GLENDALE, Ariz. - Arizonar -- What began as a 200-word response to a flash fiction prompt at the 2015 Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative at Arizona State University seeded a novel that took a decade to publish.

The story prompt was a concept that haunted Lydick well beyond the 2015 conference. Made into a 6,000-word short story later that same year (2015), then 12,000 words, she pressed on with the concept. The main character, the moral dilemma, and the issue of climate change were too important to let rest. By 2021, the project had become a complete 72,000-word novel ready for publication. Almost.

Lydick applied for and received a full scholarship to the 2021 Grub Street Muse & The Marketplace Conference to work on her pitching skills and attempt to find an agent. But Lydick decided to self-publish.

Now, 5 years after its written completion, Lydick has published the novel, and Nichola Rodale, the main character in Everything That's Left Behind, has been given the page space that she is due.

Set in near future Phoenix, Arizona, after The Great Drought, character Rodale has followed in her father's footsteps, joining an elite team dedicated to creating a sustainable future for humanity. But when she stumbles upon information suggesting her father—a renowned scientist and brilliant puzzle maker—may not have died during The Great Drought as everyone believes, she begins to question everything, including the organization for which she works.

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Susan Pohlman, author of Halfway to Each Other: How a Year in Italy Brought Our Family Home, says "Everything That's Left Behind offers a stunning look at the American Southwest, its environmental fragility, and the dilemmas of climate change. A parable unto its own, it's a compelling page turner that will keep you up at night until the very end."

About the Author: Kelly Lydick's writing has appeared in Natural Awakenings, Co Yoga + Life, True Blue Spirit, American Art Collector, Western Art Collector, and many others. She has been featured on NPR's The Writers' Block and the Word podcast, and on iHeart radio. She is the author of the experimental Mastering the Dream, a contributing author to the anthology Dreams That Change Our Lives, and the author of Dream Incubation for Greater Self-Awareness: A Handbook. This is her first novel. Her website is www.kellylydick.com

Everything That's Left Behind is distributed by IngramSpark. ISBN: 979-8-9968064-0-9
Available through Ingram, Changing Hands, Bookshop.org, and retail outlets worldwide.