It’s been ages since I’ve done a Five Things Friday. A few of you mentioned to me off the grid over the past year this is one of your favorite segments at Roads Lesser Traveled. I’ve been extra busy these days, but hopefully this is worth the wait. Thank you to those who apply.

One: As you know, I have a new horror collection coming out on June 20th, Bringing in the Creeps. I also finished a new horror novel earlier this month and it is now in the hands of a prospective literary agent. I have every digit crossed she takes it on. Since then, I’ve written one flash fiction piece for submission, and I’m nearly finished a new horror short story. Because I’m just that driven (or insane, maybe), over the Memorial weekend, I began some deep researching and reach outs to a few key names from whom I’d love their insight for this next book. I then fleshed out the first eight chapters in a working outline that I’m not yet ready to begin writing, but it feels good. It feels right.

During the ’80s, I was delved into comic books, Stephen King and Conan the Barbarian novels, heavy metal mags and of course, Fangoria and GoreZone. My teenage bedroom was a shrine to metal, punk and horror. Wallpapered every inch. When I moved out, we laughed at what Swiss cheese I had made of the walls from all that tacking up. Most of the horror stuff were cut out of Fango and GZ to the point I later regretted doing that. Many of those mags have since been recovered and are proving their worth in my current research. You CAN go back, it’s true.

My next major horror project is already cooking inside my head, but this one’s going to take a good bit of development and research before I do actual writing. When you have such a daunting task, you start with the Bloody Best.

Two: For my birthday a few weeks ago, my wife took me out to an Americanized British pub in Columbia, MD called Union Jack’s. With a British take on an Irish Guinness stew, I was in heaven, as the gravy was thicker and richer, pairing beautifully with a Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale. Like their southward neighbors, the British get beer right. Fermenting the hops in stone receptacles, Samuel Smith’s entire line are the cleanest tasting beers of anyone.

She also gave me a new oracle deck to go with my other three and a self-healing book channeling the divine energies of the Egyptian goddess, Sekhmet. She and Anubis are probably my two best friends in the esoteric realm, but it would take me two paragraphs to list the other deities aside from Jesus Christ who have touched me in some spiritual fashion, some in great manner, others fleeting and transitory, but palpable.

I’m still a novice with my oracle and tarot decks, but they do speak to me. I hit a short emotional rut soon after a wonderful birthday (for reasons that don’t even matter any longer) and thus I consulted my new Anubis Oracle. This after drawing Horus three consecutive times in my Egyptian Gods deck, letting me know I am protected at all times.

Anubis being Horus’ half-brother, I should’ve expected no less than to draw their shared father, Osiris, the Jesus figure of the Egyptian pantheon. The mighty king, murdered and torn apart by his own brother, Set, Osiris’ sectioned parts were recovered, and he was restored to life through the magic of his beloved sister and wife, Isis and his other sister (with whom he’d coupled to bring about Anubis), Nephthys. King of the afterlife, king of the unseen world, risen from the dead. Osiris’ message to me was quite clear and I am taking it to heart. Prepare to section off, break down, reimagine myself. Reinvent myself, purge bad habits, make void of things which impede my progress, as a human being, as a man, as a husband and father. Hails, to that.

Three: Now going to Season 25, the always intriguing BBC whodunit series, Midsomer Murders mysteries. TJ and I started binging this fantastic British crime series while we were dating and we check in with it as new stuff becomes available. It’s to the point we call out “Pub!” since every episode is guaranteed to drop into a public house. I was on a hot streak for a while calling out the right killer based on evidence or simple hunches based on subtle behavior or body language. I cooled off as the writing got trickier, but this week, my wife nailed a back episode we missed, being a mystery author herself. I will always love this show and ache to visit the Yorkshire region for more reasons beyond this enduring show.

Four: I know my bourbon buddies are lingering out there. While the Metallica backed Blackened and Legent remain the finest bourbons I’ve ever had, there’s this little badass whiskey, Slaughter House. It’s deceptively smooth and seemingly cut light. Not so! Delicious stuff, but take it down with respect. There’s a reason to the name!

Five: This week’s Five Things Fridays comes with the stark mood scape of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto’s incredible score for The Revenant. Leonardo DiCaprio’s finest hour (and the man’s had many) turns a decade this year, crikey! I remember seeing The Revenant in the theater with my Pop on the one of the biggest screens short of IMAX and I began to stand up in the early frames feeling I was truly there, immersed. One of the most beautifully shot films in American cinema aside from Jeremiah Johnson. Masterpiece.

Bonus: I love my wife. Over and out.

–Ray Van Horn, Jr.