5/22/26
Picked Dallas up from the hospital last night around 7:30pm. Thanks to all the staff, particularly Nurse Kety. I warned you he was a charmer. I suspect he may be sending a Thank-You gift soon. ;-)
Anyway, he’s on special cat food now — both wet and dry — for the rest of his life, which means the other cats are also on special cat food for the rest of their lives.
Meanwhile, the kiddo technically finished high school yesterday, upon completion of his final final exam. He has two parades to march in with marching band this weekend, and practice for graduation early next week, but other than that, he doesn’t have to go in until next week’s graduation ceremony.
And Grandma has been transferred to a private room at a 24/7 in-patient rehab. She’s doing as well as a 100 and ½ year old patient with our genetics and a fractured pelvis and fractured ribs can be expected to be doing. Taking it day by day.
The start of summer has been quite full here at Casa Keenegiovanni. I could do with a break.
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THE B&N SLOP STORE — Keeneversations — Episode 45
James Daunt, CEO of Barnes and Noble, says he's okay selling AI-generated books through their chain of stores. Brian and Mary have something to say about that. Listen now, so that when Brian is in trouble next week, you can say you heard it first!
Available on Patreon, Spotify, and Brian Keene dot com. As always, new episodes are paywalled for the first month.
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Women In Horror Year: Day 41
Lair of the Lion by Christine Feehan
A classic from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan, Lair of the Lion is a dark-edged and enthralling take on the beloved “Beauty and the Beast” fairy tale. It is the breathtaking story of a beautiful, penniless aristocrat who promises herself to the handsome, powerful, mysterious, and not wholly human Don Nicolai DeMarco in order to free her imprisoned brother—even though legend has it that the Don will destroy any woman he weds. Perhaps best known for her bestselling “Dark” series, featuring the haunted and mesmerizing immortal Carpathians, Feehan is arguably the biggest name in paranormal historical romance—and any reader who loves passionate love stories tinged with the supernatural should enter the Lair of the Lion.
Full disclosure — I’m not as knowledgeable about the history of Paranormal Romance as I am some of Horror’s other subgenres and spin-offs and siblings, but I do know that while I was reinventing zombies for a new generation during my time at Leisure Books, my fellow Leisure stablemate Christine Feehan was doing the same for amourous vampires, shapeshifters, and other creatures of the night. Anne Rice, Karen Taylor, Les Daniels, and Fred Saberhagen paved that road, but it was Christine who ignored the speed limit signs and bent that road to her will. Although much of her nearly 100 books are parts of various series, Lair of the Lion (originally published by Leisure with their cover below) is a standalone novel, and a great introduction to her work. Reprinted in paperback, eBook, and audiobook via Piatkus.
