What Goes Around, the debut thriller by Michael Wendroff
Author Interview + Book & Author Info + Author Pet Corner!
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What Goes Around
EVIL HAS MANY FACES
Chilling killings terrorize a town and bring together two detectives to face the hardest tasks of their lives. Jack Ludlum, who relies on his brawn to get things done, is now paired with his arch-enemy, Jill Jarred, a brilliant investigator with keen intuition. As they delve into the secret world of incels and white supremacists, and conflict between local authorities and the FBI rages, a media frenzy further complicates the mission.
Is there a serial killer on the loose? Or something entirely different? Will their clashing personalities be their undoing, or can they unite to stop the killer before they kill each other?
What Goes Around is a captivating thriller that examines the intricacies of love, loss, and the unbreakable bonds that transcend time. With its pulse-pounding pace, captivating characters, and a revelatory twist that challenges the boundaries of life and death, this novel will keep you captivated from the first page to the last, and thinking long afterwards.
To purchase What Goes Around, click the following link: Amazon
Interview with Michael Wendroff — Author of What Goes Around
What Goes Around combines White supremacists, conflicts between factions of law enforcement, and a media frenzy. That feels very timely! Where did the idea for this story spring from?
One of the things I believe readers get excited about is conflict. Well, when you have white supremacists in a story, you are sure to get conflict!
A key inciting incident for me was the march that took place in Charlottesville, Va. which totally disgusted me. But it made me want to learn more about how someone could become something like that. So I researched it in many ways, and tried to recreate how a person can become a monster. Unfortunately this behavior continues to be in the news.
What Goes Around pairs up Jack Ludlum with Jill Jarred. What would you like readers to know about your central characters?
Jack Ludlum was patterned a bit after Jack Reacher, though Jill certainly tried to get him to make some changes.
Jill was influenced highly by the death of her father, who was a cop. Even after death, she tries to make him proud. The two of them are bitter enemies, forced to work together.
Does the relationship change? Tune in!
Tell us about your journey writing and finding a home for What Goes Around:
My writing journey began the second I was born.
My mother said to me (so I’m told), “Nice to see you again.”
I’ve never forgotten that, and always wanted to do something with that real life scene, and it became a key impetus for writing my novel (spoiler alert! It plays into the twist ending).
My writing journey was helped by my mother’s prior profession–an editor at Dell publishing, as well as other publishing houses. While she is deceased, I’ll always remember the red pencil marks she’d put all over manuscripts while reading through them sitting cross-legged on her bed on weekends. Those red marks did prepare me for the editorial comments I got! At least though on the computer margins the editorial comments I got weren’t in red.
My writing journey was also helped by my stepfather, literary agent Henry Morrison. I lived in a world of authors, as he agented Robert Ludlum, David Morrell, Joseph Finder, Dean Koontz, Lawrence Block, and many others. I actually worked in his agency summers during college, selling foreign rights to his clients’ books. I think my favorite part of this was getting all of these new novels to read for free!
My writing journey was interrupted by a career in marketing. While my MBA thesis from NYU was titled “Marketing in the Publishing Industry,” and it was actually excerpted in Publishers Weekly, that was as close as I got to publishing for quite a while (though for the thesis it was thrilling waiting outside Michael Korda’s office (he was editor in chief at Simon&Schuster at the time), and being introduced to Truman Capote on his way out!
While I always wanted to write a novel, it was Covid that finally got me going on what became What Goes Around. It was the point where I couldn’t do anything-couldn’t go to a restaurant, or the beach, or play tennis. So I had no more excuses. I wrote it, and the rest is history.
Well, not quite history. And that sounds way easier than it was. The key was having a great agent myself, who found me a great publisher. Interesting though–obviously it’s very hard to get your book published. Robert Ludlum had his first novel rejected by the first 14 publishers that Henry Morrison sent it to. The 15th bought it, and the rest truly was history–that and all his books became bestsellers. But when my agent was shopping around What Goes Around, Henry was very ill. The book had some rejections. Henry eventually passed on. The day after he died, the book was sold! So definitely some help from above.
You have worked for several years in marketing, how did that career impact your writing, and how you have thought about the launch of your first novel?
I think my career in marketing definitely helped. One of the key aspects of marketing, of course, is advertising. The vital thing there is getting and keeping the consumer’s attention. For me, that translates to topical events in your novel, and to short chapters (the consumer attention span is way less than it used to be!). It also translates into ending most chapters on a cliffhanger. I think that’s why I’ve gotten such nice pre-publication quotes from NY Times bestselling authors. For instance, Kathleen Kent called it “Adrenaline-fueled.” Lisa Black said it “grabs you from the first page and doesn’t stop until it reaches its unexpected conclusion.” And J.D. Barker said “Relentless and gritty, Wendroff expertly weaves a narrative that t begs, ‘just one more page…’”
See, I just gave myself an ad due to my marketing background!
There’s also one other aspect of my business background that helped. That was doing a lot of research. I learned how to do research that’s valid, and I learned to enjoy it. So doing all the research I needed to do for What Goes Around was actually fun! Plus one other thing–my business background taught me the importance of preparation and thinking things through before you write out a proposal. This translates to my novel writing in terms of plotting out the book.
While I know there are plenty of writers that just write by the seats of their pants (and I admire that, and many are bestsellers), that’s not me. My writing process is to come up with the key idea, plot it out in a lot of detail, research, and then start writing. When I write I refer to my plot outline, sit at my desk and get the words out to advance the story, and the next day I go back and refine what I wrote the day before. Then more words get scribbled, and the process repeats itself.
You love to travel, especially Italy. What do you love best about traveling, and that country in particular?
I find traveling to be a bit mind broadening. Watching how foreigners react to situations and interact with me and their own friends helps sharpen how I describe my characters and situations, as the contrast illuminates what I otherwise might miss in the USA alone.
Italy is amazing. The beauty, the history, the people, and of course, the food. We live in Florida, which we really enjoy, but to escape the heat and humidity of the Florida summers we bought an apartment in Italy. It has a wonderful view of Lake Garda, and it definitely inspires my writing. I’ve been very lucky
What are you working on now?
Well a sequel of course! It’s actually a prequel, and has the two main characters, Jack and Jill (yes, Jack and Jill) on another thrilling adventure. It has some parallels to What Goes Around, but of course plenty of differences and twists as well.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:
Don’t ever give up. Write every day. Always be learning. Be kind–because What Goes Around comes around.
Author Pet Corner!
I do have Lola in my life. She is a Jack Russell terrier, and her problem is she’s very smart and very cute.
Tough combination for me–she gets away with way too much! But she’s protective, so any bad reviewers, watch out for Bad Lola!
Michael Wendroff — Author of What Goes Around
Michael Wendroff is a global marketing consultant, and now, an author. Michael comes from a publishing background. His mother was an editor at Dell Publishing and President of Belmont Books—one of the first female senior executives in the publishing industry. His stepfather, Henry Morrison was a literary agent to many best-selling authors, and a true force of nature.
Michael received his MBA degree from New York University. He also received his undergraduate degree from NYU, where he was inducted into their Hall of Fame. Besides writing, he enjoys tennis, boating, and traveling. He is married with three children.
To learn more about Michael, click on any of the following links: Website, Facebook, Instagram & X
