Carter Wilson's Making It Up

“You're really investing in yourself. And when I actually do get a check, I'm like—wait, I got paid for this one?” —Courtney Psak  Courtney Psak is the author of two novels, and her third, The Hostess, is being released in April 2026. She graduated with a degree in Communications and Journalism with a master’s degree in Publishing. She is a member of the Crime Writers' Association,...

“Don’t wait for chapter five to be good. Be good immediately.” —Chris Pavone  Chris Pavone is an international thriller author whose novels include THE EXPATS, winner of both the Edgar and Anthony Awards; the instant bestseller TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON; and THE DOORMAN, a New York Times Notable Book of 2025. His novels have appeared on all the major bestseller lists and have won or been shortlisted fo...

“(The CIA) redacted my height and weight. I kid you not—they redacted the color of the sky.” —I.S. Berry  I.S. Berry spent six years as an operations officer for the CIA, serving in wartime Baghdad and elsewhere. She has lived and worked throughout Europe and the Middle East, including two years in Bahrain during the Arab Spring. I.S. Berry is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Internatio...

“He’s psychotic, you know. That really messed me up… but I think it was good to do—to delve into what is the point of view of someone who’s psychotic.” – Kika Dorsey  Kika Dorsey is an author and an English lecturer at the University of Colorado, Boulder. While finishing her Ph. D. in Comparative Literature, she performed her poetry with musicians and artists. She currently writes and publishes fi...

“I wrote the first book to try and give my mother comfort and closure. But halfway through, I realized—I wasn't just telling her story anymore. I was telling mine.” – Casey Sherman  Casey Sherman is a New York Times Bestselling Author of 13 books including The Finest Hours (now a major motion picture starring Casey Affleck & Chris Pine), Boston Strong (the basis for the film Patriots Day...

“Is it a good idea that I write in both horror and spy thrillers? No. I think it’s a crap idea. But Hollywood really loves the spy stories.” —Alma Katsu  Alma Katsu is a NYT bestselling author whose books have been nominated for and won multiple awards including the Stoker, Goodreads Readers Choice, and International Thriller Writers, among others, and appeared on numerous Best Books lists. She ha...

“You’re trying to beat on these doors in the publishing world… and suddenly this door you didn’t even know was there opens up and says, ‘Hey, come in.’”  —Andrew Bourelle  Andrew Bourelle is the critically-acclaimed author of Shot Clock, 48 Hours to Kill, and Heavy Metal, as well as a coauthor with James Patterson of the Rory Yates series. Publishers Weekly described him as “a writer to watch”. He...

“The whole concept of working together started when we were in a writer's room—a Hollywood production company writer's room—and we learned how to create cliffhangers.”  – Christina Baker Kline  Christina Baker Kline is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, including Orphan Train , The Exiles , Please Don’t Lie (with Anne Burt), and the forthcoming The Foursome (May 2026...

“Readers are giving you such a huge gift—and the gift is their time. So I always feel like to be respectful of that time, I have to be providing them with the best quality book I can.” —Cynthia Swanson  Cynthia Swanson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the psychological suspense novels The Bookseller , The Glass Forest , and Anyone But Her . Cynthia was named 2025 Indie Aut...

“I got one life. What do I want to leave behind? And I decided a failed writer was better than a successful attorney.” —Elena Taylor  Elena Taylor spent several years working in theater as a playwright, director, designer, and educator before turning to fiction. Her first series, the Eddie Shoes Mysteries, introduced a quirky mother/daughter crime fighting duo. With the Sheriff Bet Rivers Mysterie...

“I wrote 90 pages about the most boring man in the world. He drove around, got coffee, thought about life... and after six months, I killed him and buried him in a desk drawer.” —Harry Hunsicker  Harry Hunsicker spent his working career as a commercial real estate appraiser. His first novel was the Shamus Award nominated Still River , about a Dallas PI with the unfortunate name of Lee Henry Oswald...

“The muse days and the slog days look the same on the page, but they feel completely different when you’re writing them.” —Aime Austin  Aime Austin is the author of the Casey Cort and Nicole Long legal thriller series, weaving sharp social commentary into gripping crime fiction. Born in Brooklyn, Aime graduated from Smith College and Cornell Law School before practicing family and criminal law in...

“Don’t be afraid of the fact that pretty much every first draft is a failure. Just get the thing out.” —Scott Graham  Scott Graham is the author of the National Park Mystery Series, which includes nine books and counting. In addition to his mysteries, Scott is the author of five nonfiction books, including Extreme Kids , winner of the National Outdoor Book Award. Scott is an avid outdoorsman and a...

“Nothing guarantees anything. A breakout book doesn’t mean your next one won’t flop—and that’s just the reality.”—Andrea Bartz  Andrea Bartz is a reporter, consultant, and New York Times bestselling author. Her third novel, WE WERE NEVER HERE, was a Reese’s Book Club pick and an instant New York Times bestseller; it was optioned by Berlanti Productions and Netflix. Her most recent thriller, THE LA...

“I always say that both horror and romance are genres of hope.” —Lindy Ryan Lindy Ryan is an award-winning author, anthologist, and short-film director whose books and anthologies have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly , Booklist and Library Journal . She was named a Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree in 2020, and in 2022, she was named one of horror's most masterful anthology...

"The only way your journey ends is if you stop trying—and I wasn’t done." —Jeffrey Konvitz  Jeffrey Konvitz is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Sentinel . He also wrote its bestselling sequel, The Guardian , and a third bestselling novel Monster: A Tale of Loch Ness . Konvitz is an entertainment attorney, screenwriter and producer. In the 1980s and 90s, he became one of th...

It is the 200th episode of Making It Up! “Every huge risk I’ve ever taken has led to another step toward what I always wanted to do with my life.” – Michelle Jabès Corpora  Michelle Jabès Corpora received her Bachelor's Degree in English and Theatre from UMBC, then went on to earn a Master's degree in Children's Literature from Hollins University. She has been a wedding singer, has...

“The best form of marketing is just producing more work—because you never know when the next idea will catch fire.” —Joe Hart  Joe Hart is the Edgar Award-winning and Wall Street Journal-bestselling author of seventeen novels, dozens of short stories, and several novellas. His work has been translated into eight languages and optioned for film. His latest novel, WYNDCLYFFE, was just released earli...

“The desire was always there, but the drive wasn’t. I allowed other things to interfere instead of saying, ‘This is something you really want to do.’" —Dwayne Goetzel  Dwayne Goetzel is a lawyer who specializes in trademarks, domain names, copyrights, licensing, and litigation relating to those fields. He is an attorney, father, writer, and someone who’s navigated several career choices. He h...

“It was the craziest overnight five-year success story ever.” —Leigh Dunlap  Leigh Dunlap went to film school at the University of Southern California to study screenwriting, which led her to a job selling socks at Fred Segal and eventually to an assistant’s desk at a Hollywood talent agency. That’s where she really learned how to write—while reading hundreds of scripts sent in for actors. Her fir...

“I don’t know what it’s about until it’s done—and sometimes it’s on a shelf before I realize what certain things mean.”  – Lori Roy  Lori Roy’s debut novel, Bent Road , was awarded the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American Author. Her work has been twice named a New York Times Notable Crime Book. Until She Comes Home was a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Let Me Die in His Foots...

Robert Bailey is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of THE BOOMERANG, the Jason Rich series, the McMurtrie and Drake legal thrillers, the Bocephus Haynes series, and the inspirational novel, THE GOLFER’S CAROL. Robert’s novels draw inspiration from his decades as a civil defense trial lawyer in his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. Robert obtained a Bachelor of Arts in History from Davidson...

“There are no shortcuts, right? It doesn't matter what you're writing—you just have to do it.”  — Mailan Doquang  Mailan Doquang is an architectural historian turned thriller writer. Mailan received her Ph. D. from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She has published extensively on the art and architecture of medieval France, in addition to teaching at some of the top unive...

"The only way your journey in publishing ends is if you stop trying."  – Kaira Rouda  Kaira Rouda is a USA TODAY, Amazon #1 and international bestselling author. She has worked in marketing, real estate, and other career fields, including being the society columnist for the Columbus Dispatch for ten years. Kaira’s work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. Three of her no...

"I just don’t buy into the whole failure thing—you either succeed or you learn."  – Laura Resau Laura Resau is the author of The Alchemy of Flowers , her debut novel for adults, and eleven acclaimed books for young people. Her books have won five Colorado Book Awards and spots on “best-of” booklists from Oprah, the American Library Association, and more. Trilingual, she’s lived in Proven...