On the Outside

Seventeen-year-old Mercedes DeLeon has spent her life on the outside of everything that feels normal. Living with a disability means her world is carefully managed-doctor appointments, routines, and the constant awareness of what her body can and cannot do. Independence feels like something meant for other people.

Music is the one place where she feels free. For years, the songs of rock musician Asher Hayes have been her escape, carrying her through hospital rooms and quiet nights when loneliness feels heavier than pain. When Mercedes finally attends one of his concerts, the experience cracks open a future she never allowed herself to imagine.

What begins as a single unforgettable night forces Mercedes to confront questions she's been taught not to ask: Is she allowed to want more? More freedom. More love. More life. And can she claim those things in a world that so often underestimates her?

On the Outside is the first book in a planned three-book series following Mercedes and Asher as their lives-and hearts-collide.

Written by a disabled author, the story offers authentic disability representation and centers a heroine who is not defined by her limitations, but by her resilience, desire, and refusal to stay invisible.