Making It Up with Scott Graham, author of Grand Canyon Sacrifice
“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 advocate for public lands. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, radio disk jockey, city councilor, and coal-shoveling fireman on the steam-powered Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.Among other things, Scott and Carter discuss staying relevant between book releases, improving your writing by reading others’, and balancing the reality of murder with hopeful storylines. At the end of their conversation, they make up an unpredictable story using a line from Matt Goldman’s The Murder Show.
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Making It Up with Andrea Bartz, author of The Last Ferry Out
“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 LAST FERRY OUT, was praised by NPR’s Fresh Air, Marie Claire, Publishers Weekly, and more. She is also a journalist whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times, and many other outlets, and she’s held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self.Among other things, Andrea and Carter discuss thinking like a businessperson to make it as a writer, separating your emotions from feedback on your writing, and engaging with readers to show gratitude. At the end of their conversation, they make up a brilliant story using a line from Victoria Houson’s At the Edge of the Woods.
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Making It Up with Lindy Ryan, author of Dollface
“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 curators. Ryan founded Black Spot Books, a specialty press focused on amplifying women's voices in horror. She is an award-winning professor at Rutgers University. Among other things, Lindy and Carter discuss their love of Halloween, losing perspective of how dark their writing is, and emphasizing the importance of consequences in writing. At the end of their conversation, they make up a quick story using a line from Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects.
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Making It Up with Jeffrey Konvitz, author of The Circus of Satan
"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 the top independent production executives in Hollywood, where he still resides to this day. Among other things, Jeffrey and Carter discuss changing career paths last minute, writing about the Irish mob, and Jeffrey creating his own publishing company to print the book he had been writing for 25 years. At the end of their conversation, they make up a supernatural story using a line from Greg Isles’s True Evil.
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Making It Up with Michelle Jabès Corpora, author of His Face is the Sun
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 worked in a vet's office, and at a wildlife rehabilitation center. She moved to New York and worked as an assistant editor at Greenwillow Books, and then a concept creator for a book packaging company. She was a ghostwriter for a world-famous middle-grade mystery series, writing her first five novels in that series. Among other things, Michelle and Carter discuss moving from ghost writing to writing your own novels, the benefits of taking time to earn your success, and balancing staying true to yourself while accepting criticism. At the end of their conversation, they make up a descriptive story using a line from Michelle’s newest novel His Face is the Sun.
In this conversation series, USA Today bestselling novelist Carter Wilson talks to writers of all backgrounds in order to find out why they do what they do. He and his guests discuss childhood influences, roots of creativity, luck and loss, tools of the craft, and the highs and lows of publishing. At the end of their conversation, they pick a random sentence from a random book and use it to create an impromptu short story. Visit Carter at www.carterwilson.com.
New Zealand