Mel LeBrun

What had happened was...

2020-12-06T16:51:00.001-08:00

Life can change in a second. One minute, you're on top of the world. The next you're at the bottom of a large boulder wondering what's going to happen to you. This is literally what happened to me over 3 years ago, not long after publishing Identity.

It all started one fateful day in September of 2017 when I went hiking with a group of friends on Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. We made it to the top with no issues. It was great. We sat on the top for a while, enjoying the view while trying to hide from the flies. (Swams of flies. It was gross.)

We had just started to descend and I was walking down a very large boulder when my foot slipped and I began sliding down the boulder. Seconds later my foot hit a raised edge on the rock and I heard and felt a snap. I knew I was in trouble but was also a little in denial and promptly jumped to my feet and attempted to hurry back down the mountain. (Ridiculous.) I took about 10 steps before I was forced to accept the reality. A little bit of fear and panic entered into me but I tried to push that aside. It wouldn't get me back down the mountain.

My friends helped me "walk" until we met up with a park ranger who offered the use of crutches. I've used crutches before and thought that was a great idea! Right up until I tried it, that is. That was probably the most terrifying thing I've done in my life; trying to use crutches on this terrible, rocky, uneven mountain. I was sure I was going to lose my balance and fall headlong down the trail. So I used the crutches when it seemed reasonable to do so but ditched them for the trickier areas. I would not have made it back down the mountain without my friends. Seriously, I'd be writing this blog from up there somehow. Ha.

Partway down the mountain, just before sunset, we met up with another ranger who was able to splint my ankle. This helped tremendously! It was still super painful but I was able to walk better. One of my friends was so impressed with its effectiveness, when he got home he ordered some online to keep in his hiking pack. When they were delivered, he called me and said, "Your splints arrived!" ... Thanks. 😑

I was not prepared for being on the mountain at night. (I learned from this and now carry a full pack every time I hike, no matter how short I think it will be.) Thankfully, a couple of my friends and the park rangers had extra headlamps. The rangers also supplied our group with more drinks as not everyone brought enough water to last 8 hours on the mountain. (It took us 6 hours to get down.) I kept asking one of my friends what our altitude was because I wanted to know how much further but he refused to tell me. He just kept telling me we were fine. Truth was we were barely moving and he didn't want me to lose heart. (I'm very thankful for that. I think I would have fell into despair knowing we barely moved over the course of an hour. Ha.)

Eventually we made it back to our cars. I had driven myself (everyone else was from NY or another part of CT) so one of my friends drove my car back to my house. We won't discuss my ER visit with the most disinterested ER doctor I've ever met in my life. He didn't even offer me a splint or crutches! Made me feel like I was crazy for seeking medical attention. Knowing what I know now, I would not have bothered with the ER, I would have just made an emergency appointment with an ankle specialist. But that's not what happened.

The next day, I couldn't even reach my arm out to grab a cup of coffee. Every muscle in my body was screaming and every move was agonizing. Thankfully, one of my local friends gave me a pair of crutches to use, since I didn't get any from the unprofessional ER doctor. I figured I just had a really terrible sprain and it would get better in a few weeks. (Actually I had torn ligaments, tendons, bone contusions and cartilage damage and loss, but I wouldn't know this until over a month later when someone finally ordered an MRI. Ugh.)

Anyway, flash forward 3 years and I've been to 6 specialists, had 2 surgeries, and over a year of physical therapy as well as pain management involving nerve blocks and I still have pretty moderate to severe pain that no one can adequately explain. It's been challenging and at times I feared I would never be able to hike again. If you follow me on social media, you will see I am in fact hiking again. (Yay!) I just push through the pain. I'm going to have it anyway so why let it stop me? Some days, when it's particularly bad, it does hold me back but those are few.

My point to all this:

APRIL DID NOT RUN THROUGH THE WOODS WITH A FRACTURED ANKLE!!

I couldn't help thinking about the story I had just written, Identity, and how the main character suffers a fractured ankle but still somehow manages to run from her pursuer. Perhaps if I was being chased by a serial killer, maybe I wouldn't notice the ankle but I'm on the fence. Maybe she's just tougher than me. I don't know. It's just pretty remarkable that she got away and survived is all I'm saying. Ha.

Well, I hope you were entertained by this little trip down memory lane. Till next time. :)

Writing During Covid

2020-08-30T07:29:00.001-07:00

I've started work on a new book. Well ... 2 actually. But I can only focus on one at at time so I decided to focus on "What Can't Be Stolen" because I think I'll finish it faster than the other which is tentatively titled "Betrayed by Avarice" and is a Michael Cailen thriller.

(If you haven't read What Can't Be Bought, I think you're missing out. I really do think it's my best work yet, even though it's not a "thriller". It's filled with plenty of drama and intrigue so you won't be bored and I don't think it's terribly mushy either, but I'll leave that up to you. Ha.)

Anyway, I digress. It feels weird to write a story where no one is wearing a mask and socially distancing. I don't know why it feels weird. It wasn't weird up until a few months ago. It was the norm. Yet still, as I write about my characters sitting at a restaurant, chatting without a care in the world, I can't help but feel like they're doing something wrong and I have to laugh at myself because, a) they're not real and b) it's fantasy anyway. It's just strange to think of how this whole pandemic has changed virtually every aspect of life and even how we think.

One of my friends asked me if I was going to write a story with coronavirus in it. The answer is, no. Even if we have to deal with this virus for years to come, I strongly feel that my stories should be an escape from reality. While many aspects of my stories are plausible and based on real world, the beauty of them, is that they're not real. The bad guys don't really exist and there are no real victims. I can't really say the same about Covid-19 so, for now anyway, it will not be finding its way into my stories. I prefer to escape reality when I write and imagine my fans feel the same about what they read.

My Beef With Plot Holes

2020-06-14T06:55:00.001-07:00

Part of the reason it takes me so long to write one of the Cailen thrillers is my strong detest of plot holes. I find movies hard to enjoy sometimes because so many of them have such giant plot holes I can't even get past it. Haha. Watch a couple "CinemaSins" or "How It Should Have Ended" (HISHE) videos on YouTube and you'll know what I mean. Just keep in mind, "What has been seen, cannot be unseen." Once your mind is opened up to plot holes, you might just see them everywhere. It's a curse.

Because I am overly aware of them, when I write I agonize over the story and events, endeavoring to make them both plausible and logical, which is not always easy. Sometimes I make a huge mistake and end up having to rewrite small, or sometimes large, portions of the book because the events don't make sense based on one tiny detail that can't be changed or ignored. I'll give you an example of one.

**Spoiler Alert!**

In Critical Play, Jessica is pregnant with the worst morning sickness in all the world. (Slight exaggeration, but if you read it you know what I mean.) After fleeing Jeff's estate following the attack, Dmitri and the gang try to cross back over the Canadian border into the US and head to Toronto. But when the mainland border becomes too hot they head to Alaska instead. Initially, I had Jessica and Tatiana remain with Dmitri, Corvo, Timur and Ivan. I had written all they way up to them getting ambushed at the Alaskan border and fleeing into the woods when I realized that Jessica could have flown home days earlier from Ottawa. She wasn't in trouble with the authorities and could easily cross back to the states with a little help from Gatti. I honestly don't know how I missed that but I ended up trashing a few chapters to rewrite it. Granted, there was much less "Jessica" drama in the following chapters but it just made more sense, and was much easier on Jessica too. Ha.

**End Spoiler Alert**

I'm not sure any book is devoid of all plot holes but hopefully you'll be hard-pressed to point one out in any of my books. I really work hard to sure up loose ends and explain why certain actions are or aren't being taken when you might wonder why they don't do A instead of B. So while I'd like to say all my books are free of plot holes, I'm sure you could probably find one if you really looked hard enough, much to my chagrin. Just please don't tell me, it will drive me nuts. Ha.

Things You May Have Noticed

2020-06-01T07:27:00.002-07:00

You may have noticed that sunsets are a recurring theme in my books, as is hiking, being outdoors, the ocean, etc. This is no coincidence. I must admit that many of the characters (especially the female ones) have similar traits to myself. I love the ocean, hiking, camping, watching the sunset. I try to exercise and eat right but I'm certainly not a fanatic. I love dessert as much as the next person and I love coffee.

That is not to say that I mirror all my female characters. I definitely don't cry as much as Jessica (Black Pawn), though I have friends who do. Haha. Sometimes I feel rather emotionless by comparison. I do love to drive though and when I was younger, did a lot of crazy things with my car like Jessica. Like her, I love manual transmission cars though now (in my old age) I drive an automatic. I am a major car enthusiast and I would kill to drive a Bugatti. A girl can dream.

Out of all my characters, I think Amanda (What Can't Be Bought) comes closest to my personality. I'm generally easy going, don't get offended easily and I try to make allowances for others as I hope they will make for me. I'm not interested in wealth and riches. I don't like having rigid plans, I'd rather go with the flow and be spontaneous. I have a sense of humor. I'm an early riser, up at 5:00 almost every morning. If I woke at 9:00, I'd feel like I wasted half the day. (My friends think I'm crazy. Haha.)

So that's a little background on where some of my characters come from. Do you have a favorite character? If so, tell me who and why in the comments. :)

Why Russia Is In All My Books

2020-05-28T07:11:00.006-07:00

If you've read any of my books, you've no doubt noticed there is a connection to Russia in all of them. Perhaps you've wondered, "What's her fascination with Russia?" Well I'll tell you. It's the language. I absolutely LOVE the Russian language. I love how it sounds, I love how they express things. Some people like French, others like Spanish. I think Russian sounds like a perfect blend between the two.

If you've read Identity, then you might have guessed, I speak and read Russian. I wouldn't say I'm fluent, but conversational. I can carry on a decent conversation and if I was stranded alone in the middle of Moscow, I could get by.

One of the advantages of speaking a language that so few in the US speak is that you can carry on a private conversation in public with little fear of anyone understanding. Funny story, I went out for a drink with one of my friends a couple nights before I was going to have surgery on my ankle that would put me out of commission for 6 weeks. (Result of a hiking injury I suffered shortly after publishing Identity. Side note: there is no way April ran through the woods with a broke ankle ... Simply no way. Haha!) Anyway, we went to a really cool martini bar that was built in an old train tunnel. It's a really neat place to sit and have a drink. There are sets of plush wing-back chairs facing each other with coffee and end tables between them so you can relax and socialize. (Fond memories of pre-covid life.) The place was packed with young 20-somethings and my friend and I were searching for an open spot for the two of us but there was none. So after looking around we spotted an older couple, maybe 60's or 70's, sitting with two empty seats across from them. We thought it might be nice to sit with them and enjoy some mature conversation so we asked if we could join them. They happily agreed and invited us to sit with them. Soon after the greetings though, they immediately began making out. Which was not exactly what my friend and I were expecting, to say the least, and it was quite awkward. We spent the majority of the evening talking about them to each other in Russian because they never came up for air. It was fun to be able to commiserate about the awkward experience without worrying about offending anyone.

Well, now you know why I'm obsessed with Russia. There may come a day when I write a book without a Russian in it, but it's probably not likely. Ha. :)

Small Announcement

To help kick off sales on Identity outside of Amazon, I'm offering it for 50% off during the month of June at Smashwords and Google. Use coupon code YL92S for Smashwords.

FREE Promotion on Kindle!

2020-05-24T04:01:00.000-07:00

In an effort to give my new book some traction, I decided to offer a giveaway on Kindle. Promotion ends May 25, 2020. I was on the fence about whether to offer a Countdown Deal or just give it away. Amazon only lets me choose 1 option during the 90 days I opt to publish exclusively with them. Since I don't have any reviews yet, I opted for the giveaway. Only a small fraction of readers actually leave a review. I'm hoping enough people will download it and read it so that I can get a couple reviews under my belt.

I deviated a little from spy thrillers to write What Can't Be Bought but it's packed with suspense and drama. If you liked my other books, I do think you will enjoy this one, even if you're not a "romance" reader. I'm certainly not a romance reader myself.

Expanding Distribution

2020-05-22T06:25:00.011-07:00

Many years ago, when I first published Black Pawn, ebooks were gaining momentum. But for a first-time, independent author, publishing it felt like a daunting task. Amazon made it super easy. Which was good, and bad. Good because now you could publish your work without being at the mercy of a publishing company and you could do it for FREE! (It was a no-brainer.) Bad because literally anyone could publish anything. With that said, Amazon had some great tools and help for indie authors and I was grateful for the help and initially sold many of my books on Amazon. Black Pawn and Forced Move both spent 4 weeks in the top 100 spy thrillers on Amazon, even making it to the top 10! I couldn't have been happier.

Over the years though, sales dwindled. Mostly my fault. I'm terrible at self-promotion and hate it with a passion. (This blog is an attempt to correct that failing.) At any rate, I think the market has changed and so I've decided to break away from exclusively publishing with Amazon and distribute to other outlets. (Long overdue, I'm sure.) I've already published Identity on multiple platforms like Amazon, Apple, Google, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, Scribd, etc. The Michael Cailen thrillers will follow after June 1, 2020. I hope with these steps I can increase my audience and get more traction to at least get a steady flow of sales. But even if it doesn't, my greatest joy comes from writing and I'm happy that some, albeit only a few right now, enjoy my work.

I'll update links on my "Books By Mel" page when they're up and running. To all my fans, thanks for the support!

I Wanted To Have Some Fun!

2020-05-22T02:23:00.004-07:00

Not that writing spy thrillers isn't fun. It is. But sometimes it can get a little dark since there's usually bad guys doing something bad and the good guys must stop it. I had this story in my mind for a while and it was fun, cheerful with bits of tension and suspense woven through and I decided to go for it and get it on paper.

I'm really happy I did. I had so much fun writing it! It was just the break I needed to regroup during this difficult time.

My latest books, What Can't Be Bought: Part 1 & 2 are about two people who meet quite haphazardly and are forever changed in a good way.

Viktor thinks he's all set in life until he meets Amanda while she's vacationing in Europe and he's there on business. They spend some time together and he immediately realizes she's the piece that's been missing in his life. There's only one problem. She's very vocal in her disdain of wealthy people and Viktor is super wealthy. So he tries to hide it from her, hoping she'll overlook it later. But as the relationship grows it gets harder and harder to tell her, putting him in quite a predicament.

It's a fun read. I may write a sequel in the future. I have plenty to work with but I don't have any immediate plans to start one. The next project I want to tackle is a Michael Cailen thriller that I started but didn't finish.

I hope you take a look at my new book. It's got enough suspense, drama and tension to keep you wondering what will come next and, like all my books, it has a happy ending.