Mel E. Lemon

Whatever you did this year, it’s enough. Whether you thrived or survived, I’m proud of you 💜

Yup.

Into gay hockey books? You’re gonna freak out when you get into professional women’s hockey.

Gave myself permission not to try to write, just rest.

Watched 2 eps of a Japanese drama.

The vibes were so cute, I set a 15 minute timer and ended up writing 403 words!

We’re getting somewhere!

what can I do when I can’t seem to write?

"I can't afford to support my favorite author right now, I—"

Reviews.

Reviews are free AND they are a gift to authors that can keep on giving (i.e., exposure, marketing, algo boosts, etc.)

Please, give the gift of reviews to your authors this holiday season. It really can make a difference!

Reviews and also tell someone in your life who isn’t in online spaces about our books. So many people who read are not online reading reviews. Spread the word anyway you can, for free.

Reviews are the lifeblood of indie authors.

In the last few years, reviews have trickled to a near standstill, which creates a conundrum: need readers to get reviews, but need reviews to get readers.

If you take the time to write even a single sentence review, YOU ARE AMAZING THANK YOU I LOVE YOU

It’s true. It needs time to refill… even though I feel like it’s had enough time, perhaps not. Maybe some good reading or video games could help refill the well!

What do you do when the creative well in your brain feels empty and dry?

I’ve got ideas. I’ve got outlines. I’ve got some time each day. But like… nothing.

Do you force it and try to make some progress? Or rest your bad brain?

#writersky #writer #author

If my books were cocktails…

Parisa loves an old fashioned, but this version brings her and Sera together.

The other one is all Jo, a bit odd, a bit extra, but Cass is there to help smooth things over and make it sweet.

I hardly ever drink these days, but I do love a good cocktail sometimes.

Remember your friendly indies this holiday season! These are where you can find my books for purchase. I’m hoping to expand to more stores in 2026, but for now I’m at 2 indie stores, on my site, and on kobo and ama/zon. You can also request them at your local library!

This, very much. From my experience, it usually accounts for 80-90% of sales, and sales have been really soft as of late. Doesn't mean we'll stop doing what we love, but it does make things tougher.

Especially as a lot of lists that come out this time of year also tend to ignore indie authors.

Yes! To all of this! People looooove to SAY they support indies, but then they don’t buy from us directly AT ALL or on other sites. We’re stuck with the zon in so many ways. And yeah, annual lists do not include us, except for the rare few. It’s all so frustrating.

Friendly reminder that indie authors still largely rely on ama/zon for income. I am fortunate enough to also be able sell books on my site (MelELemon.com), but uh, ain’t no one really buying like they did before! The boycott really hurts indie authors, so just consider us this holiday season, too.

My debut graphic novel JUST BETWEEN US is coming out Febuary 24th! It's a figure skating graphic novel about the rivalry, and romance, of star figure skaters Lydia Chen and Elaine Yee the year leading up to the Olympics! @penguinteen.bsky.social

The outline for Wil has been completely updated!
I think I’m on a better track now.

When you realize that everything you’ve written for a draft so far is actually backstory and that’s why the pacing was so off… and now things that are in act 2 are in act 1, and act 2 is soup, but at least there’s kind of a plan maybe?

Thank you for the kind words! If you want some werewolves served up with a side of baked goods, lots of love, and mental illness, then do I have a rec for you!

Book buying info in bio and on MelELemon.com

Buying things today? Don’t forget to support indie authors and bookstores! My books are available on MelELemon.com (link in bio).💜📚

Reminder today!

There’s always, like, at least a 70% chance I’m thinking about macarons.

You are so kind!! Thank you 💜💜💜

✅ Quick read
✅ Top-tier sapphic themes
✅ Excellent LGBT+ positivity
✅ Unique, well-written non-binary character POV (2nd novel)
✅ Strong camaraderie
✅ Authentic portrayal of mental struggle arcs
✅ Descriptions of delicious food that will make you hungry
✅ Werewolves, vampires, etc

#LGBTQBooks

Nov newsletter has just gone out! Check your inbox for some Wil sneak peeks!

And join on my website if you haven’t already. MelELemon.com

Buy my books and maybe feel some momentary peace and joy?

Info to buy on MelELemon.com (buy direct from me, from Ama//zon, or a couple others)

truth time—I hadn’t worked on Wil’s draft in a week. Had some knee pain flare up and I decided I wanted to watch youtube and feel sorry for myself instead. But tonight I did two writing sprints and managed to write about 800 words! A victory!

Sold some ebooks on my site this morning! Thanks for the surprise, y’all!

As a reminder, if you’re boycotting ama/zon, search out indie authors in other ways!

My books are available on MelELemon.com 📚💜🐺

They’re all tens, but…

Violet Moon and Emerald Moon are out now!

#lgbtqbooks #sapphicbooks #werewolfbooks #nonbinarybooks

Thank you to everyone who purchased books in Oct and helped me support a great organization in my community—the Westside Queer Resource Center! I ended up rounding up to add a little bit more. Doing what we can to make our communities a bit brighter!