Estate
To my once darling child
by J. Andrew Shelley
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Pub Date Aug 01 2025 | Archive Date Jun 30 2025
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Description
Estate is a fun, fast novel about the most awful of family transitions.
It has become clear to Timothy that the estate will not be "easy and kinda fun to manage," like Mom insisted. The gifts from the grave will not transform lives, and the stuff will not inspire last-minute love. However, the declarations of the Last Will and Testament might estrange the family he has left, and no one can fathom the miseries hidden in the grotto underneath the ancestral home.
Estate unravels the family mysteries of Timothy, Janice, Matt, Ethan, Jeff, and Holly while unwinding the end-of-life awfulness: the hurt feelings, the lost legacies, the broken faith, and the ill will.
As the story unfolds, we root against the monsters of resentment and arbitrary process—so like the ancient terrors Scylla and Charybdis that mariners once struggled to escape.
By the last page, Estate offers up a hopeful path filled with happier endings for all our families.
A Note From the Publisher
The paperback ISBN is 978-1-7354974-1-9.
The Amazon product code of the eBook is B0F95X2NZD.
The paperback ISBN is 978-1-7354974-1-9.
Advance Praise
Kirkus Reviews: GET IT!
"A convincing and oddly enjoyable novel about an unenviable and convoluted legal process... Shelley proves himself to be an exceptional novelist..." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Estate is an emotionally intelligent, humorous literary gem that’s perfect for fans of dysfunctional family dramas with a twist." -- Readers' Favorite
Kirkus Reviews: Settling a large family estate takes an enormous toll on its unfortunate executor in this novel by Shelley.
Tim Watts, the eldest son in the melodramatic Watts family, has been named executor of his late mother Holly’s estate. Holly Suter Hampton was a grande dame, a drama queen, and a manipulator (not to mention a hoarder), forever guilting her sons in a passive aggressive way. Those sons are Tim, Matt, and Ethan. Tim is a rock and a peacemaker. Matt found the love of his life in his husband, Isaac. Embittered Ethan has always felt himself an outsider in the family, and he lets everyone know. (Jeff, the youngest, was everyone’s favorite and died a hero, saving a co-worker from falling.) We follow the beleaguered Tim as he deals with mountains of paperwork related to the estate and all that comes with it, all while tolerating his insensitive boss and his annoying brothers ("What is the proper etiquette for poking your brother in the eye?" he asks at one point.) In what almost feels like a coda, we learn more about why Ethan became devoutly religious, and there are hints of genuine tragedies in his life: We finally see him as more than just a world-class kvetch.
Shelley proves himself to be an exceptional novelist, creating believable characters—especially Tim and his sour younger brother, Matt. And he really makes us feel the draining slog of dealing with all the legal documents (and the interminable waiting on “hold”), the drudgery of cleaning out an overstuffed old house, and making painful decisions about mountains of stuff. (Collections that Holly—and the family—assumed to be priceless are now worth pennies on the dollar.)
A convincing and oddly enjoyable novel about an unenviable and convoluted legal process.
Marketing Plan
May, June and July: solicit editorial and ARC reviews
August: The eBook begins a 90-day exclusive in KDP Select. Soft launch on August 1st of the paperback through IngramSpark. Begin promotional tour through podcasts and social media.
September: Formal launch of the paperback and audiobook. Wide distribution of the paperback. The audiobook distributed through Audible and Author's Republic. Continue the promotional tour.
Fall: Update all cover and interior with additional editorial reviews
Winter 2026: Launch companion book Estate: The Golden Rules
Fall 2026: Launch companion book Estate: Executor Rules
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781735497426 |
| PRICE | $7.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 256 |
