There’s a particular kind of story that stays with you — not because you planned it that way, but because the characters simply refused to leave.

Liz Pierce has been one of those characters for me. She first appeared at the edges of This Time, a quiet presence in the friend group, someone you might not have even noticed. But I knew she had a story worth telling—about ambition and love and the slow, subtle damage one wrong person can do when you’re young and haven’t yet learned to trust yourself.

Full Circle moves between two timelines: the 2003–2004 college year that nearly derailed Liz, and the life she built twenty-one years later on her own quiet terms. It’s a story about the people who almost shape us into someone we’re not, and the ones who see us clearly enough to let us become exactly who we are. Full Circle is a short novel of approximately 44,000 words — complete and standalone, though readers of This Time will recognize some familiar faces.

What if the person who almost broke you came back — and had no idea what was waiting for him?

In college, Liz had her future mapped out: molecular biology, her dream PhD program, and the life she’d been chasing since high school. Then Brooks entered the picture — all effortless charm and subtle sabotage — and by the time Liz understood what he was really doing, he’d left her questioning everything she wanted.

Twenty-one years later, Liz has built a life Brooks never imagined for her. A life grounded in love, purpose, and the quiet, extraordinary man she almost missed seeing.

Then Brooks returns, certain the past is waiting for him.

He wants to reconnect. To revisit old feelings. To see whether the door he closed might still be open.

But Brooks isn’t the only one who remembers the past.

And this time, he’s the one walking into something he doesn’t understand.

Where to Find Full Circle:

If you’ve already spent time with Will, Lauren, Rob, Jason, and the rest of the Home Park crew in This Time, you’ll find some familiar warmth here. And if Full Circle is your first introduction to this world — This Time is waiting for you.

As for what’s next for Burdell Media — there’s a new story beginning to take shape. Something a little different. Something with a hint of the extraordinary. More on that when the time is right. 🙂

— C. M. Burdell