Let me start with the good news.

Past Mistakes, the first Emily Voss novel, is complete.

I disappeared for four years. What happened? Life got in the way, in many different ways. Enough said.

I frequently thought about returning to Emily Voss and her battle with demons in New York, but I didn't want to start unless I could commit to it.

When I started writing again, I didn't want to relaunch this mailing list until I had something to say and a promise I could keep.

What’s next?

So I'm back, after several years, and I wrote "The End" at the bottom of my manuscript a couple of weeks ago. Past Mistakes is a 102,000-word urban fantasy novel that follows Emily Voss, an exorcist accidentally bound to a demon due to a tragic error in her youth, who now battles demons in New York. Early readers gave the first 3 chapters 4.6 stars. I gave the remaining chapters the same care and attention. I wanted to do justice to that initial vote of confidence.

Complete doesn’t mean publication-ready. Between now and launch, there's beta reading, revision, cover design, and ARC recruitment. Timeline: First half of 2026. More details next week on what each stage involves

If you're interested in being a beta reader, please get in touch (hit reply), but if you prefer to just read the book rather than provide detailed feedback, then this list will be the first place I send out invitations for ARC readers in 2-3 months.

What you’ll get while you wait

Starting next week, you’ll get an email every other week with:

·        Character deep-dives from Past Mistakes

·        Free short stories (urban fantasy, literary fiction)

·        Behind-the-scenes on the writing and revision process

·        A first look at the cover when it’s ready

·        First shot at becoming an ARC reader

You should have been able to download “A First Time For Everything” when subscribing

This short story is the prologue to Past Mistakes. It’s Emily’s first solo exorcism, before she knew what she was doing. If you didn’t receive it, you can download it with this link:

Download "A First Time for Everything"

If you're not interested after four years of silence, I understand. Unsubscribe link is at the bottom. No hard feelings.

Thanks for sticking around.

Nick.