Carter Wilson's Making It Up

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 creative writing at the University of Winchester and has now published her first novel, People of Abandoned Character.

Among other things, Carter and Clare discuss military parents and having a specific allotment of toilet paper, how being the youngest can teach creativity, and her road to writing fiction, handling rejection and getting published. At the end of their conversation, from a random sentence in Dreamcatcher by Stephen King they battle out a story of a husband and wife’s failing relationship that takes things to a new level, involving cheap (or expensive, depending on who you ask) cola and prescription painkillers.

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Clare at www.clarewhitfieldbooks.com

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 Mystery, with her most recent novel, Undercover Duke.

Among other things, Carter and Sabrina discuss adjusting to pseudonyms, growing up the daughter of missionaries in Thailand, and the benefits versus difficulties of writing romance. At the end of their conversation, their story developed from a random sentence from Hornet Flight by Ken Follett, takes a kinky turn involving affairs, stolen diaries, and Pampers.

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Sabrina at www.sabrinajeffries.com

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 he could have hoped, he recently published another Historical Fiction Novel about a story of incredible human perseverance. 

Among other things, Carter and Mark discuss the difficulties of being an author, Mark’s journey learning to write in school and joining the Peace Corps for life experience, and how life can throw unexpected blessings your way. At the end of their conversation, they tell a story of common human struggle and love beginning from a random sentence from James Clavell’s Noble House.

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Mark at www.marksullivanbooks.com

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 things, Carter and Erika discuss growing up with an engineer and inventor dad who always had a lab nearby, the struggles of being a science writer, and how to write a book inspired from a blog. At the end of their conversation, they make up a wild tale of a man who might not be what he seems with a random sentence from North and South by John Jakes.

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Erika at www.erikaengelhaupt.com

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 Unsaid, releases July 2021. 

Among other things, Carter and Emily discuss writing from wildly different points of views, how surviving a rare form of cancer influenced her novels, and how a person knows when they've finally become a writer. At the end of their conversation, they make up a murderous
tale on the open seas based on a sentence from Joseph Heller's Catch-22.

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Emily at www.emilybleeker.com

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 persistence is equally important as talent in writing, and how a personal tragedy affected her work-in-progress.

At the end of their conversation, they make up a dark tale involving scissors beginning with a random sentence from Stephen King's Lisey's Story. 

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect Julia at www.juliaheaberlin.com

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 WWII stories, writing five novels before he turned 18, and the challenge of mixing fact with fiction in historical novels.

At the end of their conversation, they make up a twisty survivor story beginning with a random sentence from Laura Hillenbrand's nonfiction bestseller Unbroken. 

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 and Steven discuss his family's history of spinning yarns, getting a Master's degree in storytelling, and how faith can influence writing.

At the end of their chat, Carter and Steven create a tale of domestic turmoil using a sentence from James Clavell's Shogun.

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com 

Connect with Steven at www.stevenjames.net

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 the Year, hosts a regular podcast for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and has served as president of the Rocky Mountain chapter for Mystery Writers of America.

Among other things, Carter and Mark discuss what it was like being raised by librarians, how an early life in journalism fueled a passion for writing crime fiction, and the Herculean task of posthumously publishing fourteen of a friend’s novels.

At the end of their chat, Carter and Mark create a rather bizarre story using a sentence from the non-fiction work The Cinema of Stanley Kubrick by Norman Kagan.

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Mark at www.writermarkstevens.com