A simple girl. A broken guy. One horrible incident - My Lea (A Broken Love Story #1) by E. Mellyberry

"This is most definitely a broken love story, you will be conflicted. Should they be together or not? A bittersweet story about love and forgiveness. If you read this book go into it being prepared, the subject matter is something you may not want to take on. It is gut wrenching but I think well worth the read." - Goodreads

Description:

A simple girl.

A broken guy.

One horrible incident.

When Lea Amelia landed her feet in San Francisco for her overseas study, her idea of freedom was simple, like eating junk food ten times a day, sitting in front of the TV in her PJs, or going out late with her friends without the need to check in with her mother constantly.

Then she met Andrew Jaya, her brothers’ best friend. A twenty-two-year-old guy whose physical appearance looked like he was crafted straight from God’s heavenly hands, but possessed a past as bleak as if it was drawn by Evil himself. A conflicted guy who wore sadness like nobody’s business beneath his mask, a perfect-looking mask she slowly peeled away.

He was also the guy who hurt her.

Suddenly, everything about her was no longer simple.

Andrew Jaya had convinced himself that not feeling was good for him. He’d been doing it splendidly for almost his entire life. But that was before his best friend’s sister stepped into his life and ruined it. After weeks of knowing Lea, all of those warm and wonderful feelings he’d long ago denied to himself started to reappear. Problem was, the brighter the light, the bigger the shadows that came with it.

His traumatic past refused to let him go.

When the unthinkable happened, the easiest thing to do was to run. But life often proves that the easiest way is usually the hardest.

MB's INTERVIEW

Thank you, Mrs.E. Mellyberry

1. Usually, people don’t like to read about “real” life, but how important it is to keep the plot realistic? How you do it?

Reading and writing share the same goal. It’s all about making connection. Readers would want to relate to the story. To relate is to understand. In order to accomplish this, authors must try with whatever tools they have to convince their readers that their story is as believable as ever, especially true when it comes to describing the characters’ behavior and emotion no matter what genres they write or what kind of setting they choose in their story. I’d say a realistic plot is crucial because it leads to building this special connection. 

When I write, I use my surrounding as my research laboratory J. I document people’s facial expressions and their body language. I listen to the words they say or don’t say. I study people’s habit and the way they think. I often paused during my writing, put myself in the character’s shoe, and asked, what are you gonna do? Sometimes when I was very lucky, I could picture my character’s face and the raw emotions that came with it, frozen in that particular scene. If my character decided to do something—and if it suited his/her situation—I’d write it. If my character decided to do nothing, then I did nothing. If they turned left, I’d turn left. In this sense, I’d strive to be as realistic as I could. 

2. Which is the problem and, if there is one, how could it be fixed: the use of the clichés or how they are used?

Clichés exist because in a way, they are true J. Used them within the right context—and boom! They’d give us a nuclear reaction so powerful we forgot they were even there. Without a context, cliché is just big, over-used words. 

3. From your point of view, give us some pros and cons regarding the cliffhanger. When it should not be used?

Oh, I’m all for the cliffhanger. The suspense, people. The SUSPENSE. How could you not love it? :p 

There’s a good cliffy and a bad cliffy. A bad cliffy is when it’s used only for the sake of stretching the story to the point of ridiculousness. I’d call this an abused cliffhanger. I hate it. I want to read or to experience a cliffhanger that’s intelligent, the one that would tickle my curiosity. Not the one that is placed to match an ad-slot, to extend season’s finale, or purely to mock reader’s intelligence. 

4. What are the signs of a true love?

Aww, true love.

A few things come to mind. After a long and gruesome internal debate, I narrow it down to these two:

(1) True love is acceptance. You accept one another as it is, all of it. Period. No commas, no buts, no footnotes. 

(2) True love means the ability to let go (when you realize the future and the happiness of your loved ones is better without you). True love is never clingy and it’s definitely not about self-pity. 

5. From children to new adult books… How different is to write them and whose attentions is harder to catch?

Whether I’m writing a children’s book or an adult novel, fiction or non-fiction, I always start with one question: ‘What message I want to say here?’ 

Writing a children’s book means I need to compress one giant message into simpler, shorter, more direct kind of words. I can’t go into circles, or have too complicated plots. While in adult novels, I can play more with words, with clichés, with plot twists and character’s development. 

As for marketing and promotion, I’d say getting your work out there—regardless of genres—requires the same amount of effort and dedication. The only difference is that with children’s books, I need to not only target the attention of the kid, but also the parents. In YA, NA, and any other adult books, I talk directly to my potential audience. 

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About the author:

Melly is a full-time mom, wife, and fangirl. She used to work in a school and she’s very passionate about education.

Melly has been writing children’s books since 2011 under the name mellyberry. She loves reading all kinds of books in her spare time, mostly MG, YA, NA, contemporary, paranormal, and fantasy. She avoids horror and sci-fi as much as she can.

Melly was born in Indonesia and grew up in a multi-language environment. When she talks to people, she could accidentally string words from different languages into one sentence. When she does that, simply reminds her to speak properly.

Her ideal vacation always involves a beach; usually it’s the Nusa Dua beach, Bali. She spent a few years in USA to complete her Master degree. It was during that time that she’d fallen madly in love with San Francisco and the Bay Area. According to her, San Francisco is no doubt the most romantic city in the world.

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