Secrets of the Elusive Lover Now Available as an Audiobook

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Secrets of the Elusive Lover has just been released as an audiobook and is now available for download on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon sites (link below). Mark Torres, the narrator, has 20+ years experience as a theater actor in New York City. I believe he brings a lot to the project, really makes the characters come alive.

 Audible  Amazon USA  Amazon UK  iTunes

Synopsis:

Every woman knows an Adam. He's a "player," the type who professes true love, but with eyes that never stop wandering. He always has the perfect excuse when you find that long strand of blonde hair stuck to his collar, and fidgets whenever you get near his computer. Adam can't fool Bethany, who, despite her better judgment, falls head over heels him. Bethany is far more intelligent and strong-willed than Adam bargains for, and he finds himself smitten, too. Hilarious at times and poignant at others, Secrets of the Elusive Lover explores the age old challenge of obtaining the unattainable man, and the paradoxical issues surrounding monogamous relationships.

Note:  There is some sex that takes place between characters this novel, but it is not graphic as the sexual acts are not actually depicted.  It is more about the impact of sex on relationships and particularly non-monogamous relationships.  It is a fun and thought-provoking listen.

OTHER MIKE WELLS BOOKS IN AUDIO

(Note:  you can download any of the below FREE by becoming an Audible member on a no-risk 30 day trial basis)

Lust, Money & Murder - International Thriller

Audible  Amazon USA  Amazon UK  iTunes

Passion, Power & Sin - International Thriller

Audible  Amazon USA  Amazon UK  iTunes

The Drive-By Wife - Romantic Thriller

Audible Amazon USA  Amazon UK  iTunes

Baby Talk - Horror/Supernatural Thriller

Audible Amazon USA  Amazon UK  iTunes

The Mysterious Disappearance of Kurt Kramer - Paranormal Thriller

Audible Amazon USA  Amazon UK  iTunes

The Wrong Side of the Tracks - Coming of Age Thriller

 Audible  Amazon USA  Amazon UK  iTunes

The Mysterious Disappearance of Kurt Kramer Released in Audio

Narrator Sue Sharp

The Mysterious Disappearance of Kurt Kramer, a romantic paranormal thriller about a 16 year old boy who mysteriously disappears during a family vacation, has just been released in audio format on Audible, iTunes, Amazon USA and Amazon UK.  Sue Sharp, the voice artist who narrated Lust, Money & Murder, also did the narration for this book, and she did an excellent job.  I'm quite sure that listeners will be impressed by her work and thoroughly engaged in the story. I hope you'll give it a listen.  Although classified by publishers as "young adult," I believe many readers of all ages will remember their teenage years and enjoy this unusual tale.

Synopsis:

Seventeen year-old Rachel is crazy about Kurt, but she’s not sure the feelings are mutual. When his parents invite her and his best friend on a family vacation in Aruba, they see a meteor come down on the beach.  When they go to investigate, Kurt vanishes.  He soon begins to communicate with Rachel and his family in bizarre ways that shake everyone to the core. Rachel realizes that Kurt is stuck between worlds...and that she’s the only one who can bring him back.

Reviews (of ebook): 

"Mike Wells has written an imaginative thriller and left us hanging on the precipice of a magnificent mystery." - Dan Glover

"I really like Mike Wells's style, and this story did not disappoint. The pace is fantastic, and the plot is engaging. I could not put the book down. It did it for me, once again!" - Johanna K. Pitcairn

"Mike Wells knows exactly how to craft a short story. It captures mystery, intrigue and a summer vacation. Great writing." - Ed Blythe

"This book is a combination of sci-fi, mystery and a childhood romance all rolled into one gripping package." - Janice Spina

The Drive-By Wife to be Narrated By NYC-Area Theater Director Mark Torres

I'm excited to announce that Mark Torres, a NYC area narrator with over 30 years experience as a professional actor/director/producer, has agreed to narrate The Drive-By Wife. His audition for this thriller was amazing. When I heard him utter his first words as "Billy," the seedy villain in the story, chills ran up my spine. I knew I had the right narrator! 

The audiobook is due out in late March.  The volume will be unabridged and will be available for purchase on Audible, iTunes and Amazon.

Audiobook Version of Lust, Money & Murder Released

I'm excited to announce that Lust, Money & Murder Books 1, 2 & 3 is now available in audio format (unabridged) on Audible, Audible UK,  Amazon USA, Amazon UK and iTunes...and just in time for the holiday season, too!

This was my first adventure into the wondrous land of audiobooks, and the road was a rocky one, indeed.  I tried working with three different narrators before I was lucky enough to discover Sue Sharp, a professional voice artist from L.A.  The problem with Lust, Money & Murder, I learned, was the unusually wide range of accents required.  If you've read the series, you know that I have characters who speak in a number of different foreign accents (Italian, Irish, Russian, French, and Bulgarian) and regional American accents (Texas, Midwestern, Brooklyn, and Pittsburgh).  Sue happens to be an expert at accents and handled them all beautifully.

Even though I've listened to a number of audiobooks before, I found that listening to my own work in that format was a new experience. After Sue's first auditions, I began to understand that an audiobook is an art form in its own right, not quite a movie or stage play but not far off, either. A good audiobook narrator must also be a skilled actor and "play" all the roles in the story, must give each character not only a different voice, but a different emotional attitude. What I began to see was that an audiobook is an interpretation of a novel and adds a spin that is unique to the  person doing the narrating. 

 "I followed Elaine Brogan from her childhood, through teenage dreams and optimism, to adulthood's devastating heartaches," says Sue.  "Voicing her transformation was fun and challenging."  Sue also says she particularly enjoyed voicing the character of Tony, Giorgio Cattoretti's Italian cook.  "What a fun, happy, giving character! Reading Tony was a hoot-and-a-half!  Overall, this was a very exciting project, start to finish."

Listening to Sue's interpretation was a heady experience for me personally, and I could not be more pleased with the result.  Even though I have obviously read this book myself countless times during the creation and editng processes, I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat much of the time as I listened to the finished product, totally engaged with the story, even though I already knew what would happen next!

So, even if you already have read the Lust, Money & Murder series, I think you will enjoy listening to the audiobook and will like Sue's narration.  If you've never listened to an audiobook before, this might be a good time to give it a try.

One cool feature is that if you buy the Kindle book or already have a copy, you can get the audiobook from Amazon at a discounted price and then switch back and forth between the two.  Through some technical magic, your place is kept in the story.   Amazon calls this "Whispersync for Voice."  This feature has not been added yet for Lust, Money & Murder but should be there in a few days.  If you want me to let you know when that happens, simply drop me an email by replying to this newsletter.

Note:  if you have a book blog and would like to review the Lust, Money & Murder audiobook, a free review copy can usually be arranged.

Is the Amazon KDP Select Program Dead? A Fresh Case Study

I have a friend named Farsheed Ferdowsi, and he’s a good writer.

A damn good writer.

Last weekend, he used three of his “free days” in the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing Select program to try and boost the sales of his international thriller, Mushroom in the Sand.

In advance of this, he spent a lot of time preparing.  He fine-tuned his genres/categories so that the book, if downloaded in large numbers, would be listed on as many of the Amazon subgenre bestseller lists as possible.  Meanwhile, he placed ads in BookBub and Freebooksy to appear during those three days to maximize exposure. 

The book went free at 12:01 a.m on Friday, October 18th.  To help him out, I tweeted the news that the book was free several times to my 60,000 Twitter followers.

The downloads took off like a rocket.  By Friday night, the book was already #1 in several categories, and continued to climb in others.

Over the weekend, the novel had over 25,000 downloads!

Here is a summary of its bestseller list performance in Kindle Store eBooks:

#1 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers – all weekend

#1 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Conspiracies – all weekend

#1 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Military - all weekend

#1 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Espionage – all weekend

#1 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Terrorism – all weekend

With performance like this, I don’t have to tell you that Farsheed was excited to see what would happen on Monday morning when the book went back to paid status.

Well, the novel has now been back on the paid list for three days, and has sold a grand total of...are you sitting down?

14 copies.

That’s right, 14 copies!  At $5.95, the royalty payments will amount to about $60.  This doesn’t begin to even cover the costs of the two ads he placed.

Now, before you start thinking, “Maybe it’s not a very good book” or “maybe the subject matter is boring” etc. let me stop you right there.   This is a novel about what would happen if Iran actually develops a functional nuclear weapon. You can’t get much more timely subject matter than that. The story is fast-paced and extremely well-researched.   Readers of spy novels and thrillers love it.  The book has earned 50 reviews on Amazon, averaging 4.7 stars.  I know for a fact that Farsheed has never bought reviews or even exchanged reviews with other authors—every one of those 50 reviews is legitimate, from ordinary readers. 

As an author who has a fair amount of experience in publishing, I can only come to one conclusion about all this, which is pretty obvious.  I personally don’t think it’s worth giving Amazon exclusivity and removing a book from B&N, iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords, Google Play, Sony, Flipkart, and all the other ebook retail sites (which is required) to be included in this program.

What do you think?

Lust, Money & Murder and The Mysterious Disappearance of Kurt Kramer Both Featured on Apple's iBooks BREAKOUT BOOKS Section

My Free Books Are Now Available on the Fastr Speed Reading App for iPad & iPhone

I'm pleased to announce today that all my free books are now available on the Fastr speed reading app for iPads and iPhones.  Fastr is an ebook reader with tools to improve your reading performance and make you a more efficient reader. Fastr Pro is the most downloaded educational app in Spain, France, Italy, UK and 12 other countries and reached TOP10 apps in Education category in 57 countries in July, 2013.  Click here to see the app on the iTunes store.