Carter Wilson's Making It Up

Michael Katz Krefeld started his career directing a series of short films, before he moved on to writing scripts for several TV drama-series including the Emmy awarded Nikolaj & Juliet. He debuted as a novelist with Before the Storm (Før Stormen) which won the Danish Crime Academy’s first novel-award in 2007. Since 2013, Michael’s work has won numerous awards including Crime Book of the Year and Mofibo, and has been published in 20 countries with more than one million copies sold alone in Denmark. His latest work, including Darkness Calls, has taken the critics and readers by storm. 

Among other things, Michael and Carter discuss similarities between car racing and creative writing, how experience writing screen plays helps with novel writing, and his experience getting published in Denmark. At the end of their conversation, they come up with a creepy and thrilling opening scene using a sentence out of The Nameless Ones by John Connolly. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Michael at www.michaelkatzkrefeld.dk/en/home/

Carl Vonderau writes domestic suspense and thrillers. His novel, Murderabilia, won the Lefty award in 2020 for Best Debut Novel, the San Diego Book award for Best Mystery, and the Kops-Fetherling Gold Phoenix award. Carl's latest novel is domestic suspense published by Oceanview on August 15, called Saving Myles. A former banker, he worked in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and North Africa. He now writes and helps nonprofits through Social Venture Partners.  

Among other things, Carter and Carl discuss how religion can influence or inspire writing, his transition from music to writing as Carl’s creative passion, and the common trials of being an author before getting published. At the end of their conversation, they set up a captivating scene using a sentence from Lost Lake by Emily Littlejohn.  

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Carl at www.carlvonderau.com

Chris Riley lives near Sacramento, California, vowing one day to move back to the Pacific Northwest. In the meantime, he teaches special education, writes stories, and hides from the blasting heat for six months of the year. He has had over 100 short stories and essays published in various magazines and anthologies, and across multiple genres. He is the author of the literary suspense novels The Sinking of the Angie Piper and The Broken Pines. 

Among other things, Carter and Chris discuss the different approaches to the marketing side of writing, how Chris got into writing through short stories, and how important tenacity and patience are in the industry. At the end of their conversation, they make up creepy crime scene story starting with a sentence from The Mirror Man by Lars Kepler. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Chris at www.chrisrileyauthor.com

Lindsay Cameron worked as a corporate lawyer for many years in Vancouver and New York City before leaving the law behind to write books. She is the author of Biglaw and Just One Look. She lives in New York City and just released her latest book, No One Needs to Know, in May. 

Among other things, Carter and Lindsay discuss the similarities between legal writing and writing fiction, the publishing industry as a debut author vs after you’ve been published, and how to create the desire in readers to keep going. At the end of their conversation, they begin a dark tale with a sentence from Seventeen Stitches by Sean Eads. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Lindsay at www.lindsayjcameron.com

It's hard to believe but this is the 100TH EPISODE of Making It Up! Thanks to all of you for your support over the past 2 1/2 years, and I'm looking forward to producing many more episodes. And for this special centennial episode we have a guest who has been called the "Spanish Stephen King." 

Javier Castillo grew up in Malaga, where he always dreamed about becoming a writer. On his daily 48-minute commute to his job in finance, he used to spend every moment of the train journey writing chapters to what would become his first novel, The Day Sanity Was Lost. Since he self-published that novel, his life has changed dramatically. After his first book was translated into 10 languages and published in more than 63 countries, Javier was signed up by Penguin Random House Spain who have since published six more novels. The Snow Girl, his fourth novel, has sold more than 2 million copies in Spain and become an international phenomenon. His subsequent novels, The Soul Game and The Crystal Cuckoo, have been instant no. 1 bestsellers, and will both be adapted for the screen by Netflix. 

Among other things, Carter and Javier discuss how Javier has always written and the success he had self-publishing, creating characters, and his experience with multiple languages. At the end of their conversation, they make up a hook for a story they just might need to write someday starting with a sentence from What Remains by Wendy Walker. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Javier at www.javiercastillobooks.com

Del Chatterson is an experienced writer, entrepreneur, business advisor, and cheerleader for entrepreneurs. He has over thirty years of successful business and consulting experience, he has written two business books, and is currently working on a series of crime thriller novels and a collection of short stories. His first novel in the Dale Hunter Series, No Easy Money, was published in August 2018 and the next two novels, Simply the Best and Merger Maniac, were released in the spring and fall of 2019. 

Among other things, Carter and Del discuss the combination of entrepreneurship and storytelling, how to look at the publishing industry analytically, and how there are different audiences for different styles and voices of writing. At the end of their conversation, they make up a story about impossible choices starting with a sentence from Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder. 

M.P. Woodward is a veteran of both US intelligence ops and the entertainment industry. As a naval intelligence officer with the US Indo-Pacific Command, he scripted scenario moves and countermoves for US war game exercises in the Middle East. In multiple deployments to the Persian Gulf and Far East, he worked alongside US Special Forces, CIA, and NSA. His latest novel, Dead Drop, was released this May. 

Among other things, Carter and M.P. discuss connecting characters and readers with empathy, the valuable experience of turning technical writing into a story, and the power of reading your writing aloud. At the end of their conversation, they make up a story ripe with conflict starting with a sentence from The Children's War by J. N. Stroyar. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with M.P. at www.mpwoodward.com

Aimie K. Runyan writes to celebrate history’s unsung heroines. She has been honored as a Historical Novel Society Editors’ Choice selection, as a three-time finalist for the Colorado Book Awards, and as a nominee for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer of the Year. Aimie is active as an educator and speaker in the writing community and beyond. Her latest book, A Bakery in Paris was just released August 1st. 

Among other things, Carter and Aimie discuss when the pull towards historical fiction started in her life, how she works to be as historically accurate as possible, and how writing short fiction is an exercise of cutting out anything unnecessary. At the end of their conversation, they make up a story about a heist gone wrong starting with a sentence from All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Aimie at www.aimiekrunyan.com

Eliza Knight is an award winning, USA Today and international bestselling author. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and Novelists, Inc., the creator of the popular historical blog, History Undressed, a co-host on the History, Books and Wine podcast and a co-host for the true crime podcast, Crime Feast. Her latest release is Starring Adele Astaire. 

Among other things, Carter and Eliza discuss how her journalism experience has helped her historical research habits, how she used to write books for fun before ever seeking publication, and how she likes to mix suspense and history in her novels. At the end of their conversation, they make up a tale about complicated relationships beginning with a sentence from The Rainmaker by John Grisham. 

Bryn Turnbull is a writer of historical fiction. Equipped with a master's of letters in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews, a master's of professional communication from Ryerson University and a bachelor's degree in English literature from McGill University, Bryn focuses on finding stories of women lost within the cracks of the historical record. 

Among other things, Carter and Bryn discuss the process of writing historical fiction, how she wrote her first novel at her job at the time, and the value of being part of a writing community. At the end of their conversation, they make up a story with a twist from a sentence out of Just After Sunset by Stephen King. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Bryn at www.brynturnbull.com