End of the Road

Brian Keene Beer (brewed by Deadite Press)

Typing this from my room at the Edgefield Manor in Oregon as Bizarrocon 2011 wraps up. Bizarrocon isn't your typical fan or media convention. It's a brainstorming session for like-minded writers, artists, editors, publishers, and others involved with the Bizarro genre. Ideas were hatched and courses were plotted for next year. I enjoyed the enthusiasm. As I remarked to Robert Devereaux on Friday morning, it's nice to feel the energy and creativity coming from this next generation of writers and artists. Should we die tomorrow, the horror genre and Bizarro genre are in good hands.

Deadite Press titles on display

Robert Devereaux, John Skipp, and me (wearing Skipp's hat)

I don't plan on dying tomorrow, but I am going to disappear for a year. I said a few months ago that I was going to take some time off from the road. Events of the last week have made me even more positive that this is the right thing to do. I've recently become single again* and I find myself wanting to focus solely on my sons and my writing. So that's what I'm going to do for a year. Oh, I'll still be available via Twitter and this website and the occasional post on The Horror Drive-In, but I don't foresee any conventions or book signings whatsoever in 2012 (except for Comix Connection's annual Creator Cookout and perhaps one or two other local events). I think my family, my health, and my writing will be better for it. And at the end of the day, that's really all a man ever has.

Deadite Press editor Jeff Burk signs a book with his ink-tipped dreadlocks

So I'm happy that Bizarrocon was the last gig before my semi-retirement. I got to read from The Damned Highway, impart some advice to younger authors, drink a beer named after me, see old friends (Carlton Mellick, Rose O'Keefe, Alan M. Clark, Cody Goodfellow, John Skipp, Jeremy Robert Johnson, Kevin Donihe, and Robert Devereaux), make new friends, hang with fans (shout out to Cthulhu Bunny, Kyle, and Robert), and sit down with my editor (Jeff Burk) and plan some shit for 2012 and 2013 that will make your heads explode. Awesome convention with energetic, creative people whom I like very much. I'm feeling the urge to write in a way I haven't all year, so I'm gonna go do that now…

*I understand that I'm a public figure, but I really don't care to have the public commenting here on the status of my relationship, so unlike most Blog entries, the comments for this one are locked.