Carter Wilson's Making It Up

Lexie Elliott has been writing for as long as she can remember, but she began to focus on it more seriously after she lost her banking job in 2009 due to the Global Financial Crisis. After some success in short story competitions, she began planning a novel. The result was The French Girl, which was published by Berkley in February 2018. This was followed by The Missing Years in 2019 and How To Kill Your Best Friend in 2021. She is now working on her fourth novel. 

Among other things, Carter and Lexie discuss Lexie’s path towards writing novels, how they both know they would write even if no one read their work, and what it is that draws them to writing thrillers. At the end of their conversation, they set up a thriller of their own starting from a sentence out of Donna Tartt’s novel, The Little Friend. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Lexie at www.lexieelliott.com 

Before launching his career as a novelist, Chad Boudreaux served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He has also served in several high-ranking positions at the U.S. Justice Department, where he was hired the night before the September 11, 2001 attacks. During his time at the Justice Department, Boudreaux focused most of his time on matters relating to terrorism and homeland security. 

His career in the government inspired him to write his debut novel, Scavenger Hunt, released in January 2023. 

Among other things, Carter and Chad discuss the discipline necessary to write novels while working a full-time job, the parallels between being a lawyer and a fiction author, and the sheer amount of work it takes to get a novel published. At the end of their conversation, they craft a short story of conflict beginning with a sentence from John Grisham’s The Street Lawyer. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Chad at www.chadboudreaux.com 

Mark Stevens returns to Making It Up to talk about his fantastic new novel, The Fireballer. Mark has worked as a reporter, television news producer, and in public relations. He's also the author of The Allison Coil Mystery Series and has had multiple books be finalists as well as his, Trapline, won the Colorado Book Award. In September of 2016, Stevens was named Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Writer of the Year.  

Among other things, the two discuss Mark’s voice and writing style for his new novel, the inspiration for his baseball-themed story, how well The Fireball is doing, and what it took to get the book published.  

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Mark at www.writermarkstevens.com

Nuzo Onoh is a Nigerian-British writer of Igbo descent, a pioneer of the African horror literary subgenre, and hailed as the "Queen of African Horror.” Nuzo holds both a Law degree and a Masters in Writing from Warwick University. Nuzo’s works have featured in numerous magazines, podcasts, and anthologies, as well as in several academic studies and publications, and her latest novel was released last November titled, A Dance for the Dead. 

Among other things, Carter and Nuzo discuss her childhood growing up through war, how she turned nightmares into her creative inspiration, and her fear of not finishing all her stories. At the end of their conversation, they tell a heart clenching story starting with a sentence from The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Nuzo Onoh at www.nuzo.substack.com

Ronald Kelly has been writing and publishing horror tales set in the American South for 36 years. A former Zebra Books author, his published works include Fear, Undertaker’s Moon, Blood Kin, Hell Hollow, and many more. His audio collection of Southern-fried short stories, Dark Dixie: Tales of Southern Horror, was included on the nominating ballot of the 1992 Grammy Awards for Best Non-Musical or Spoken Album. In 2021, his collection of extreme horror fiction, The Essential Sick Stuff, won a Splatterpunk Award for Best Collection. His latest release is Southern Fried & Horrified. 

Among other things, Carter and Ronald discuss how Ronald took the self-taught route, the changes to the Horror Genre over time and how that impacted individual writers such as himself, and the stereotypes people have about authors. At the end of their conversation, they tell a story about change and realizations starting with a sentence out of Sin Killer by Larry McMurtry. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com  

Connect with Ronald at www.ronaldkelly.com 

Jennifer Givhan, a National Endowment for the Arts and PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices Fellow, is a Mexican American writer, activist, and the author of four full-length poetry collections: Landscape with Headless Mama, Protection Spell, Girl with Death Mask, and Rosa’s Einstein. Her novels include Trinity Sight, Jubilee, and most recently, River Woman, River Demon.  

Among other things, Carter and Jennifer discuss adding educational value to fiction in a well-balanced way, how some writers gravitate to a similar theme throughout many different novels, and what it took for Jennifer to make her first story publishable. At the end of their conversation, they make up a mystical story starting with a sentence from The Fireballer by Mark Stevens.  

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Jennifer at www.jennifergivhan.com

Carla Damron is a fiction writer and social worker. In addition to The Stone Necklace, she authored the Caleb Knowles mystery novels, in which she explores the social issues of addiction, homelessness, and mental illness. Her latest novel, The Orchid Tattoo, takes on the dark horrors of human trafficking. 

Among other things, Carter and Carla discuss using writing as a therapeutic outlet, how Carla getting her MFA changed how she approaches writing, and the importance of having a well-rounded villain. At the end of their conversation, they craft a nerve-raising story beginning with a sentence from The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Carla at www.carladamron.com

Katie Sise is a bestselling author, TV host, and jewelry designer featured in major fashion magazines and television shows. Jewelry and television work inspired her first novel, Creative Girl, which was when she realized the thing she most wanted to do in the world was write books. After ghost writing bestselling NYT suspense books, she published three of her own novels with HarperCollins and has gone on to sell bestselling adult novels since, the most recent of which was released this November, The Break. 

Among other things, Carter and Katie discuss the importance of perseverance in writing, Katie’s experience with ghost writing, and the relationship authors have with their characters. At the end of their conversation, they set up an intense scene worthy of a Netflix thriller, beginning with a sentence out of Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Katie at www.katiesise.com

Barbara Nickless is the #1 Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Sydney Parnell police procedural series. She promised her mother she’d be a novelist when she grew up, because what could be safer than sitting at a desk all day? Now she is an award-winning author and creative-writing instructor, and she spends her free time snowshoeing, caving and hiking in the Colorado Rockies.  

Among other things, Carter and Barbara discuss writing crime fiction while being sensitive to current political climates, how much attention to give to reviews and readers' opinions, and all the adventures Barbara went through before landing on writing. At the end of their conversation, they make up an exciting yet chilling story, starting with a sentence from Forsaken Country by Allen Eskens.  

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com  

Connect with Barbara at www.barbaranickless.com 

Jeffrey Wilson has at one time worked as an actor, a firefighter, a paramedic, a jet pilot, a diving instructor, a Naval Officer, and a Vascular and Trauma Surgeon. He is also the co-author, with Brian Andrews, of the Wall Street Journal and Amazon #1 Bestselling TIER ONE series of thrillers from Thomas & Mercer. He still works as a consultant for the Department of Defense when not hard at work on his next book. 

Among other things, Carter and Jeffrey discuss the challenges of short versus long fiction, how Jeffrey used his experiences to fuel his writing, and the challenges of writing realistic violence. At the end of their conversation, they make up a gory tale from a sentence in Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.  

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com 

Connect with Jeffrey at www.andrews-wilson.com