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Mike Wells

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://www.mikewellsbooks.com

Twitter

MikeWellsAuthor

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Young Adult, Romance

Influences

Rod Serling, David Mamet, Thomas Hardy, Alfred Hitchcock ...more

Member Since

April 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/mikewellsauthor

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Email me at mike (at) mikewellsbooks.com or follow me on Twitter (@MikeWellsAuthor) and get a FREE copy of one of my bestselling books. I'm an American author best known for my Lust, Money & Murder series and and written more than 25 other thriller and suspense novels. I also have taught in the Creative Writing program at Oxford. I'm known for my super fast-paced, 'unputdownable' books.

Please visit my website/blog at:

http://www.mikewellsbooks.com/

And please join me on Twitter and Facebook:

http://twitter.com/mikewellsauthor

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Popular Answered Questions

Mike, I loved your series "Lust, Money & Murder" (at least 1 & 2) but have lost or had stolen my Kindle and will not be replacing it. I can not afford to repurchase it and have found that I missed holding the actual book in my hands. My question is are all of your books ebooks only or are there some hard copies floating out there somewhere? Sandy

Mike Wells Sandy, the only hard copies of my books are of other titles, not the Lust, Money & Murder series. I am moving exclusively to ebooks for many reasons, …moreSandy, the only hard copies of my books are of other titles, not the Lust, Money & Murder series. I am moving exclusively to ebooks for many reasons, including economic ones (for myself and for my readers). I think if you want to keep reading my books you have to adapt to ebooks, sorry, the demand is just too small to justify paper and the higher prices paper require. By the way, you don't have to buy a new Kindle--just get a Kindle app for your smartphone, tablet, or PC. Also, you say you can't afford to replace your physical Kindle, but Kindles pay for themselves pretty fast because ebooks are generally cheaper than paper, and after that point it starts saving you money. I do all my reading on a tablet now, have not bought a paper book in years, don't miss them much anymore, have gotten used to ebooks..(less)

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What is the easiest way to get a decent plot going for those of us who are horrible at plotlining, or maybe less imaginative?

Mike Wells Very good question, Quinesia. First, when you say that you’re not good at plotting, the first thing that comes to mind is that maybe you shouldn’t wor…moreVery good question, Quinesia. First, when you say that you’re not good at plotting, the first thing that comes to mind is that maybe you shouldn’t worry about this so much in the first place. There are tons of commercial bestsellers and probably even more literary fiction that have extremely simple plots. After all, plot is just one of many aspects of a story. One such book (and movie) that immediately popped into my mind was Accidental Tourist. The plot was: a married couple breaks up and husband finds new girlfriend. Period. That’s it. Yet I was engaged by that beautifully written book from Page 1 all the way to the end, and so were millions of other readers.

So, one answer could be for you to just focus on the aspects of a story that are naturally good at and don’t worry about coming up with a spectacular plot. Keeping readers pinned to the story with the question of “How will this turn out” is all that matters. In the book I mentioned, the main question was would this man go back to his wife, or not? And it worked.

Having said all that, I believe that if you set your mind to learning how to come up with good plots, you can do that as well. You’ve already taken the first step by seeking more information on this. There are many books, blogs and websites that have extensive material on how to create good plots, plot twists, etc. Just Google that and you’ll find them. A good place to start is with articles that say there are only seven (or nine, or ten, etc.) basic plots and that every book that’s ever been written follows one of those plots (Rags to Riches, Man Against the System, and so on)

Some practical advice: one thing I do, and I’m not ashamed to admit it, is “lift” plots, usually from movies or TV series. As Picasso said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” What I think he meant is that every great artist builds his/her work on the work of others—we all have influences—and that a painting (or story) that appears “original” in fact has probably been done before, and usually many times—it’s just been disguised and used in a different context, which is the only original part. I don’t usually copy whole plots, just pieces of a plot, or a subplot, and then I change it around to the point where no one would ever recognize it. I don’t do this because I’m lazy—sometimes I just see a movie or TV episode and think, “Wow, what a great plot line—I love it! I’m going to use that sometime!” And I write it down—I actually keep a Plot Ideas file that is full of these notes, along with ideas I get on my own, ideas from the news, from some anecdote I hear, all kinds of different sources. Again, if you want to become good at plotting and have plots be one of the better aspects of your books, you can do it—I fully believe it CAN be learned.

I hope that helps!(less)

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Mike Wells’s books

Average rating: 4.05 · 9,672 ratings · 1,252 reviews · 164 distinct works • Similar authors

	Lust, Money & Murder (Lust, Money & Murder, #1-3) 4.22 avg rating — 1,754 ratings — published 2011 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lust (Lust, Money & Murder, #1) 3.86 avg rating — 1,854 ratings — published 2011 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wild Child 3.80 avg rating — 592 ratings — published 1998 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Money (Lust, Money & Murder, #2) 4.16 avg rating — 425 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Baby Talk - Book 1 3.55 avg rating — 461 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Murder (Lust, Money & Murder, #3) 4.22 avg rating — 343 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Passion, Power & Sin - Book 1 3.81 avg rating — 316 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Forbidden, Book 1 by Mike Wells (Goodreads Author), Devika Fernando (Goodreads Author) 3.78 avg rating — 316 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Drive-By Wife (The Drive-By Wife, #1) 3.72 avg rating — 286 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cattoretti's Return (Lust, Money & Murder #4) 4.34 avg rating — 210 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Mike Wells's Blog

10 Tips to Write Better Dialogue

Good dialogue can elevate a novel from ho-hum to unforgettable. It's a crucial component of storytelling that helps bring characters to life and move the plot forward. But writing dialogue that's both believable and engaging can be a challenge.

Here are 10 tips for writing better dialogue in your novel, with examples that employ all of them.

1. Less is more. One of the best pieces of advice I e

Series by Mike Wells

Lust, Money & Murder (9 books)
by

Mike Wells (Goodreads Author)

4.11 avg rating — 5,140 ratings

Wild Child (3 books)
by

Mike Wells (Goodreads Author)

3.91 avg rating — 714 ratings

Passion, Power & Sin (5 books)
by

Mike Wells (Goodreads Author)

4.05 avg rating — 552 ratings

The Drive-By Wife (4 books)
by

Mike Wells (Goodreads Author)

4.02 avg rating — 530 ratings

Forbidden (6 books)
by

Mike Wells (Goodreads Author),

Devika Fernando (Goodreads Author)

3.92 avg rating — 506 ratings

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Mike’s Recent Updates

Mike Wells wrote a new blog post AIRRC Test the color responses for the AI Replacement Risk Indicator: Choose a number between 1 and 10: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Calculate Risk
Mar 23, 2023 12:34AM · like

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Quotes by Mike Wells (?)

“If I couldn't be a fiction writer, I would be a roller coaster designer for theme parks”
― Mike Wells

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“When they stepped out of the taxi and approached the hotel lobby, she mustered up the courage to take Nick’s hand. He quickly let go, frowning at her. “I thought we were supposed to be married,” she said, a little hurt. “We are. Five years, Elaine. No married couple holds hands after five years.”
― Mike Wells, Lust

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“Maybe you’re right,” Kyle said. While Kyle drove, he was deep in thought, trying to grapple with the future. Briana’s future. So, the green water had saved her again today. But what about tomorrow? And the next day? And the next? What was she going to do, just keep coming back to the lake and swimming down to the bottom for her green-water fix, like some sort of aquatic vampire? And what about school? She was supposed to leave for State in another week. It was a three-hour drive away. What was she going to do then?”
― Mike Wells, Wild Child

4 likes

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Mike’s Quotes

“If I couldn't be a fiction writer, I would be a roller coaster designer for theme parks”
― Mike Wells

8 likes

4 likes

“Briana watched him for a moment and then looked back out her window. “You don’t know what you’re missing, Kyle.”
― Mike Wells, Wild Child

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“She could feel the emotional wedge between him and his father. It must be very hard for them to work together, she thought. Maybe she just didn’t understand the ways of the super wealthy.”
― Mike Wells, Passion, Power & Sin - Book 1

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