NickStello.com is the official home of Dead Load, the first Nick Stello Action Thriller, and the interactive story experience being developed alongside it.
Here, readers can enter Nick’s world, follow the development of the story, examine the evidence behind it, and discover whether they can think like the man once known as Mason.
The Builder and the Destroyer
Nick Stello understands structures.
He knows how stone, timber, force, and weight work together. He knows what keeps a wall standing—and what happens when one critical element is removed.
Ten years ago, Nick used that knowledge as Mason, a covert demolition specialist sent into situations where something needed to be destroyed. After a disastrous operation in Prague cost him his closest friend, Nick buried Mason and built a quieter life as a stonemason.
Then the past found him.
Dead Load begins when armed men abduct Kate Andrews, the widow of Nick’s fallen friend, and bring her to the unfinished stone workshop Nick has been building. What follows draws Nick, Kate, and her fifteen-year-old son, Noah, toward an encrypted asset, a concealed network, and questions Prague never answered.
To protect them, Nick may need to allow Mason to reemerge.
The question is whether he can use Mason without becoming Mason again.
One Story.
Two Ways to Experience It.
Dead Load is being developed as both a full-length action-conspiracy thriller and a cinematic Visual Novel Game.
The novel tells Nick’s story as it unfolds.
The game places you inside the same situations. You study the evidence, assess the danger, and make your call before Nick makes his.
You do not control Nick Stello or change his story.
You discover whether you understand him.
Designated decisions become part of your personal Agent dossier. Over time, your dossier records how often your choices align with Nick’s while developing an ASSET Profile based on the capabilities you demonstrate.
Every detail could matter. Every decision adds evidence.
Why NickStello.com Exists
NickStello.com is the mission center for the world of Nick Stello.
Here you can explore Dead Load, learn how the Visual Novel Game works, follow its development through Field Reports, review the current Mission Status, and learn how your Agent dossier will develop as you complete missions.
As the novel and game move toward release, this site will provide new story material, development updates, behind-the-scenes intelligence, and opportunities to participate in future testing.
About Chris Carosa
Chris Carosa is an award-winning author, publisher, historian, and investment adviser whose work spans history, business, personal finance, and fiction.
Across those subjects runs a recurring fascination: the hidden structures beneath familiar events, the dependencies most people overlook, and the decisions that determine whether something continues to stand or suddenly collapses.
With Dead Load, that fascination becomes an action-conspiracy thriller built around physical reality, moral consequence, concealed relationships, and a protagonist who understands exactly where the weight goes.
You can learn more about Chris and his other books at ChrisCarosa.com.
Join the Mission
Dead Load: The Visual Novel Game is currently undergoing invitation-only alpha testing. Public access is not yet open, but Founding Agent recruitment has begun.
Become a Founding Agent to receive development updates and learn when the game enters its next phase. Founding Agents will also be eligible for selection when beta testing begins.