Odom graduated from Byng High School, Byng, Oklahoma, in May 1976, and later graduated with a bachelors degree in English from East Central University, Ada, Oklahoma. He teaches undergraduate courses at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication in the Professional Writing program at the University of Oklahoma.

Mel Odom sold his first book in January 1988. Odom wrote dozens of books over the next ten years. Odom wrote two novels for the F.R.E.E.Lancers campaign setting for TSR's Top Secret/S.I. role-playing game, F.R.E.E.Lancers and F.R.E.E.Fall. He followed these with his first Forgotten Realms novel in 1998, The Lost Library of Cormanthyr, and then his Threat from the Sea trilogy. By 1998, he had five children, and had begun playing an AD&D Forgotten Realms campaign with the two oldest.

He has published original novels for popular TV shows, including Roswell and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. The most popular show for which he has written original novels is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

He has written several Mack Bolan novels, an action-adventure series that appears under the pseudonym of Don Pendleton. He has also written novelizations of movies. These include Blade starring Wesley Snipes, xXx starring Vin Diesel, and Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie.

One of his best known fantasy novels is The Rover (2001), which in 2002 won the Alex Award, an American Library Association award given to novels written for adults that would also appeal to young readers (see the link below). Three sequels have appeared since then: Destruction of the Books (2004), Lord of the Libraries (2005), and The Quest for the Trilogy (2007). These stories are high fantasy in the tradition of J. R. R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings.

In 2003 he published Apocalypse Dawn, which is a military spin-off of the enormously popular Left Behind Series, and Odom's book made the Christian best seller list.

Mel also writes DVD/HD DVD/Blu-ray reviews for AVRev.com.

Mack Bolan novels

(under pen name Don Pendleton)

• War Born (1989)
• Storm Trilogy
• Storm Warning (1992)
• Eye of the Storm (1992)
• Storm Burst (1992)
• Crimson Tide (2002)
• The Moon Shadow Trilogy
• Nuclear Game (2003)
• Deadly Pursuit (2003)
• Final Play (2003)

Shadowrun novels

• Preying for Keeps (1996) — ISBN 0-451-45374-3
• Headhunters (1997) — ISBN 0-451-45630-0
• Run Hard, Die Fast (1999) — ISBN 0-451-45741-2

F.R.E.E.Lancers novels from Top Secret

• F.R.E.E.Lancers (1995) ISBN 0-78690-113-6
• F.R.E.E.Fall (1996) ISBN 0-78690-493-3

The Secret World of Alex Mack novel

• In Hot Pursuit (1998)

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch novels

• Harvest Moon (1998)
• Sabrina Goes to Rome (1998)
• I'll Zap Manhattan (1999)
• Mummy Dearest (2000)
• Pirate Pandemonium (2001)
• Dream Boat (2001)
• Tiger Tale (2002)

Buffyverse stories

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels
• Unnatural Selection (1999)
• Revenant (2001)
• Crossings (2002)
• Cursed (2003)
• Angel novels
• Redemption (2000)
• Bruja (2001)
• Image (2002)
• Tales of the Slayer short stories
• "Silent Screams" (2001)
• "Ch'ing Shih" (2003)

Might and Magic novel

• The Sea of Mist (2001)

The Rover series

• The Rover (2001)
• Destruction of the Books (2004)
• Lord of the Libraries (2005)
• The Quest for the Trilogy (2007)

Diablo novel

• The Black Road (2002)

Military series

• Apocalypse Dawn (2003)
• Apocalypse Crucible (2004)
• Apocalypse Burning (2004)
• Apocalypse Unleashed (2008)

NCIS novels

• Paid in Blood (2006)
• Blood Evidence (2007)
• Blood Lines (2008)

Hunter's League series

• A Conspiracy Revealed (2005)
• The Mystery Unravels (2005)
• The Secret Explodes (2005)
• His Legacy Avenged (2006)

Rogue Angel series

(under pen name Alex Archer)

• Destiny (2006)
• The Spider Stone (2006)
• Forbidden City (2006)
• God of Thunder (2007)
• Serpent's Kiss (2008)

London novel

• Exodus (2007)
• Goetia (2008)
• Covenant (2008)

Forgotten Realms novels and anthologies

• The Lost Library of Cormanthyr (1998)
• Rising Tide (1999)
• Under Fallen Stars (1999)
• Realms of the Deep (2000)
• The Sea Devil's Eye (2000)
• The Jewel of Turmish (2002)
• Realms of War (2008)

Other novels

• Stalker Analog (1993)
• Lethal Interface (1993)
• Hunters of the Dark Sea (2003)