July 2023: Flying Saucer Tour

Hi, I'm braindead and have nothing witty to write here.

“I’ve been on what I call my ‘flying saucer tour,’ appearing in small Southern towns in front of handfuls of hillbillies.” - Bill Hicks¹

I’m late and I’ve got a lot of ground to cover, but first…

She’s ornery, she pukes too much, she’s mean to her brothers, and she refuses to let us brush her…but I love her anyway. Ophelia is my shadow, and sits with me pretty much every time I’m in my office. I snapped this photo a couple of weeks ago while working on rewrites (more on that later). Whenever I’m stuck on a scene, I ask her about it, and she usually has something to say.

Anyway. Hi, I’m Todd Keisling, and this is Messages from the Southland, my (mostly) monthly newsletter. Prior issues can be found here. Comments are turned on, so you’re welcome to drop me a line if you want. I like hearing from you.

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To begin, I know I’m a week late. I’ve been busy. I will be busy for the foreseeable future. I will be busy for so long that I will no longer remember what it’s like to not be busy. This is the way it should be.

July of Dread

July. A sweltering month. There were two big events I attended: the inaugural Steel City Screams reading series, and Camp Necon. Both came and went in a flash. I read, I hung out with my friends, I traveled, and I crashed hard after both events. Both were, by all accounts, a fantastic time.

This was my first in-person Necon since 2019, so I was long overdue for New England shenanigans and camaraderie. I also participated in the Necon Art Show this year, marking the first time I’ve displayed my visual work since high school.

Special shout-outs are in order for Cat Scully and Tommy Clark, my con mom and dad, who were my designated safe spaces for the weekend. Erica opted to stay home that weekend to rest so I was flying solo. Cat and Tommy stepped up to the plate and made sure I was eating enough so my sugar didn’t crash. Big love, you two.

And many thanks to everyone who bought a book or a print that weekend! It was a validating experience and I hope to do it again sometime.

If you missed out on the prints, I have the remaining stock in my shop for purchase.

(Back) On the Road

I’m writing this on a Monday afternoon. In two days, I’m leaving for the final leg of the Summer of Dread: four dates in Kentucky, beginning this Thursday in Ashland, KY at Conquest Books & Coffee.

Here’s the full rundown:

AUG 10th - Conquest Books & Coffee - Ashland, KY - 3pm to 6pm

AUG 11th - Butcher Cabin Books - Louisville, KY - 6pm to 8pm

AUG 12th - Barnes & Noble - Lexington, KY - 2pm to 4pm

AUG 13th - The Taleless Dog Booksellers w/ Laurel Hightower-Wells - Berea, KY - 3pm to 5pm

All free admission. I may also have some early copies of COLD, BLACK & INFINITE on hand at one of these events, but I can’t say which. You’ll just have to go to all four events for a chance to claim one… ;-)

These four events may end the Summer of Dread, but there are more appearances yet to come this year. Stay tuned!

Words and Words and Words

I screwed up my calendar last month with regard to a writing deadline for an anthology invitation. I thought my story was due on September 1st. Turns out it was August 1st. I realized this a few days before Necon, so I had no choice but to get started while I was at Necon.

I know, writing at a writers conference is such a foreign concept, but I managed to get a good 500 words down that Saturday. I proceeded to chip away at said story every day the following week, and submitted it on the deadline date. It’s called “Little House on the Borderland” and is approximately 5.8k words.

I have no idea if it will be accepted and that’s fine. I had fun writing it, and if it doesn’t make it into that anthology, I can always sub it somewhere else. Erica seemed to enjoy it, though, so that makes it all worth it.

Once it was submitted, I pivoted back to work on THE SUNDOWNER’S DANCE rewrites. I managed to wrap up the first three chapters and send them off to my agent just before I left for Necon, and she gave them an enthusiastic thumbs up, so we’re on the same page there. I’ve been cranking away every day since, slowly integrating new fiction into the existing manuscript to better flesh out some of the setting and characters.

I kept the manuscript pretty lean in its first draft, added about 10k to it during the second, and tightened things up in the third. This time around, I’m moving some plot elements around and adjusting other aspects of the narrative as I go. The idea (in theory) is that the revisions go faster as I progress into the story, as a lot of the work that needs to be done is within the first 30% of the book. So, it’s slow-going in terms of progress, but will pick up over time.

My goal is to finish this thing by September 1st so Becky can begin shopping it around. I think I’ve already added about 10k to the story, but this time I’m doing everything in Scrivener scene by scene, so I have no idea what the total count is at the moment.

One more thing: I got this beautiful hardcover edition of COLD, BLACK & INFINITE in the mail from Cemetery Dance. It’s fucking gorgeous, folks. I can’t wait for you all to hold this in your hands.

Currently Digesting:

• Silent Key by Laurel Hightower

• Danse Macabre by Stephen King

• End of the Road by Brian Keene²

• Fallout 4 - Xbox

• Vampire Survivors - Xbox

• Killer Frequency - PC / Steam

• Talk to Me - This is one of the best horror films I’ve seen in a while. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should. The less you know about it, the better. Just go enjoy the experience.

More to Come

I have more to say, especially with regard to today’s debacle around Prosecraft and AI, but I frankly don’t have time to get into it right now³. Zachary Rosenberg has already said it more succinctly than I ever could: “How dare you.” You can read the whole viral thread here. And when you’re done, go check out Zach’s work!

I’ll get to it when I’ve finished this rewrite of TSD.

In the meantime, folks, I’ll see you on the road!

TK

1. Hi, it’s me. I’m a former hillbilly. Hi.

2. Pretty sure he signed this book with my stolen pen.

3. TL;DR - Keep your fucking AI away from my work. This goes for every other author’s work, too.