Mike Wells (Author of Lust, Money & Murder)

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Mike Wells

欧宝娱乐 Author

Born

The United States

Website

Twitter

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Young Adult, Romance

Influences

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

Member Since

April 2011

URL

/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:

And please join me on Twitter and Facebook:

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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, 鈥辞谤别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, 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鈥檙e not good at plotting, the first thing that comes to mind is that maybe you shouldn鈥檛 wor鈥辞谤别Very good question, Quinesia. First, when you say that you鈥檙e not good at plotting, the first thing that comes to mind is that maybe you shouldn鈥檛 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鈥檚 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鈥檛 worry about coming up with a spectacular plot. Keeping readers pinned to the story with the question of 鈥淗ow will this turn out鈥� 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鈥檝e 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鈥檒l 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鈥檚 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鈥檓 not ashamed to admit it, is 鈥渓ift鈥� plots, usually from movies or TV series. As Picasso said, 鈥淕ood artists copy, great artists steal.鈥� What I think he meant is that every great artist builds his/her work on the work of others鈥攚e all have influences鈥攁nd that a painting (or story) that appears 鈥渙riginal鈥� in fact has probably been done before, and usually many times鈥攊t鈥檚 just been disguised and used in a different context, which is the only original part. I don鈥檛 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鈥檛 do this because I鈥檓 lazy鈥攕ometimes I just see a movie or TV episode and think, 鈥淲ow, what a great plot line鈥擨 love it! I鈥檓 going to use that sometime!鈥� And I write it down鈥擨 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鈥擨 fully believe it CAN be learned.

I hope that helps!(less)

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Mike Wells鈥檚 books

Average rating: 4.07 · 10,735 ratings · 1,292 reviews · 187 distinct works 鈥� Similar authors

	Lust, Money & Murder (Lust, Money & Murder, #1-3) 4.23 avg rating — 2,240 ratings — published 2011 — 8 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) 3.87 avg rating — 1,968 ratings — published 2011 — 5 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, Book 1: A Teenage Sci-Fi Conspiracy Thriller 3.83 avg rating — 626 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) 4.14 avg rating — 451 ratings — published 2011 — 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
	Baby Talk - Book 1 3.57 avg rating — 467 ratings — published 2011 — 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
	Murder (Lust, Money & Murder, #3) 4.21 avg rating — 366 ratings — published 2011 — 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
	Passion, Power & Sin - Book 1 3.77 avg rating — 342 ratings — published 2013 — 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
	Forbidden, Book 1 by Mike Wells (欧宝娱乐 Author), Devika Fernando (欧宝娱乐 Author) 3.78 avg rating — 338 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 — 319 ratings — published 2014	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 — 232 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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Read BLOB (Serialized Sci-Fi Novel) FREE!

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An alien arrives on Earth with a terrifying message:

Stop all development of artificial intelligence鈥� or risk being dominated as slaves.

This free serialized novel follows Stanford Astrophysicist Aurora Manotti as she鈥檚 drawn into a global battle between truth, deception, and the future of the human race.

Series by Mike Wells

Lust, Money & Murder (16 books)
by

Mike Wells (欧宝娱乐 Author)

4.15 avg rating — 6,273 ratings

Wild Child (3 books)
by

Mike Wells (欧宝娱乐 Author)

3.92 avg rating — 761 ratings

Passion, Power & Sin (5 books)
by

Mike Wells (欧宝娱乐 Author)

3.99 avg rating — 601 ratings

The Drive-By Wife (4 books)
by

Mike Wells (欧宝娱乐 Author)

4.00 avg rating — 590 ratings

Forbidden (6 books)
by

Mike Wells (欧宝娱乐 Author),

Devika Fernando (欧宝娱乐 Author)

3.93 avg rating — 553 ratings

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Mike Wells wrote a new blog post Read BLOB (Serialized Sci-Fi Novel) FREE! 听 An alien arrives on Earth with a terrifying message: Stop all development of artificial intelligence鈥� or risk being dominated as slaves. This free s Read more of this blog post »
Apr 04, 2025 12:32AM · like
Mike rated a book it was amazing Marilyn's Secret Lipstick : A Lust, Money & Murder Novel by Mike Wells (欧宝娱乐 Author)	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
Oct 30, 2024 05:17AM · 1 like · like · See a Problem? We鈥檇 love your help. Let us know what鈥檚 wrong with this preview of Marilyn's Secret Lipstick by Mike Wells. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you鈥檙e looking for? Preview 鈥� Marilyn's Secret Lipstick by Mike Wells <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mike has read On Russian Soil (Lust, Money & Murder, #5) by Mike Wells (欧宝娱乐 Author)	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
Jul 23, 2024 04:51AM · like
Mike has read The Drive-By Wife (The Drive-By Wife, #2) by Mike Wells (欧宝娱乐 Author)	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
Jul 22, 2024 10:46AM · like
Mike has read The Drive-By Wife (The Drive-By Wife, #3) by Mike Wells (欧宝娱乐 Author)	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
Jul 09, 2024 10:20AM · like
Mike liked Pat's review of AGAINST ALL ODDS: The Unbelievably True Story of Arnet's Rise to the INC. 500: "If you've ever thought about starting a business, this book would be a good place to start. It's an entertaining read and gives insight into what it takes to start a new business. Wells is very candid about the trials and tribulations of being an ent" Read more of this review 禄
Jan 05, 2024 06:53AM · see review

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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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“Maybe you鈥檙e right,鈥� Kyle said. While Kyle drove, he was deep in thought, trying to grapple with the future. Briana鈥檚 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, Book 1: A Teenage Sci-Fi Conspiracy Thriller

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

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Mike鈥檚 Quotes

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

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“Briana watched him for a moment and then looked back out her window. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e missing, Kyle.”
― Mike Wells, Wild Child, Book 1: A Teenage Sci-Fi Conspiracy Thriller

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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鈥檛 understand the ways of the super wealthy.”
― Mike Wells, Passion, Power & Sin - Book 1

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