Carter Wilson's Making It Up

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times , Wall Street Journal , Washington Post , and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite series , which has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In addition, he has two other series, several standalone novels, and numerous short stories. His latest book, The World Played Chess, is the emotionally arresting follow-up to The Extraor...

Matthew Fitzsimmons nearly abandoned writing forever. Thankfully he persevered and is now the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Gibson Vaughn series. His most recent release is Constance, a mind-bending thriller about human cloning. Among other things, the two discuss Matthew’s long and sometimes painful path to success, which included being a playwright in New York, a long stint of te...

Sarah Fine, writing under the name SF Kosa, is a psychologist by training and a writer by passion. Though The Quiet Girl was her debut psychological suspense novel, she is the author of over two dozen fantasy, urban fantasy, sci-fi, and romance novels, some of which have been translated into other languages. Among other things, Carter and Sarah discuss how she went from wanting to be a surgeon, to...

Maureen Johnson is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of several YA novels, including 13 Little Blue Envelopes , Suite Scarlett , The Name of the Star , and Truly Devious . She has also done collaborative works, such as Let It Snow with John Green and Lauren Myracle (now on Netflix), and several works in the Shadowhunter universe with Cassandra Clare. Among other things, Carter...

Daniel Handler, better known as Lemony Snicket, became a cultural phenomenon with his 13-volume A Series of Unfortunate Events. His books have sold more than 70 million copies, won Peabody and Writers Guild of America awards, and have been made into box-office and streaming movies. His latest release, the standalone novel Poison for Breakfast, is self-described as a “book about bewilderment.”  Amo...

S.A. Cosby, thriller-writer extraordinaire. Shawn (S.A.) struck oil with his breakout 2019 novel Blacktop Wasteland, a Los Angeles Times book winner and the ITW Thriller Award winner for best hardcover (a big goddamned deal). He followed that up with his 2021 book Razorblade Tears, which was an instant New York Times bestseller. Among other things, Carter and Shawn discuss writing for a purpose an...

Stuart Turton lives in West London with his wife and daughter writing murder mysteries after years spent as a journalist. He is the author of the international bestsellers The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle which got picked up to be a Netflix series, and The Devil and the Dark Water .  Among other things, Carter and Stuart discuss finding work as a writer after traveling for five years straight ou...

Adrian Goldsworthy is a historian and novelist who specializes in ancient Roman history. After teaching Greek and Roman history for six years before pursuing writing full-time, Adrian has since published a vast collection of both fiction and non-fiction works, most centered on Ancient Rome. His latest novel, The Fort , was released in August 2021.  Among other things, Carter and Adrian discuss the...

Barb Webb is a sustainable living expert living in Appalachian Kentucky and the author of Getting Laid and Getting Baked . Barb's writing isn't just limited to books on sustainable living; she's also a prolific blogger with her self-founded company Rural Moms, which has a social media audience of over 200,000 followers.  Among other things, Carter and Barb discuss growing up in a tr...

Brad Parks is an international bestselling author and the only writer to have won the Shamus, Nero, and Lefty Awards, three of American crime fiction’s most prestigious prizes. A graduate of Dartmouth College, a former journalist with The Washington Post and The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger, he now lives in Virginia with his wife and kids as a full-time novelist, his most recent being Unthinkable. A...

Xio Axelrod is a USA Today bestselling author who writes different flavors of contemporary romance and what she likes to call, “strange, twisted tales.” Her love for writing started with writing fanfiction due to a passionate response to how an episode of Buffy ended. Now, her most recently published novel is titled, The Girl With Stars In Her Eyes . Among other things, Carter and Xio discuss grow...

After nearly four years of newsletters I decided to do something a little different this month. The audiobook newsletter! Same great content, but now I get to ramble on with a microphone instead of a keyboard.  Enjoy!

Clare Whitfield was born the fourth child to ex-Armed Forces parents and grew up on St Helier Estate in Morden before moving to Sutton. After studying contemporary dance at Middlesex University, she worked as an editorial assistant for a publishing company, tried her hand at freelance writing, and eventually worked in marketing where she spent her free time writing. In her 30s she took an MA in cr...

Sabrina Jeffries is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 50 novels and works of short fiction (some written under the pseudonyms Deborah Martin and Deborah Nicholas). She is a sought-after speaker, as evidenced by her 2010 gig as emcee for the National Romance Writers of America’s 30th Anniversary Awards Ceremony. She continues writing romance and even plays with adding in a little M...

Mark Sullivan is the acclaimed author of eighteen novels, including the #1 New York Times bestselling Private series, which he writes with James Patterson. He’s received numerous awards for his writing, including the WHSmith Fresh Talent Award, and his works have been named a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year. After Beneath A Scarlet Sky far surpassed what h...

Erika Englehaupt has spent more than a decade writing and editing for top science publications, including National Geographic, Science News, Scientific American, the Philadelphia Inquirer and NPR. Her niche is exploring the gross and horrifying realities of nature. She decided to take it a step further, diving even deeper than her beloved blog, and write a book called Gory Details .  Among other t...

Emily Bleeker is a busy woman. She's a mother of four, an improv actor, an aspiring guitarist and, oh yeah, the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of six novels. Combined, her books have reached over a million readers. She is a two-time Whitney Award finalist and was recently listed as one of the top 100 Kindle authors “of all time.” Her latest novel, What's Left Un...

Julia Heaberlin is the author of the international bestseller Black-Eyed Susans , Paper Ghosts , and We Are All the Same in the Dark , her newest crime novel set in the moody landscape of Texas where she grew up. Heaberlin’s psychological thrillers, all set in her home state, have sold to more than twenty countries.  Among other things, Carter and Julia discuss murder in a small town, how persiste...

Graham Hurley is the author of 25 novels, and shows no signs of slowing down. In his previous life, he worked as a script-writer with Southern Television before becoming a researcher and later a director. His latest novel is The Last Flight to Stalingrad , which The Times called "historical fiction of the highest order." Among other things, Carter and Graham discuss his lifelong love of...

Steven James is a kind and gentle soul who writes about dark, gritty things. He's the author of more than thirty books, including the critically acclaimed Bowers Files, an eleven-book series of psychological thrillers which includes Opening Moves , Every Crooked Path , and Every Deadly Kiss . The series has received four Christy Awards, which is a damn big deal.  Among other things, Carter an...

Mark Stevens is a helluva good writer and an all-around good dude. Best known for his Allison Coil mystery series, Mark’s novel Antler Dust was a Denver Post best-seller in 2007 and 2009. Buried by the Roan , Trapline , and Lake of Fire were all finalists for the Colorado Book Award (2012, 2015 and 2016 respectively). Trapline won. Mark has been named Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Writer of...

Lynne Constantine is an internationally bestselling author who writes with her sister as Liv Constantine ( The Last Mrs. Parrish ) and solo as L.C. Shaw ( The Silent Conspiracy ). Her books have been translated into 28 languages, are available in 33 countries, and are in development for both television and film. Among other things, Carter and Lynne talk about her father working for Spiro Agnew, th...

K.J. Howe lived all over the world growing up, and those experiences turned her into a bestselling and award-winning storyteller with global reach. Among other things, Carter and K.J. talk about meticulous research, the kindness of thriller writers, and kidnapping conferences in Miami. At the end of their conversation they make up a short story starting with a sentence from William Goldman's...

Sean Eads writes for himself and is unapologetic about it. Not only is Sean a talented and amazingly prolific author of countless novels and short stories, he and Carter are in the same critique group. Carter and Sean talk about audience, character development, and the lasting pain from accidentally deleting a manuscript. At the end of their conversation they make up a short story starting with a...

David Bell has been fascinated by murder since he was a kid. Fortunately, his career path led him to writing stories about it rather than committing it. He's the USA Today bestselling author of ten standalone thrillers and his eleventh, KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS, releases in July 2021. Among other things, Carter and David discuss the highs and lows of publishing, the wisdom he imparts on his wri...