Serenity

FriesenPress Bestseller and Staff Pick!

The year is 2104. Nearly thirty years ago, the wealthy and powerful escaped a dying Earth, fleeing to Command One, a vast space station drifting through the stars in search of a new home. Over the years, ships returned to collect those deemed worthy. Now only one final ship remains. It is humanity’s last chance to leave a collapsing planet behind. Sam Powell, his wife Mel, daughter Iris, and mother Carla have survived in isolation in the Colorado wilderness. But when they intercept a transmission about the final departure from New York, they know this is their only chance to escape. The journey across a broken America will push them to their limits. Ruthless survivors, violent cults, mutated wildlife, and the unforgiving Earth itself stand in their way. Every step threatens their lives and tests the bonds that hold them together. Set in the universe of Euphoria (2022, Ukiyoto), Serenity reveals the story of those left behind. Where Euphoria explored humanity’s future among the stars, Serenity is a raw, gripping portrait of survival on the planet they abandoned. Because freedom is never promised. And survival always comes at a price.

Behind The Cover:

Serenity is the second novel in the Euphoria trilogy. Whether you’ve read the first one or you’re taking a leap into Serenity, you are in luck. Serenity features brand new characters, a new setting, and an entirely new story. Set in the same universe as Euphoria, it takes place three decades before Theo Bentega’s journey.

I started writing Serenity back in 2022 while I was wrapping up Euphoria. Even then, I knew I wanted to take things further. There was a larger story waiting to be told, one that would bring us back home to Earth. Euphoria hints at a deep backstory through bits and pieces, so it felt inevitable that I’d need to fill in the blanks.

I took a lot of inspiration from works like Fallout, I Am Legend, The Last of Us, Midsommar, and even elements of The Revenant. As with most of my writing, much of the day-to-day inspiration came from listening to music. This time it was specific to 1940s to 1970s folk tunes. Like Euphoria, I built a playlist of songs that I’d listen to during my commute from work. These really helped me get into the zone and dream up new situations and story elements that shaped the world. You can find the playlist below.

There were a few things I wanted to accomplish that I felt weren’t as highlighted in Euphoria. First: the characters. Euphoria focuses primarily on two leads, while Serenity centers around a core trio. Throughout their journey, they encounter more than 30 unique characters, each with distinct personalities and roles.

At the heart of the story is Sam Powell, a father who finds comfort in the home he has built for his family. He is not a fan of change, but as his world begins to collapse, he is forced to decide whether to stay behind or risk everything to give his daughter, Iris, a chance at a future aboard Command One, the last shuttle carrying humanity to safety. His anchor is his wife, Mel. She is caring, resourceful, and an expert marksman. Mel sees through people’s facades and questions every decision to ensure their choices are deliberate and calculated. Iris plays a vital role in the story. As a young child, she absorbs the diverse beliefs and perspectives of those left behind on Earth, and that understanding becomes crucial by the time the finale unfolds.

Second: expanding the setting. Euphoria takes place in a relatively condensed area on the planet Eden. For Serenity, I wanted to explore more diverse environments and dangers. The contrast between Colorado’s rich wilderness and the concrete chaos of New York felt like the perfect backdrop. I also spent time in West Virginia as a key setting—where the tone of the story shifts. There’s a brief but focused stretch that scratches my long-standing itch to write something with a classic Western feel. That spirit lives in one of my favorite side characters, Dixon, who brings a sense of old-world grit, solitude, and rugged decency that felt straight out of a dusty frontier. His section in West Virginia ended up being one of the most satisfying parts of the book for me to write.

Lastly: developing characters more deeply. I wanted the stakes to feel real. There’s something visceral about a father navigating a treacherous world while trying to protect his family that really struck the chord I was aiming for. With such a broad cast, the main trio is constantly learning, adapting, and overcoming new challenges, where even the reader can’t always tell who to trust.

There’s a lot of raw human experience in Serenity, showing what happens when people are pushed to their absolute limits and where their moral compasses ultimately lie. That’s incredibly important to set the stage for what’s coming in the third novel.

Jump into the world of Serenity with the playlist that kept me company hundreds—maybe even thousands—of times during the writing process.

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Euphoria