A Favorite Read of Yesteryear
Welcome to one of my favorite almost forgotten reads. ARIEL by Steven R. Boyett was first published in 1983, and I came across a worn copy at a garage sale… Read more A Favorite Read of Yesteryear →
My 2025 Plans (So Far)
2025 is shaping up to be a busy year! I’m in final edits on my November release, nearly through a project I’ll be querying soon 🤞🏻 and in my exploratory… Read more My 2025 Plans (So Far) →
Goodreads Giveaway!
IN THE DARK OF A DREAM is finally here, so it’s time for a Goodreads Kindle Giveaway! This book was nearly six years in the making. Six years of picking it up, putting it away, and hauling it back out again to write around my other projects. It lost a villain and gained a better one, swapped supporting character genders and nationalities several times, took out swear words, put in swear words (while uttering worse swear words) and went through three rounds of beta readers. It’s not exactly what I… Read more Goodreads Giveaway! →
BLUE is named a 2022 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite in Teen Fiction
BLUE has been named a 2022 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite in Teen Fiction. Check out all the honorees here. Many thanks to the judges and to IPA for this honor – and for giving me the terrific first-world problem (and total humblebrag) of running out of room on my book cover. I am blessed.
The BLUE Playlist – An Odd Mix
If you’re reading BLUE (or getting ready to), here’s a list of songs that inspired me during the journey as I put BLUE together: Another Way Out by Hollywood Undead – BLUE first chapter. Blue begins her story feeling like she’s got nowhere to run from Maya, and from everyone who’s determined warn her about Maya’s return to school. You Need to Calm Down – Taylor Swift. This one I picked for Jules. Blue’s best friend isn’t doing much to help the situation, as she seems determined to stir up… Read more The BLUE Playlist – An Odd Mix →
Dream A Little Dream, Or Battling For BLUE
It’s Pub Day Eve for BLUE! I’ve been here twice before in YA (and quite a few more times in other genres), but this one means a hell of a lot to me. You see, BLUE almost never was because I quite nearly ceased to be. Five weeks before DREAMER released in 2018, I was battling for my life against a devastating brain bleed in a hospital room far from home. I survived obviously, but lost the use of the left side of my body. As a single mom with… Read more Dream A Little Dream, Or Battling For BLUE →
Blue Excerpt: Blue And Maya
In this excerpt, Blue and Maya are in their first afterschool detention with the school counselor, Mrs. Ramsey, and it’s not going smoothly. Blue is determined to get through this and avoid confrontation, but she has no idea what kind of pressure Maya has being a scholarship student at a wealthy, white private school. “Nobody ever treats her or her family like they don’t belong.” Maya grumbles. “So give her an example,” Mrs. Ramsey encourages. “When did you have to deal with someone treating you badly?” “I’ve been called names.… Read more Blue Excerpt: Blue And Maya →
BLUE Excerpt: Jack’s Letter
In this scene, Blue receives a letter from her brother, Jack, who is currently serving a six- month sentence in a boot camp style program for his part in the accident that killed the father of her classmate, Maya. He asks Blue to come and visit him—something she hasn’t yet been able to make herself do. I hold the letter in my hand for a moment, just staring at his familiar scrawl, not really reading the words. There’s an ache in my chest as my eyes begin to focus again… Read more BLUE Excerpt: Jack’s Letter →
LE DeLano Author 