There comes a moment in every writer’s life when you realize the character you created is smarter, braver, and significantly less emotionally repressed than you are.

For me, that moment arrived while writing The Dud Witch.

Emma Monroe grows up believing she’s magically defective. In a family where everyone can levitate furniture, throw fire, or summon impressive magical party tricks, Emma… does nothing. No sparks. No floating. No applause.

Just vibes.

And family disappointment.

Naturally, her loving relatives throw her a going-away party that feels suspiciously like a funeral. Cake, pity, passive-aggressive encouragement…the works. The kind of event where relatives tell you how “proud” they are in the exact tone used for toddlers who successfully use the potty.

Except Emma isn’t broken.

She’s hiding something dangerous.

See, Emma isn’t a dud witch. She’s Veilborn—angel-blessed magic. The kind of power that gets you noticed. The kind of power that gets you killed if the wrong people find out.

So while her family thinks she’s off to college, Emma is actually sneaking off to Chicago to train with the Lux Bellator—a supernatural task force that fights monsters, nightmares, and occasionally each other.

And honestly? College orientation would’ve been easier.

Instead, Emma gets:

• A brooding partner who communicates exclusively in emotional damage and smoldering eye contact.
• A house full of chaotic magical roommates.
• A floating, swearing cat.
• Werewolf concerts.
• Training that feels suspiciously like punishment.
• Angels who speak entirely in cryptic prophecy.

And she still has to pretend she’s fine.

Writing Emma was cathartic because so many of us know what it feels like to be underestimated. To be labeled “the quiet one,” “the awkward one,” “the one who’ll never quite measure up.”

But sometimes the people who look ordinary are the ones carrying the biggest magic.

Emma’s story is about leaving behind expectations, finding your own strength, and discovering that sometimes the biggest glow-up happens when you stop trying to prove yourself and start becoming yourself.

Also, there are knife fights, magical disasters, sarcastic banter, and one very questionable trust fall situation.

You’re welcome.

If you’re watching the video attached to this blog, you’ll get a glimpse of Emma’s world—the tension, the humor, the danger, and the moment where a girl who thought she was invisible realizes she might be unstoppable.

And honestly?

I think we could all use that reminder.

So here’s to the dud witches.

The late bloomers.
The underestimated.
The quiet powerhouses.

Turns out, they’re usually the ones you should worry about.

And Emma Monroe is just getting started.

— Erin aka Eliza

Want to preorder? It can be found here.