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A relentless thriller that explores the unbreakable bonds that transcend time.
by Michael Wendroff
Genre: Thriller
‘I could barely put this book down! The twists and turns. The references to current political climate and the unanswered “who dun it” questions kept me engaged until the last page. Great read. Fast paced and an unexpected ending. Kudos for Wendroff’s debut novel!’ – Amazon review
‘I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat. He is a colorful writer and the characters just come to life. They become very real, and the interplay between them is really intriguing. I highly recommend this book.’ – Amazon review
**Paperback edition just released Oct 7, 2025 – Get it now!**
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Michael Wendroff is the author of What Goes Around, a debut thriller published by Bloomsbury, which bestselling author Eric Rickstad calls a “brilliant debut,” and bestselling author Lisa Black says, “starts off at a breakneck pace and doesn’t let up until it reaches its unexpected conclusion.” Plus, #1 bestselling author J.D. Black says, “Relentless and gritty, Wendroff expertly weaves a narrative that begs, ‘just one more page…’”
The book was inspired by what his mother said to him the second he was born: “Oh! How nice to see you–Again!”
Michael has an MBA in marketing from NYU, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame. He is a global marketing consultant. He shares his time between New York City, Sarasota, Florida, and Lake Garda, Italy. He is married and has three wonderful children.
His mother was an editor (watching his mother scribbling in red ink on manuscript pages at home on weekends prepared him for his own editor’s comments!). She remarried a literary agent, so Michael was friendly with many authors, and even spent a vacation with Robert Ludlum. Watching Ludlum hand-write his 450 page novels on yellow legal pads didn’t dissuade Michael from trying to write a novel (though he’s thankful for his PC).
What Goes Around was launched in the USA, UK, and Australia, and foreign language rights have been sold in Italian, Japanese, and Hungarian. The hardcover went through 3 printings, and now the trade paperback is available (along with audio book and e-book).
Fun fact: Michael’s great-grandfather was brought over by Thomas Edison from the University of Copenhagen to work with him. He holds a number of patents, including for plastic buttons. Michael proudly wears button- down shirts whenever he can.
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When did the title “What Goes Around” come to you?
I have to admit that it came from my publisher, not me. My name had been “Perennial.” My publisher came to me and said that for a thriller, they thought they could do better. Now, in my marketing career I would often have ad agencies come in and show me a number of ads and I would normally end up having them make revisions or come back with new ads. I thought the same thing would happen here, but it didn’t. As soon as they suggested What Goes Around, I knew that was it! Not only does it sound like a thriller, but it totally ties into the entire book’s theme. Plus I also think the potential reader that sees the title completes the phrase in their own mind, so I’ve already made a connection with them.
Described as relentless and gritty and about to go into second print…what do you want us to know about the book?
It’s actually now into its third printing, I’m proud to say. It was published in the USA,UK and Australia in hardcover. You can get it at The Island Book shop in Venice. It is also available on Amazon in eBook and audiobooks. I’m amazed how popular audiobooks have become. And to my surprise, my agent sold foreign translation rights in Japanese, Hungarian, and Italian.
You mentioned, “relentless and gritty,” and I was thrilled to see that the author who said that has now made it to #1 on the bestseller list. In fact, JD Barker’s full quote was, “Relentless and gritty, Wendroff weaves a narrative that begs, ‘just one more page…'” And that’s exactly what I wanted to achieve–a page turner that the reader can’t put down.
Promoting the book is a challenge but with an MBA in marketing and your background in the publishing field in a literary agency you may’ve seen what it takes. And now that you’ve achieved a lifelong goal of writing your own book, what’s next?
I always wanted to write a book and it was really the pandmic that got me going-there was that periodof time when you couldn’t do anything, couldn’t even play tennis or go to the beach. So I was out of excuses and went at it. Rightnow, I’m spending a lot of time promoting it. Authors have to realize that today, writing is only 50% of their time, the other 50% is marketing. I’ve done a lot of podcasts, been reviewed by a lot of bloggers (I’m really happy the reviews have been great), and attend a lot of events, including book clubs. The bookclubs sem to really enjoy having a real writer at their meetings, providing insights about the novel as well as the writing and publishing process. In fact, I’d be happy to join any of your readers book clubs (contact me at wendroffm@gmail.com).
My next goal is to write my second book. I’ve plotted it and researched it, so now time to start writing! It will be another thriller and feature the two main characters from What Goes Around, as publishers tend to like series. It’s like building a brand.
What inspires you to write and tell us about your process. Do you write at a certain time, place…You mentioned your office and pool area.I notice you recently enrolled in the Citizens Police Academy in Venice to learn to shoot a taser….what are other things you enjoy researching for your stories. Do you feel it worked for you starting with an outline?
I love writing, and my process is plot, research, write, and edit.
I usually write in the mornings, when I’m freshest, either in my office or at the pool. The water inspires me, that’s another reason Venice is great-beaches, ponds-I don’t even mind the alligators staring at me. I usually sit at my pc to get the story going, and not worry about things like grammer or the specific words, I just want to get the writing flowing. The next morning I will reread what I’d written, and try to make it real writing. Make sure every word fits with the others, make sure each sentence fits with the others. Add the analogies and metaphors. After that’s done, I’ll start scribbling out the next party of the story on my pc, which will be re-written the next day. That process of write then rewrite continues everyday, until I can write my favorite two words: The End
But before I actually start the writing itself, comes the plotting. There are actually two types of writers-plotters and pantsers.Pantsers simply sit in front of their computers and write by the seat of their pants. They have no idea where the story is going. That’s not be. I have to know everything upfront, so after ideating I write a detailed plot outline. I need to know not only what the ending will be, but where I’ll plant the red herrings, and where I’ll put the twists and turns. Nut it’s not like things won’t change. Once I became really attached to one of my characters, and the plot called for the character to die, but I couldn’t do it. I had to change the plot. Another time I did kill off a character I loved, but my wife yelled at me because I was walking around for a week in depression. She said “They’re not real!!.” But to an author, they are real!
The other thing I do before writing is the researching. Sure there’s Google and Chat GPT, but what I found is best is talking to people who do the types of things that are in your book. Living in Venice, I had a lot of resources. I’d come to know FBI agents and police officers and chiefs. And the Venice Police department is great. It was important for my book to talk to a female detective and they put me in touch with one of their own, Courtney Zak. She was great, and a lot of her insights are in the book. The Venice Police Department actually runs a “Citizens Police Academy” where you can learn about all the different facets of the things they do, and I just finished it, which I highly recommend for anyone.
So talking to people for research is critical. Now, I don’t think I spoke to any serial killers…
Anything you want to share about family, kids, upbringing? I like that quote your mother said when you were born, “Nice to see you again.”
My mother was an editor at major New York City publishing firms. I distinctly remember her on a weekend sitting cross-legged on her bed, manuscript pages, strewn about, and red pen in hand writing editorial comments all over the pages. So at least I was prepared for my editor’s comments on my book. They weren’t in red pen, but the comments in the margins of the word document were as instructive. But I wasn’t surprised.
She remarried a literary agent, who had many thriller and mystery writer clients, so I probably got my love of the genre from reading all those books, free! Unfortunately he’s no longer with us, but I think still had an impact. My agent had been shopping around my manuscript to publishers, which takes a lot of time. But the very next day after my stepfather died, my book was sold! So I think I had a little help from above.
Is there an anecdote you could share about authors you ran into when growing up?
Actually, I’ve got one for both!
My stepfather was a literary agent and one of his clients was the bestselling author, Robert Ludlum (many know him for the Jason Bourne movies with Matt Damon). Once I got to stay at his winter home in St. Thomas. I remember waking up one morning, going into his living room and seeing him on the couch writing on a yellow legal pad with a pencil. That’s how he wrote his 450 page novels, by hand! While I admired Ludlum’s plotting and prose, I couldn’t do that! Thankfully, when it came time for me to write What Goes Around, I had a PC!
Regarding Capote, I grew up in a bit of a literary milieu, then went to NYU for business. It was when writing my MBA thesis that I was able to marry my love of books with my new love of marketing, as my thesis was on “Marketing in the Publishing Industry.” In fact, the industry’s trade journal, Publishers Weekly, excerpted my thesis in 3 editions, and paid me. That was the first time I got paid for my writing–I liked that!
During the research for it I interviewed a lot of publishing executives. One time I was waiting outside the office of the Editor-in-Chief for Simon& Schuster, and finally the door opens, and I’m ushered in and who do I meet–Truman Capote! As a thriller writer, meeting the author of In Cold Blood was amazing! And he looked exactly as you’d imagine.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Believe in yourself and never give up.
Write every day, even if it’s only 10 minutes.
Learn your craft–there are so many opportunities! Online courses (I took courses on BBC Maestro from Lee Child and Harlan Coben). Conventions-Thrillerfest in NYC puts on great craft seminars. There are writing groups too. Read in your genre and never stop learning.
What advice would you give to your neighbors about life?
Wow,that’s a big question.
But I guess it boils down to be nice. Because, What Goes Around, Comes Around!
Nina Soden 