolute collectible and worth far more than initial subscription fee. You can keep and and re-read it, or you can sell it on eBay for twice your initial investment.

Thanks for your patience and understanding in this matter. I'm sure that most of you will be agreeable to this arrangement. However, if you seek a refund or an alternative, I'm sure we can work something out. If so, email me at briankeene at live.com. Put 'Newsletter' in the subject line, so that it gets routed properly (otherwise, it might end up like this).