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DUSTY #3 ???


Since the release of Delinquents (Dusty #2) in October, if I were given a nickel for every time someone asked me one single question, I would be one rich woman.

Will there be a third Dusty book?

As I’m typing this, I’m listening to the original Dusty playlist—the one I made on Spotify as I wrote the Edward/Bella version. Before Dusty was Innocents and Delinquents, Thomas and Leighlee … it was simply a Jar of Hearts. This tale of a junk food junkie and her monster was simply reposted photos on Tumblr and the way my heart sped up when Christina Perri sang a song on So You Think You Can Dance? about the ice inside your soul.

All of these years later, I can literally look up right this second at my bookshelf and see two books with my name printed across them above my worn and loved-too-much Twilight Series.

It’s unreal.

For those who know me from before I became Indie Author Mary Elizabeth—when I was TeamBella23/one part YellowBella—continuing Dusty on Fanfiction.net after it was officially “complete” was something I did for charity, and  because if I didn't these characters were going to eat me up.

(They do anyway.)

I still write Dusty and Bliss. There’s a folder in my Dropbox full of half pages and scenes that come alive when I hear or see something that inspires me. There’s entire chapters I’ve written. Entire years of their lives. Alternate beginnings, middles, and ends.

I’m an author. I write when my characters speak.

But that’s a personal problem. I’m plagued by the voices in my head, you know.

Here the deal: There won’t be a third book. Thomas and Leighlee told their story, and their ending was sort of a beginning too. Some of the best moments I’ve had with readers is when listening to different versions of what happens after “Hello”—the good, the bad, and the what the fuck, Dusty is not a ghost!

That’s the beauty of a book.

Know that I appreciate and am inspired by the love Dusty and Bliss have been given by the reading community, fandom and not. I do have a third book on it’s way, but just because it’s not a Dusty book, don’t think that they don’t live on. They do.  

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I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson Five Star Review

I'll Give You the SunI'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was going to wait a night to write this review because it's been a while since I've typed one up, but I also normally need some time to process what I've read. After opening my iPad to search for what I want to read next, I knew I wasn't going to be able to dive into anything until I got my feelings down about I'll Give You the Sun.

Let me start off by saying that I absolutely love Jandy Nelson. The Sky is Everywhere is one my very favorite books; I think about it daily. (Call me crazy, but are there little nods to that book in this one?)

I said this to the author on Twitter, but it's impossible to read a Jandy Nelson book and not highlight everything. It's all brilliance. I'm 30 years old, but I feel like her books speak to the teenager in me. When reading her tales, I'm like, "I remember feeling like that." "That happened to me." "Did Jandy spy on me in high school."

Coming from a family with divorced parents, I'll Give You the Sun touched a little closer to home. The situations were not the same ... but I got it.

But the reason I love this book so much is a little more personal. I am too a writer--indie, but I still have two books published with a third on it's way. At the end of 2014, I went through some things personally and had not been able to read a book or write a word in four months. I picked up this novel, finished it in days, and managed to write a couple of thousands of words in the meantime.

There's a fire inside of me (corny, I know, Jude.) and Jandy Nelson inspired me.

Five Stars.











View all my reviews



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Branding by Hang Le

I had the pleasure of working with graphic artist Hang Le for the Mary Elizabeth branding. The outcome was more than I dreamed of. 




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