Mira Specter’s debut novel The Fortune Games came out on November 27, 2025, bringing together romance, mystery, secrets and a lot of money. The story follows Vera, a law student and scholarship student who suddenly finds a suitcase full of cash at the foot of her bed. She has 72 hours to spend it and leave no trace, while getting pulled into the world of the wealthy Saidi family and two very different love interests, Bastian and Enzo.
Specter describes her writing as a mix of mystery and romance, with sharp-tongued characters and plenty of chaos. After three years of working on The Fortune Games, she finally got to share it with readers.
Q: Where did the original idea for The Fortune Games come from?
Mira Specter: I wanted to start with a situation that would immediately make someone panic. Finding a suitcase full of money sounds amazing for about five seconds, and then you start thinking about all the things that could go wrong. From there, Vera and the rest of the story started developing.
Q: Vera is suddenly dealing with a huge amount of money. What interested you about putting an ordinary student in that situation?
Mira Specter: I liked the contrast. Vera has worked hard for everything she has, and then suddenly she has access to something completely outside her normal life. I wanted to see how that changes her decisions and also how people around her treat her.
Q: There are two very different guys in the story, Bastian and Enzo. Did you always know there would be a love triangle?
Mira Specter: Pretty much. I love complicated relationships and characters who don’t make the easiest choices. Bastian and Enzo bring very different things into Vera’s life, so it was fun watching her figure out what she actually wants.
Q: You’ve mentioned that the book took around three years and many rewrites. What was the hardest part?
Mira Specter: Definitely knowing when to stop changing things. You can rewrite forever if you let yourself. There were a lot of moments where I thought I had finally fixed something and then changed it again a week later.
Q: You’ve also mentioned Legally Blonde as an inspiration. What did you take from it?
Mira Specter: I love that it has a smart female main character who people underestimate. That was something I really wanted for Vera. She isn’t perfect and she makes questionable decisions, but she’s smart and she keeps trying.
Q: Your website says you like chaotic love stories and sharp-tongued characters. Why do you think those characters are so fun to write?
Mira Specter: Because they don’t always do what you expect. I get bored when everyone behaves sensibly all the time. Give me a character who makes a terrible decision and then has to deal with it. That’s much more interesting.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from The Fortune Games?
Mira Specter: Mostly I hope they have fun reading it. I want people to enjoy the mystery, the romance, the ridiculous situations and the characters. If they finish it and immediately want to talk about Bastian and Enzo, then I’m happy.
With The Fortune Games, Specter has started a writing career built around romance, mystery and characters who tend to make things more complicated for themselves. Her next project is a paranormal romance involving a rockstar who is also the king of demons, so it seems the chaos is not stopping anytime soon.
