Review of Serenity Falls Writ in Blood

Writ in Blood tell the story of a pleasant little town in upstate New York and the man who makes it his duty to write the history of his fair town.

Through his investigations he learns the town's history isn't what many believe it to be. In actuality it's much darker and depraved.
And what does one Jonathan Crowley have to do with any of this? The answers all lie in the Falls.

I don't often recommend books to people. Everyone's taste is different and what I may enjoy, might bore someone else to tears. This is that one exception.
"Writ in Blood" is the first book in the Serenity Falls trilogy and, from page one, it grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go.

The atmosphere, characters and plots are expertly crafted by Moore. You will find yourself caring about, and hating some of the individuals in Serenity. Beautifully well written in every aspect.
The matter of fact way Moore writes lend versimilitude to aspects of the novel. I found myself wanting to look up the location of Serenity Falls. I wanted to do research on the historical characters within its pages. I had no choice, I was entranced.
If there is a book that needs to be read by fans of dark fiction or horror, this is the one. Ripe with realistic characters, believable situations and just enough uncomfortable situations to make you squirm in the right way.
Once you visit the Falls, you'll never want to leave...not that you'll be able to.

James Moore, author of the series was gracious enough to answer a few questions for me. My thanks to him for his time and talent.

Who were your influences?

Lord, that’s always a challenging question. I’ll run down a partial list: Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Clive Barker, Dick Laymon, Charles L. Grant, Anne Rice, Washington Irving, Mark Twain, John Irving, Isaac Asimov, ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson and probably about a thousand more. I think everything I?ve read has influenced me in one way or another.

'Writ in Blood" was written with three sub chapters telling, in essence, three different stories that all pertain to each other.
How hard was it to keep everything straight in your head?

Not hard at all. I think my brain is just hardwired the wrong way. I can read four books and write four books simultaneously and never lose my place. On the other hand, I can barely remember the names of my neighbors.

Why tell a story in such a way?

Part of being a writer, for me, is constantly experimenting to see what works for me and what doesn’t. In the case of SERENITY FALLS I spent a year of my life weaving a very, very big tapestry. I wanted to cover the town’s history and give depth to it before everything exploded.


Serenity Falls is so real that it could very well be my town. Did you base Serenity (or any of it's inhabitants) on actual places or people?

Wow! Thanks for that. That’s a very nice thing to hear. No, actually. I have lived all over the country and have always been fascinated by smaller towns, but I prefer to create them from scratch. Naturally, there are certain aspects of small towns that are universal, so it was just a matter of approaching them from the right perspective and incorporating them into the whole picture of Serenity Falls.

How much fun is it to write Crowley?

Well, he's the only character I've done to date who is the main hero of five novels, so using that as a guide, it's a blast. He's politically incorrect, rude, sometimes violent and the very first person to notice the flaws of everyone around him and take advantage of them.

Where did he come from?

Crowley's been in my head for years. His first appearance was in UNDER THE OVERTREE, but that's just where he showed up first. I was toying with him long before I started writing any novels. Mostly he qualifies as a "wouldn't THAT be fun" character who grew on me.

Is there any talk of a movie(s) based on the trilogy?

There have been a few nibbles of interest, but most people read to the end of SERENITY FALLS (I hope) and realize it would be one hell of a lot of work. So, unfortunately, Peter Jackson, Steven Speilberg and others have not yet come forward with any offers.

"Writ in Blood" is as astounding as it is enjoyable. Everything about the book jumps out at he reader. You capture emotion and the human condition very well. I guess my question would be, why horror?

Well, I think horror is a perfect way to study the human condition. It’s one thing to look at people when their lives are orderly, and another to see how they might crumble when the pressure is added. How can you know the difference between a buddy and a friend until you’re in a time of crisis?

The other argument is, of course, that I’d probably suck at mysteries, and I’ve never been overly fond of romance novels.


You can buy James A. Moore books at www.MagusPressBooks.com, including Serenity Falls and Harvest Moon.