Friday, October 11, 2024 - Read Previous Newsletters

Hello 'Unputdownables!'

I'm pumped to share something special with you! Take a quick leap into the world of intrigue and suspense with the brand-new podcast episode, "Deep Dive: Marilyn's Secret Lipstick." This 4-minute episode gives you an exciting, compelling overview of my newest standalone novel in the Lust, Money & Murder series, selected by the Barnes & Noble Editorial Team as a Top Indie Favorite for Fall 2024. Best of all, it's completely spoiler-free!

Listen here:

My website

Facebook

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I'm really looking forward to getting the book into your hands.

If you haven't read the spoiler-free Sneak Peeks yet, here are the links:

Sneak Peek #1

Sneak Peek #2

Sneak Peek #3

Are you looking for more adventure? If you haven’t read Outback Diamonds yet, now’s a great time to pick it up at 20% price discount. It’s the perfect opportunity to escape into another thriller while waiting for Marilyn's Secret Lipstick to launch. While both books are standalones, they deliver the suspense and action that you’ve come to love in all my Lust, Money & Murder books.

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 Ozzi!

Where you're from/hometown: Toronto, Canada
Favorite book of all time: Eye of the Needle, by Ken Follett (the movie, too!)
Favorite author: Ken Follett, Mike Wells, Daniel Silva
Favorite Mike Wells Book: Lust, Money & Murder - Russian Trilogy
Last book read: The Order by Daniel Silva
Favorite reading format/place/time: ebooks for traveling and commuting, paperbacks for home
Fun fact: I love ice fishing, just like your Dmitry character!
Question: What inspires you to write books?

Nice to meet you, Ozzi!

About your question, that's definitely the most common query I get and probably the hardest to answer. In my case, I wouldn't say that I'm "inspired" to write in general. I'm often inspired after I come up with a great story idea, inspired to make it into a book. The real question is, what makes me struggle to come up with such ideas in the first place?

For me, writing is just something I have to do. Probably it's an escape from the normal, everyday problems, stresses, and pain of life. And from boredom, all of which is why many readers enjoy fiction. Some of you have told me you become so absorbed in novels that you're fully transported to another place and time. Well, believe me, so am I when I'm immersed in writing one. Also, the minutes and hours pass by very quickly when I'm in that state—it just flies by.

To give you an example, I wrote Lust, Money & Murder 1, 2 & 3 during incredibly boring train commutes between Oxford and London. I would become so absorbed in the story I was creating that I would sometimes miss my stop! One such occasion was in the dead of winter when I was heading back to Oxford at night, and it was snowing hard. When I looked up from my laptop, the train had long passed the Oxford station and was hurtling deep into the countryside. I scrambled off at the next stop, only to find myself in the middle of nowhere—there was no station at all, just one bench on either side of the tracks, with a partial glass shelter.

I looked at the schedule and found out the next train back to Oxford wouldn't be there for almost an hour. So what did I do? I opened up my laptop, huddled in the corner of the shelter. And with snow swirling around my head, big, wet flakes sticking to my eyelashes and hands, I continued writing the book.

I fell into my story world again almost instantly. I was no longer the frigid Oxfordshire countryside, but in the warm basement of a company called DayPrinto S.p.A., in Milan, Italy, where millions in counterfeit currency was produced by a massive printing press. In fact, I wasn't even Mike Wells anymore, I was US Secret Service Agent Elaine Brogan. I was barefoot, walking all over a gigantic blow-up of a US $100 bill, pointing out the tiniest flaws. I could feel the paper beneath my feet, the smell of ink in the air, and the dark stare of Giorgio Cattoretti as he studied my face and my every movement, wondering if I would betray him...and me wondering whether I would live to see another day.

That's escapism, my friends, and that frigid hour in the snowy countryside passed by like five minutes. Then I was back on the train, heading home, still writing the scene but paying a bit more attention to the stops. 😃

Help Spread the Word!

We’re almost at the launch of Marilyn's Secret Lipstick, and every bit of support counts. If you know someone who loves a good thriller, why not forward them this newsletter? The more, the merrier as we prepare for release day. Let’s share the excitement!

Have a great week,
Mike