Welcome to Fallow County. Watch Which Road You Take.

2 hours ago

3 min read

I've always been drawn to places that feel as though they're keeping secrets.

An old house with a locked room. A narrow road disappearing into the woods. A small town where everyone knows everyone else's business, except for the things that matter most.

I remember when Twin Peaks first came on television, and how fascinated I was by the wonderfully quirky personalities David Lynch created. There was something irresistible about those eccentric characters, their complicated relationships, and the sense that almost everyone in town had a secret. I loved how the ordinary and the bizarre could exist so comfortably together, and how the town itself seemed to have a personality all its own.

Over the years, I've also had the opportunity to visit many small towns throughout America while pursuing my own genealogy research. Those trips have taken me to places I might never have visited otherwise, and along the way, I've met some wonderfully quirky characters in real life, too. I've also spent time exploring old, abandoned homes dating back to the 1800s, something I've always found fascinating. I can't help wondering about the families who once lived in them, what their everyday lives were like, and what stories those empty rooms could tell. Every town seems to have its own personality, its local history, and those unforgettable individuals who give a community its particular charm.

Between those experiences and my fond memories of Twin Peaks, I developed a real affection for the idea of creating a fictional community with its own eccentric personalities, complicated histories, and secrets that generations of residents have managed to keep.

Those were some of the inspirations behind The Fallow County Novels, my supernatural series set in a fictional county in the Adirondacks.

Fallow County is very much its own world, with its own characters and mythology, but I think those earlier influences helped shape the kind of place I wanted to create.

On the surface, Fallow County seems like the sort of place you might visit for a quiet weekend. There are mountains, forests, old houses, and the particular charm of a community where generations of families have lived.

But Fallow County has a few unusual residents.

Vampires. Werewolves. Witches. Fae.

And they've been sharing the county for a very long time, although sharing might be too generous a word.

At the center of the series is Samantha Keating, a widowed novelist who purchases Blackthorne Manor, an old house with a history far more complicated than she could possibly imagine.

Samantha arrives hoping for a new beginning. Instead, she finds herself drawn into a world governed by ancient agreements, supernatural boundaries, and secrets that have survived for generations.

Blackthorne itself plays an important role. I love the idea that a house can become almost as much a character as the people who inhabit it. Its history matters. Its rooms matter. And the roads connected to it lead to places Samantha never dreamed existed.

Then there are the people who complicate her life, particularly Owen Maddox, Colin Weatherson, and Sheriff Trystan Holt.

One of my favorite aspects of writing a series is having enough room to let characters grow and change. Relationships evolve. Loyalties are tested. People make decisions they never imagined making when their stories began.

And sometimes, as happens in Fallow County, the past becomes considerably more accessible than anyone intended.

As the series progresses, the mysteries extend beyond the county's supernatural boundaries. Time itself becomes part of the story, opening possibilities that challenge everything the characters thought they understood about their lives.

I particularly enjoy writing about people who find themselves caught between the ordinary lives they expected and the extraordinary circumstances they've inherited.

Samantha certainly never anticipated becoming responsible for maintaining peace among supernatural beings.

She probably would have thought twice about buying Blackthorne Manor if she'd known what was waiting for her.

Then again, where would the fun be in that?

If you enjoy supernatural mysteries, complicated relationships, atmospheric old houses, and a little time travel, I invite you to visit Fallow County.

Just be careful which road you take.