Carter Wilson's Making It Up

James Byrne is the author of the recent thriller The Gatekeeper. He writes under various names and has published nine other novels in the realm of thrillers and mysteries. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Portland Tribune. 

Among other things, Carter and James discuss publishing highs and lows, how the gender of an action-adventure protagonist greatly impacts sales, and writing in longhand. At the end of their conversation, they use a sentence out of Stephen King’s Joyland to spin a short tale about money and murder. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with James at www.jamesbyrnethriller.com

Pip Drysdale is a writer, musician, and actor who grew up in Africa and Australia. Her debut novel, The Sunday Girl, was a bestseller and has been published in the United States, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The Strangers We Know was also a bestseller and is being developed for television and her most recent novel, The Next Girl, was published this year. 

Among other things, Carter and Pip discuss her frequent moving as a child and adult, the things they will not write about, and how they balance both reading and writing. At the end of their conversation, they tell a story about a woman who went way overboard and dealing with those consequences, beginning with a sentence from Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Pip at www.pipdrysdale.com

Faye Snowden is the author of three standalone mysteries and a four-part series of which the first two, A Killing Fire and A Killing Rain, have been released. She also has published short stories and poems in various literary journals including The African American Review, Calliope, Red Ochre Lit, Bay Area Poets, and more. At eighteen, she left Louisiana to join the Navy and afterward worked as an information technology professional in various industries while on her way to a masters in English Literature.  

Among other things, Carter and Faye discuss growing up with a love of reading and writing, how the Navy allowed her to receive her college education while supporting her career, and her journey into writing. At the end of the conversation, they tell a story about making quick decisions when it counts most, beginning with a sentence from Eleven Days by Donald Harstad. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Faye at www.fayesnowden.com

Clare Mackintosh has sold more than two million copies of her books worldwide and is the multi-award-winning author of the thriller I Let You Go, a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and the fastest-selling title by a new crime writer in 2015. Together, her books have spent more than sixty weeks in The Sunday Times bestseller lists and have been translated into at least forty languages. Her new book, The Last Party, launches in the U.K. today! 

Among other things, Carter and Clare discuss how working as a police officer influences her writing, how the pandemic impacted authors, and they compare writing routines (which may or may not include throwing away entire first drafts). At the end of the conversation, they craft a character from a sentence in John Case’s The Syndrome. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Clare at www.claremackintosh.com

Joey Hartstone is a film and television writer who has written two feature films, LBJ and Shock and Awe, both directed by Rob Reiner. He wrote on the first two seasons of the legal drama The Good Fight and is currently a writer on the Showtime series Your Honor. His debut legal thriller, The Local, was released in June 2022.  

Among other things, Carter and Joey discuss the differences between the film and book industries, choosing what to include or not in a true story, and transitioning to novel writing from screenwriting. At the end of their conversation, they discover an unexpected crime scene while storytelling from a sentence out of The Innocent by Harlan Coben. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Joey at www.joeyhartstone.com

Novelist Ashley Winstead holds a Ph.D. in contemporary American literature from Southern Methodist University and a B.A. in English and Art History from Vanderbilt University. Her 2021 thriller, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, was a breakout hit, and is being followed up with her August 2022 release The Last Housewife. 

Among other things, Carter and Ashley discuss getting her Ph.D. and the path back to writing, writing to leave a legacy, and how difficult it can be to find an agent. At the end of the conversation, they make up a comical scene with a dark twist from the book, Lie In Wait by Eric Rickstad. 

The 50th EPISODE (!) of Making It Up features Hannah Mary McKinnon, who led a successful career in recruitment before quitting the corporate world in favor of writing. Her debut, Time After Time, was a rom-com but she has since transitioned to suspense novels. Of five, four are bestsellers and her seventh book and sixth thriller is scheduled for spring next year. Hannah’s latest thriller, Never Coming Home, released in May 2022 and is a book that Carter dubs “masterful.” 

Among other things, Carter and Hannah discuss the messages within novels, writing with incredible determination, and learning how to navigate the publishing industry. At the end of their conversation, they make up a thrilling scene beginning with a sentence from Carter’s own novel The Comfort of Black. 

Hilde Kate Lysiak founded the newspaper Orange Street News at the age of seven. Now, at fifteen, she’s written and published hundreds of stories, has been recognized for her work in the New York Times, The Today Show, GMA, and The Washington Post. Additionally, she has a book series with Schloastic and a TV mystery series inspired by her life, titled Home Before Dark, which premiered on Apple TV+ in April 2020. 

Among other things, Carter and Hilde discuss why she wanted to start reporting at such a young age, writing in the family and learning how to utilize criticism at a young age, and handling negative responses and media pressures. At the end of the conversation, they start with a sentence out of Stephen King’s The Dead Zone and discuss where the story could go.  

Novelist Elle Marr strives to tell powerful and compelling stories of women who demonstrate resilience in the face of great obstacles. She is the author of three thrillers, The Missing Sister (2020), Lies We Bury (2021), and Strangers We Know (May 2022).  The Missing Sister was the #24 Best Selling eBook of 2020 on Amazon, #1 in the entire Kindle Store, featured in Woman's World, and named one of PopSugar's 31 Thrillers of 2020. Her latest thriller, Strangers We Know, was an Audible Most Anticipated Listen of Spring 2022, featured by Goodreads during Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and reached #4 in the Kindle Store. 

Among other things, Carter and Elle discuss writing her first novel for National Novel Writing Month, crafting characters and world-building in thrillers, and writing for yourself versus writing under deadline. At the end of the conversation, they make up a suspenseful scene from the book, The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Elle at www.ellemarr.com

Jess Montgomery is the author of the Kinship Historical Mysteries, set in 1920s Appalachian Ohio and inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff. Under her given name, she writes the “Level Up Your (Writing) Life” column for Writer’s Digest. She also hosts the “Tea with Jess: Chatting with Authors & Artists” in which creatives share their journeys and insights.  

Among other things, Carter and Jess discuss her path and reasons for going into technical writing, how the genre you can’t stop reading is the genre you should be writing, and the magic of reading and writing and how it impacts people so differently. At the end of their conversation, they make up a little fantasy romance from Cat on the Edge by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Jess at www.jessmontgomeryauthor.com