PETRICHOR PRIZE WINNER
FOR
FINELY CRAFTED FICTION
COMING FROM
REGAL HOUSE PRESS
FALL 2025
On the shores of a vast and ancient lake stands a tiny cottage
where Franny Hale once raised her children over a century ago.
Now, the cottage has been sold to a woman seeking a simpler life, but
Franny remains, tipping paintings, chilling the air, pushing papers to the floor, and appearing again and again, shadowy, restless, and wanting.
The narrator—whose name remains a mystery—shares her own memories and reflections, weaving together fragments of the past that are both surprising and ordinary. As summer unfolds and the days grow shorter,
the ghostly presence of Franny begins to fade, leaving behind questions of what remains after the story seems to conclude.
Come Back, I Love You (A Ghost Story) invites readers to explore the intertwining of memory and existence, revealing that every narrative, filled with tragedy or triumph, may not truly end. Is a final
breath or sigh the end, or merely a transition into something new?
This haunting tale challenges the boundaries of life and legacy, bidding contemplation on what lingers in the spaces we leave behind.
"There’s a sweetness here of the finest, non-cloying variety that sneaks up on you, leaves you rooting for our hero, and, finally, leaves you breathless."
Andrew Furman, author of Jewfish & The World That We Are
"With a voice as ethereal and luminous as the novel’s subject, Kathleen Novak lulls the reader across the thin line between here and the hereafter, exploring how we show up for others—or don’t, creating our own fleeting realities."
Margaret Hutton, author of If You Leave
"Come Back, I Love You is a poetic, gothic pentimento of leaving and finding home."
Carolyn Colburn, author of Morlocks in the Basement and Minimum Maintenance
"Here is a novel of easy warmth and great charm, dealing with love, loss, and a ghostly presence demanding attention."
Faith Sullivan, author of The Cape Ann & many others
