Todd Keisling

Author of Horror / Speculative Fiction

Beers & Fears 2018 – Highlights

Todd

I’m a bit busy at the moment with other projects, but I wanted to take a moment to say that I had a blast at Spring House Brewery this past Saturday. I joined fellow authors Somer Canon & her husband Jessie (who is a bad movie–inside joke), Armand Rosamilia & his wife Shelly, Chuck Buda, Tim Meyer, Frank Edler, JC Walsh and his wife Colleen, and Jay Wilburn for the kickoff of the 2018 Beers & Fears tour. We drank some beer (their Mango IPA is excellent), sold some books, and had a blast hanging out with one another. Here are some photographic highlights:

That’s about it for now. I’ll have more on-sale info for THE SMILE FACTORY sometime next week.

Cheers,

TK

The Smile Factory

Todd

Well, after more than a decade, I finally wrote a story about my day job. And it’s a weird one, folks. Really weird. Probably the first story of mine that I’d actually consider 100% weird fiction, with a hint of cosmic and bizarro thrown in for good measure.

This story will be printed as a limited run chapbook and will debut at NECON 38 this July. I’ve already received questions about availability for sale online, and for now, I’m hesitant to commit to anything beyond this chapbook run. I’ll be doing this through Precipice (our first release since Rapino’s Moon Hill in 2016).

I’ve never done a formal chapbook before, but after collecting/reading the offerings of Jon Padgett, Barry Lee Desaju, Catherine Grant, Cat Scully, and Bracken MacLeod over the last several months, I’m eager to try this format.

Here’s the cover:

 

The story is approximately 9k words and will run about 30 pages or so. I’ll have more info as we get closer to NECON.

Stay tuned.

TK

Beers & Fears 2018!

Todd

I’ll be at Spring House Brewing on Saturday, May 12th along with Armand Rosamilia, Somer Canon, Tim Meyer, Chuck Buda, and Frank Edler for the first stop of the Beers & Fears 2018 tour. If you’re in the Reading/Lancaster/York area, join us for beers, talk horror, and buy a book or five!

B&N Highlights!

Todd

The weekend came and went, and so did the signing event at my local B&N. I had a great time, met some great authors, and sold a lot of books. I had to replenish stock of ULT halfway through the first day, and by the end, there were only six copies left in the store. I’d call that a success. I’ve already said this on social media, but I’ll say it again here: Thanks to everyone for coming out and showing your support. It means the world to me.

Here are some photos from the event:

New essay on InkHeist

Todd

I wrote a number of articles and essays last year for the ULT promotional blitz, and only one of them didn’t find a home. It’s a brutally honest piece about my dealings with depression and relating it to my experience reading Kathe Koja’s brilliant-yet-unsettling novel THE CIPHER.

Fast forward to last week. Shane Douglas Keene (Shotgun Logic) and Rich Duncan (The Horror Bookshelf) joined forces recently to establish the new review site, InkHeist. Shane reached out and asked if I had anything to contribute, and as fate would have it, I did have something they could use…

My essay, Placing Your Hand into the Void, went live on InkHeist last Wednesday. Since then, it’s received a fair bit of attention (all of which, I’m pleased to note, has been positive). Kathe herself even read it, retweeting the article on Twitter, which pretty much made my week.

Here’s an excerpt:

Reading Koja’s book was a weird turning point for me on a personal level. I enjoyed the book, but I don’t think I can read it again. It was claustrophobic and frantic, revolving around two hopeless people who were caught in a debilitating relationship like two planets destined to collide and obliterate one another. In all honesty, I don’t think I should’ve read it while being depressed—but that’s part of the point I’m trying to get at here. I didn’t realize I was depressed until I read the book.

You can read the full article here.

Expect more news soon.

TK

The Aurora Interview

Todd

Earlier this year, I was interviewed for the 2018 Spring edition of Aurora, Eastern Kentucky University’s literary journal. I talk a little bit about what it was like growing up in southeastern KY. Here’s a snippet:

Southeastern Kentucky isn’t known for being an intellectual mecca, so I had to find my creative outlets where I could. Comics, novels, video games, film, and drawing. Sports weren’t my thing, I wasn’t popular in school, I didn’t hang with the cool kids or wear the trendy clothes. I was a goth kid, wearing T-shirts for bands like Nine Inch Nails and Tool. I was the artsy kid, the English nerd, and in that respect, I’d say that it was also hazardous to my health.

You can read the whole thing (along with the rest of Aurora’s spring issue) right here. And please do–these kids worked hard on pulling this issue together.

TK

Signing Event: Barnes & Noble!

Todd

Heads up, folks. Just dropping in to let you all know I’ll be signing at the Barnes & Noble in Wyomissing, PA later this month. Special thanks goes out to my agent for arranging this gig!

Here are the details:

Broadcasting Square Shopping Center
2751 Paper Mill Road
Wyomissing, PA 19610
610-236-0100

Saturday, 4/28/18 – 1 to 4 PM

Sunday, 4/29/18 – 1 to 4 PM

Copies of ULT are in stock, so if you don’t have one (or if you’d like to buy another one–AND YOU SHOULD), they’ve got you covered.

So, if you’re local, or live within driving range, consider spending your Saturday or Sunday with me. I promise I’ll be weird!

See you there,

TK

In which I remember I have a website.

Todd

Okay, so I forgot to update this thing. Yeah. A lot’s happened since…when did I post last? January? Early February?

*checks website*

Shit. Mid-January. Okay, yeah. A lot has happened.

First and foremost, I FINISHED DEVIL’S CREEK!

178k words, folks. In ten months. For those of you who’ve followed this blog for a long time, you might remember the first draft of TLM took me 19 months. Devil’s Creek is almost twice that length in almost half the time. The book threw me a few surprises, but for the most part, it came together how I imagined it would. I’m currently doing a read-through to clean it up before sending it off to Amelia and a few select beta readers for feedback. There’s still a long way to go before it sees the light of day, but the hard part is done. Now I can sit back and relax, right?

No. I’m probably starting my next novel in May. It’s tentatively titled SPIDERS IN THE LATTICE. It’s a bit like Waco meets From Beyond. Or something like that. Hard to say, since it’s mostly swirling around in the soup of my brain.

I’ve also got a couple of stories out on submission, I’m outlining a non-fiction essay for submission, and there are a couple of other open calls I want to get to before starting on the next book.

So, no, I won’t be relaxing any time soon. Now that DC is done, I hope to get back to blogging again with some pseudo-regularity. Stay tuned.

TK

P.S. No, Final Rec didn’t get a Stoker nomination. Maybe next time.

“THE FINAL RECONCILIATION” is on the ballot!

Todd

I’m a little late in getting this posted, but in case you don’t follow me on social media, here’s the news: THE FINAL RECONCILIATION is on the Bram Stoker Awards Preliminary Ballot for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction! Voting occurs on January 30th, with the nominees being announced on February 5th. If you’re a voting member of the HWA and would like to receive a copy of my novella, please get in touch.

Not going to lie: I’m stoked and honored and kind of over the moon about this. I don’t write for awards, but goddamn, folks, it feels great to be recognized for something like this, especially from my peers. I’m on this list along with many other incredible writers.

Seriously, check this out:

2017 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot

Superior Achievement in a Novel

Barker, J.D. – The Fourth Monkey (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Golden, Christopher – Ararat (St. Martin’s Press)

Jemc, Jac – The Grip of It (FSG Originals)

King, Stephen and King, Owen – Sleeping Beauties (Scribner)

Malerman, Josh – Black Mad Wheel (Ecco)

McGrath, Patrick – The Wardrobe Mistress (Hutchinson)

Miskowski, S.P. – I Wish I Was Like You (JournalStone)

Nevill, Adam – Under a Watchful Eye (Pan Macmillan)

Rabarts, Dan and Murray, Lee – Hounds of the Underworld (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Purcell, Laura – The Silent Companions: A Ghost Story (Raven Books)

Tem, Steve Rasnic – Ubo (Solaris)

 

Superior Achievement in a First Novel

Cabeen, Robert Payne – Cold Cuts (Omnium Gatherum Media)

Davidson, Andy – In the Valley of the Sun (Skyhorse Publishing)

Hartwell, Ash – Tip of the Iceberg (Stitched Smile Publications)

Hayward, Matt – What do Monsters Fear? (Post Mortem Press)

Hepler, Jeremy – The Boulevard Monster (Bloodshot Books)

Rosson, Keith – The Mercy of the Tide (Meerkat Press)

Thomas, Scott – Kill Creek (Ink Shares)

 

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel

French, Gillian – The Door to January (Islandport Press)

Leveen, Tom – Hellworld (Simon Pulse)

Liggett, Kim – The Last Harvest (Tor Teen)

Lukavics, Amy – The Ravenous (Harlequin Teen)

Porter, Sarah – When I Cast Your Shadow (Tor Teen)

 

Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel

Carey, Mike and Arvind, Ethan David – Darkness Visible (IDW)

Duffey, Damian and Butler, Octavia E. – Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation (Abrams ComicArts)

Ferris, Emil – My Favorite Thing is Monsters (Fantagraphics)

Haun, Jeremy and Hurley, Jason – The Beauty Volume 3 (Image Comics)

Hickman, Jonathan – The Black Monday Murders (Image Comics)

Liu, Marjorie – Monstress Volume 2: The Blood (Image Comics)

 

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

Baxter, Alan – The Book Club (PS Publishing)

Deady, Tom – Weekend Getaway (Grinning Skull Press)

Edelman, Scott – Faking it Until Forever Comes (Liars, Fakers, and the Dead Who Eat Them) (Written Backwards)

Jones, Stephen Graham – Mapping the Interior (Tor.com)

Keisling, Todd – The Final Reconciliation (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Kiernan, Caitlín R. – Agents of Dreamland (Tor.com)

McGuire, Seanan – Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Tor.com)

Taylor, Lucy – Sweetlings (Tor.com)

Vandermeer, Jeff – The Strange Bird: A Borne Story (MCD x FSG Originals)

Waggoner, Tim – A Kiss of Thorns (DarkFuse)

 

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction

Bailey, Michael – “I Will Be the Reflection Until the End” (Tales from the Lake Vol. 4) (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Bodner, Hal – “The Baker of Millepoix” (Behold!: Oddities, Curiosities & Undefinable Wonders) (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Chambers, James – “A Song Left Behind in the Aztakea Hills” (Shadows Over Main Street, Volume 2) (Cutting Block Books)

Fawver, Kurt – “Etch the Unthinkable” (Gamut #1) (Gamut Magazine)

Lombardi, Nicola – “Even the Stars Fall” (The Beauty of Death Vol. 2: Death by Water) (Independent Legions Publishing)

Mannetti, Lisa – “Apocalypse Then” (Never Fear: The Apocalypse) (13Thirty Books)

Marceau, Caitlin – “No Filter” (Read-Only: A Collection of Digital Horror) (WatchMojo Publishing)

Neugebauer, Annie – “So Sings the Siren” (Apex Magazine #101) (Apex Publications)

Rourke, Naomi Brett – “Coyote” (Straight Outta Tombstone) (Baen)

Taff, John F.D. – “A Ware That Will Not Keep” (Behold!: Oddities, Curiosities & Undefinable Wonders) (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Wahl, M.F. – “Absolution” (Feverish Fiction Magazine Issue #6) (Sleazy Viking Press)

Walters, Damien Angelica – “All the Windows, All the Doors” (Chopping Block Party: An Anthology of Suburban Terror) (Necro Publications)

Yardley, Mercedes M. – “Loving you Darkly” (F(r)iction Magazine #8) (Tethered by Letters)

 

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection

Cain, Kenneth W. – Embers (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Cataneo, Emily B. – Speaking to the Skull Kings (Trepidatio Publishing)

Dorr, James – Tombs (Elder Signs Press)

Fracassi, Philip – Behold the Void (JournalStone)

Gafford, Sam – The Dreamer in Fire and Other Stories (Hippocampus Press)

Hill, Joe – Strange Weather (William Morrow)

Kiste, Gwendolyn – And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe (JournalStone)

Malerman, Josh – Goblin (Earthling Publications)

Matsuura, Thersa – The Carp-Faced Boy and Other Tales (Independent Legions Publishing)

McGrath, Patrick – Writing Madness (Centipede Press)

Sheldon, Deborah – Perfect Little Stitches and Other Stories (IFWG Publishing Australia)

 

Superior Achievement in a Screenplay

Aronofsky, Darren – Mother! (Paramount Pictures, Protozoa Pictures)

Del Toro, Guillermo and Taylor, Vanessa – The Shape of Water (TSG Entertainment, Double Dare You Productions)

Duffer, Matt and Duffer, Ross – Stranger Things: MadMax, Episode 02:01: Chapter One (21 Laps Entertainment, Monkey Massacre)

Ducournau, Julia – Raw (Frakas Productions/Petit Film/Rouge International)

Frost, Mark and Lynch, David – Twin Peaks: The Return “Gotta Light?”, Episode 3:08 (Rancho Rosa Partnership Production)

Palmer, Chase, Fukunaga, Cary, and Dauberman, Gary – It (New Line Cinema)

Peele, Jordan – Get Out (Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, QC Entertainment)

Shyamalan, M. Night – Split (Blinding Edge Pictures, Blumhouse Productions)

 

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

Bailey, Michael and Speegle, Darren – Adam’s Ladder (Written Backwards)

Brooks, Kinitra, PhD., Addison, Linda D., and Morris, Susana, PhD. – Sycorax’s Daughters (Cedar Grove Publishing)

Datlow, Ellen – Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales: An Anthology (Pegasus Books)

Eads, Ben – Tales from the Lake Vol. 4: The Horror Anthology (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Ferguson, Cin and Campbell, Broos – Mother’s Revenge: A Dark and Bizarre Anthology of Global Proportions (Scary Dairy Press)

Kaheaku, Danielle – California Screamin’ (Barking Deer Press)

Maberry, Jonathan and Romero, George A. – Nights of the Living Dead: An Anthology (St. Martin’s Griffin)

Manzetti, Alessandro and Lester, Jodi Renee – The Beauty of Death Vol. 2: Death by Water (Independent Legions Publishing)

Matthews, Mark – Garden of Fiends: Tales of Addiction Horror (Wicked Run Press)

Murano, Doug – Behold!: Oddities, Curiosities & Undefinable Wonders (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Price, David – Northern Frights: An Anthology by the Horror Writers of Maine (Grinning Skull Press)

 

Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction

Brittany, Michele – Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre (McFarland)

Brooks, Kinitra D. – Searching for Sycorax: Black Women’s Hauntings of Contemporary Horror (Rutgers University Press)

Cardin, Matt – Horror Literature through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories That Speak to Our Deepest Fears (Greenwood) 

Hendrix, Grady. Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of ‘70s and ‘80s Horror Fiction (Quirk Books)

Jones, Stephen – The Art of Horror Movies: An Illustrated History (Applause Theatre & Cinema Books; Ill edition)

Mynhardt, Joe and Johnson, Eugene – Where Nightmares Come From: The Art of Storytelling in the Horror Genre – (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Rhoads, Loren – 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die (Black Dog & Leventhal)

 

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection

Bolivar, Adam – The Lay of Old Hex: Spectral Ballads and Weird Jack Tales (Hippocampus Press)

Fantina, Michael – Alchemy of Dreams and Other Poems (Hippocampus Press)

Frazier, Robert and Boston, Bruce – Visions of the Mutant Rain Forest (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Hanson, Michael H. – When the Night Owl Screams (MoonDream Press)

Manzetti, Alessandro – No Mercy (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Ness, Mari – Through Immortal Shadows Singing (Papaveria Press)

Razvi, Saba – Heliophobia (Finishing Line Press)

Simon, Marge and Turzillo, Mary – Satan’s Sweethearts (Weasel Press)

Sng, Christina – A Collection of Nightmares (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Weikel, Cynthia O’Quinn – Return to Graveyard Dust (Goose River Press)

Wytovich, Stephanie M. – Sheet Music to my Acoustic Nightmare (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

***
So yeah, there you have it. I just wanted to mention that. I know I’ve been lax with updating this blog, but I’ve been busy with the book. Speaking of which, DEVIL’S CREEK is currently 126k words long and is officially the longest thing I’ve ever written. I’ve still got a ways to go before typing “THE END” but I can see the end in sight. I’m thinking another 50k will do it–about 25k more than I thought.

Right. I’m diving back under the water. Wish me luck!

TK