The premise of LAST WRITES is simple. Our guests face their final rest, but before Death claims them they are granted a few parting earthly pleasures, the memories of which will travel with them into the great unknown. What makes these questions appealing and insightful for me is that these are not necessarily our guests favorite things, but those they most want to experience one last time before they shuffle off this mortal coil.

Welcome to the Sixth Season of Last Writes. It’s been awhile. After a long hiatus, it feels good to be back from the proverbial dead, risen once more to address those morbid questions that matter. It’s a special day for me. While I always thrill at the guests who join me at this virtual table, I did not need to travel far to pay my final respects to the author who is with us for this inaugural resurrection.

Connor Landon Freeman is a talented young writer of fantasy and horror fiction. He is also my son. It goes without saying, I am extremely proud of him. And, as a first reader of his work, I have to admit, it’s a thrill to have the opportunity to consume his work before the rest of you. I get to witness the nuts and bolts of it. As a writer, seeing my son take up the mantle has always felt humbling. He caught the bug as a child and was always a natural storyteller.

Connor’s debut novel, Book One in the Wight Wyrm Chronicles, The Wolf at the Door is a blistering, coming-of-age fantasy series. Today, the 1st of July, is the book birthday of his horror novel, Darkest in the Light, which shows his ability to both excite and terrify in this gripping yarn that expertly walks that tight rope between the real and surreal. It’s a helluva ride.

All of his stories can be found at his Author’s Page at Amazon. and you can most commonly find him hanging out on his YouTube channel.

So, now without further ado, let us to pay our final respects here in the Occult Detective Mortuary. We have everything prepared to give him a proper sendoff into the great hereafter. Let us gather together as the Last Writes of Connor Landon Freeman are offered up.

LAST MEAL:

As I am an avid carnivore and a lover of comfort food, I feel I might turn to something hearty and filling (though I shudder to think how my earthly remains might be affected). So my answer for this one is…fried chicken (heavily peppered) and buttery mashed potatoes. The meal calls to mind fond memories of home, growing up in rural Indiana.

For dessert, a more elegant treat of cinnamon bread, paired nicely with a glass of cold, sweet milk. The meal makes me feel like nobility, in a way, and I can think of nothing better.

LAST BOOK:

My forever favorite is J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and I feel it would also prolong my stay in this reality, as it is, I must admit, really, very, long. And being a story about grief and loss, PTSD, immorality, doing the right thing, and overcoming insurmountable odds, I think it would prepare me for my departure from the land of the living in a way few other experiences could.

LAST MOVIE:

This…is difficult. It would be easy to suggest something esoteric, or something amusing. I can’t decide, but in my last moments I’m sure I’d know which one I’d prefer. If something funny, and charming, and perhaps uplifting, my choice is 2008’s Role Models, starring Paul Rudd. What can I say? There are good gags in that movie, and it has some nerdy elements, which I do appreciate. It could ease the burden of my impending death with levity.

If I should be in the mood for a serious movie, which could be more spiritually fulfilling, my vote is Robert Eggers’ The Northman, a movie involving Norse magic and mythology, revenge, depression, and horror. It is a retelling of the same myth that inspired Hamlet, and it shows. Also, the movie includes some of the greatest actors of multiple generations, from Willem Dafoe to Anya Taylor-Joy, all of whom help to sell the dark Norse universe presented.

LAST SONG:

Oh, I’m not sure. I do love my spooky, creepy, ghost songs. Maybe Ghost Story or Blacksnake by Charming Disaster, my favorite band. Or…The Battle of Evermore, by Led Zeppelin, which has some of my favorite vocals iand a few good Tolkien references. Across the Universe by The Beatles used to be my favorite song, but my opinions have changed dramatically as of late. I think, in the end, I would go for Charming Disaster, as their songs speak to me on a personal level, and it’s just…my…style. Ghost Story, I think.

FIRST PERSON YOU’D LIKE TO MEET ON THE OTHER SIDE:

I do prescribe to the belief that there is next to no and/or limited time (as a concept) in the afterlife, that perhaps those who’ve come before AND after are joined together in the great beyond, side by side. So…while I am currently single, I believe I’d like my FUTURE wife to be waiting for me on the other side. Not that she’d be dead before me, but that in the wibbly wobbly, timey wimey soup of the afterlife, we’d be able to find each other even then. “Swear until death do we part, but for us that’s just the start.”

That was terrific. My most heartfelt thanks to Connor for being the first interred for Season Six. We have a great slate of guests ahead, including Judika Illes, Christopher Penczak, Dustin Pari, Mark Burford (better known as Field Lines Cartographer) and more…

Until next time, treat each day as it might be your last.