Friday, August 23, 2024 - Read Previous Newsletters

Hello 'Unputdownables!'

I'm sure you've heard the old adage, "What are the three most important considerations when buying a house or renting an apartment?" Answer: Location, location, and location.

While this may apply in real estate, it doesn't apply in fiction writing. In a novel, the location (setting) may or may not be as important as other elements (plot, character, pacing, etc.) of the story. In some of my books, such as Outback Diamonds, the location is so significant (a place where most of the population live and work underground) it's almost its own character. In other books, however, such as Wild Child, the exact location doesn't play much of a role and isn't ever specified - it's some medium-sized city in the United States, and astute readers might pick up that it's in the South.

Lust, Money & Murder was meant to be an international thriller from the start, so as the book morphed into a full-blown series, I chose a lot of different and fascinating (I hope, for readers) locations around the globe in which to set the stories. In fact, I even named the trilogies after them — The Russian Trilogy, The African Trilogy, The Greek Trilogy, The Japanese Trilogy, etc. I know that most of my readers expect the LM&M books to take place in exotic settings. Do you agree? What books have you read (by anyone) where location plays a major role?

No, I haven't started an Outback Diamonds brewery (yet!), but I thought I would share this photo. I wear another hat besides novelist — I teach entrepreneurship and "authorpreneurship" to business school students. A team in my class came up with the idea for a startup that would allow customers to create private labels for their own beverage brands, and they made this for me as an example. Cheers!

Giveaway Question Results

Speaking of beverages, I was pleasantly surprised to see that coffee (or tea) play as big a role for you as readers as it does for me as a writer. I can't produce a word of a decent story without at least one cappuccino to get me going.

The results were:

- Coffee/tea is a key part of my reading experience (78%)

- I can take it or leave it (22%)

******* Giveaway Winner *******

The winner of the Outback Diamonds (Night Version) T-shirt: Debra Corley of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, USA.

Congratulations, Debra!

Reader Spotlight

Time for our Reader Spotlight, where I give a shout-out to one of my amazing readers and offer you the chance to enjoy your 'moment in the spotlight.' All you have to do is answer a few simple questions. Here's this week's edition!

Meet Juli!

Where you're from/hometown: Anadia, Portugal
Favorite book of all time: Rowan's Mill by Elizabeth Walker & Forever Friends by Drienie Hatting
Favorite author: Mike Wells, Clive Cussler
Favorite Mike Wells book: The Lust, Money and Murder series - all of them
Last book read: Outback Diamonds (still reading)
Favorite reading place/time: Anytime, but mostly at night - Kindle
Fun fact: Emigrated from South Africa to Portugal at age 64!
Question: Do you travel in order to do research for books?

Thanks, Juli, for sharing your story and for your enthusiasm for my books! Moving from one country to another is no small feat, and it's truly inspiring to see such a bold life change.

Your question is a good one. Yes, I do sometimes travel in order to research my novels. A good example was the very first Lust, Money & Murder book, in which I made a trip to Washington, D.C., to go on a tour of the US Treasury's Department of Engraving and Printing, which is the main site where American paper money is made. The tour guide happened to young and enthusiastic. After telling him I was researching a book, he proceeded to convey all kinds of interesting non-public tidbits about the process of designing and printing paper money, most of which I included in the book.

I think research is crucial. As an author, you don't want readers reaching some point in the book and thinking, "Ha--Mike has no idea what he's talking about." That doesn't mean you actually have to travel to every location you write about, for example, but you should research them enough to prevent this from happening and shattering the crucial "suspension of disbelief." I get a tremendous amount of useful location information simply from watching videos posted by ordinary tourists and studying lots of other information easily found online.

I hope that answers your question, Juli.

Keep reading and stay inspired!

Mike