Everything Is Just Beginning

This is a warm, musical coming-of-age story set as the ’80s flip to the ’90s in metro Detroit. Michael Sullivan is 22, broke, and sleeping at his uncle’s falling-down trailer when he stumbles into a glamorous New Year’s Eve party at producer Dusty Wheeler’s home. There he meets Dusty’s daughter, Natalie—sharp, candid, and blind—along with Natalie’s luminous mother, Deb, a retired singer whose kindness disarms him.

From a house full of rare guitars and reel-to-reels to midnight listening sessions and homemade dinners, Michael is welcomed into a family that believes music can still tell the truth. He and Natalie begin writing together. She pushes him to get honest. He challenges her to take risks. And together, they start to climb—through demos, fights, forgiveness, and one make-or-break set at Saint Andrew’s Hall.

But life isn’t a neat verse-chorus-bridge. Michael’s absent father resurfaces behind a drum kit. An impossible koi pond becomes a muddy hole with mastodon bones. Deb is slipping away. And just when everything begins to work, Natalie has to choose her next step.

What if your first real band is the one that shows you who you are? What if family is found where you didn’t expect it? And what if the truest feeling is an ache that somehow becomes hope?

• Fans of music-driven fiction and found-family stories
• Readers who love character-forward coming-of-age arcs with heart
• Anyone who’s ever chased a creative dream and needed courage to tell the truth

Erin Bartels writes character-rich, music-infused novels set in the Midwest. An award-winning author and publishing professional of more than twenty years, she has a gift for writing flawed, hopeful people you’ll want to root for. She lives in Lansing, Michigan, with her husband and their son.