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John Madinger

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://johnmadinger.com

Genre

Crime, History, Mystery

Influences

Joseph Wambaugh

Member Since

February 2019

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

John Madinger Set yourself an easily attainable goal of writing one page per day. One double-spaced page of 12-point type with standard margins is roughly 330 words…moreSet yourself an easily attainable goal of writing one page per day. One double-spaced page of 12-point type with standard margins is roughly 330 words. Set aside a regular time to bang out your page, then go do something else. At the end of 365 days, you'll have a full-length book of 120,000 words. Wait, most publishers don't want that many words, so stop at eight months or so and presto, you've got 80,000 words for your novel.
And, you'll be surprised to find yourself writing more than a page before very long.
The other trick is to start out by re-reading everything you've done so far before commencing the day's struggle. When you get pretty far in and you've read the first bit 20 or 30 times already, you can set a new start point. I always go back and read the first pages, though, because that's where you catch the reader and you want to get that bit absolutely perfect. I've read the opening chapter to my latest novel at least 500 times. And made almost as many edits. But if you don't love it, chances are others won't.
This makes the editing process much easier and less painful. Most of what you do isn't writing, it's editing, (like 500 times) and not nearly as much fun as creating, so anything that makes that go easier is worth it.
"A writer writes," as famous would-be (and badly writer's-blocked) author Billy Crystal said in "Throw Momma From the Train." So, bang out that page starting today. (less)

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

John Madinger Most people in Hawaii remember the Massie Affair, a claim of rape by a young Navy wife in 1931 that led to much, much worse. It's still Hawaii's most …moreMost people in Hawaii remember the Massie Affair, a claim of rape by a young Navy wife in 1931 that led to much, much worse. It's still Hawaii's most infamous crime, even after almost 80 years have passed, also remembered because it brought the great Clarence Darrow, "Attorney for the Damned," to the islands for his last ever trial.
In the early 1980s, I met William K. Wells, a retired federal narcotic agent and we spent many afternoons talking about the old days in the islands when he chased opium peddlers through Honolulu's notorious Hell's Half-Acre slum neighborhood.
One day, I asked him if he remembered the Massie case. He did. And not only that, he remembered the girl at the middle of it, 20-year old Thalia Fortescue Massie, cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, grand-niece of Alexander Graham Bell, a Washington and Long Island debutante who married a young naval officer at only 16. "Oh, yeah," he said. "We knew she was yen shee quoy."
Well, yen shee quoy means "opium fiend" or "opium devil," a hardcore smoker. He told me more about Thalia, lots more, and that's what inspired Pipe Dreams, which will be coming out in July. Because Billy Wells - and I - know Thalia had a secret much darker than the beach road that night, and I'm going to tell the story to you.(less)

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John Madinger’s books

Average rating: 4.39 · 133 ratings · 39 reviews · 9 distinct works • Similar authors

	Lethal Doses: The Story Behind "The Godfather Of Fentanyl" 4.62 avg rating — 50 ratings — 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 Laundering: A Guide for Criminal Investigators, Third Edition 4.36 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 1999 — 12 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
	Death on Diamond Head 4.21 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2008 — 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
	Going Under: Kidnapping, Murder, and a Life Undercover 3.94 avg rating — 16 ratings — 7 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
	Pipe Dreams: The Dark Secret Behind Hawaii's Most Notorious Crime 4.70 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2020 — 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
	Confidential Informant: Law Enforcement's Most Valuable Tool really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1999 — 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
	Opium Kings of Old Hawaii really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 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
	By John Madinger - Money Laundering: A Guide for Criminal Investigators, Third Editi (3rd Edition) (2011-12-29) [Hardcover] it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	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
	[Confidential Informant: Law Enforcement's Most Valuable Tool] [Author: Madinger, John] [October, 1999] by John Madinger (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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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John is Currently Reading

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The Night Ranger (John Wells, #7)

by Alex Berenson (Goodreads Author)

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Nov 30, 2025 02:10PM

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No Small Thing: A Novel of the American Revolution

by Harold Coyle (Goodreads Author)

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50 Masterpieces You Have to Read Before You Die, Vol.4

by Golden Deer Classics

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Aug 21, 2025 02:36PM

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John Madinger is currently reading The Night Ranger (John Wells, #7) by Alex Berenson (Goodreads 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
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Quotes by John Madinger (?)

“If he makes a mistake, he’ll only find out when the devil calls him to breakfast in Hell”
― John Madinger, Lethal Doses: The Story Behind "The Godfather Of Fentanyl"

tags: drug, fentanyl, war-on-drugs

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“1. Where did he or she get the money? 2. How much money did he or she get? 3. Where is the money going? 4. How is the money moving? 5. Is he or she keeping the money, or is he or she just a conduit to someone else?”
― John Madinger, Money Laundering: A Guide for Criminal Investigators, Third Edition

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