Carter Wilson's Making It Up

Episode 212 of Making It Up is out and features Wendy Walker, the bestselling author of psychological thrillers including Don’t Look for Me, The Night Before, and All Is Not Forgotten, as well as multiple Audible Originals. Her latest book, Blade, draws from her past as a competitive figure skater and marks a personal and creative turning point in her career. Before writing full-time, Wendy practiced law and raised her three sons.
Among other things, Wendy and I discuss what it means to finally write the story that’s been living inside you for years, how immersive storytelling is changing the audiobook landscape, and why hiring help as an author isn’t a luxury—it’s a strategy. We also talk about vulnerability in creative marketing, the balance of truth and fiction, and how her latest work came together in a blur of sound design, stress, and storytelling. At the end of our conversation, we create a story about furries using a sentence from a Karin Slaughter novel.

“If you're not exploring, if you're not really kind of pushing limits, then you really have to ask yourself, well, what am I doing here? Like, this isn't accounting, you know what I mean? It's creative writing.” —Matthew Sullivan 

Matthew Sullivan is the author of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, an Indie Next Pick, B&N Discover pick, a GoodReads Choice Award finalist, and winner of the Colorado Book Award. He received his MFA from the University of Idaho and has been a resident writer at Yaddo, Centrum, and the Vermont Studio Center. His short stories have been awarded the Robert Olen Butler Fiction Prize and the Florida Review Editors' Award for Fiction. His writing has been featured in the New York Times Modern Love column and The Daily Beast, amongst others. 

Among other things, Matthew and Carter discuss alcohol and writing, writing weird and unconventional novels, and how the unpredictability of success as an author makes you a better writer. At the end of their conversation, they make up a menacing story using a line from Abbott Kahler’s Where You End.

“Writer’s block is a myth. It’s your brain lying to you. Chefs don’t have chef’s block.” —Tod Goldberg 

Tod Goldberg is a New York Times bestselling author of sixteen books, including the Gangsterland quartet, which have won/been a finalist for the Hammett Prize, the International Thriller of the Year and many more. His short fiction and essays appear widely and have been selected in Best American Mystery & Suspense and Best American Essays. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside where he founded and directs the Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts. 

Among other things, Tod and Carter discuss coming from a family of writers, observations from running a MFA program, and writing from a place of absurdity rather than darkness. At the end of their conversation, they make up a hilarious story using a line from Stephen King’s Everything’s Eventual.

“I’ve just always been drawn to dark stuff. I’m really fascinated by why people do the things that they do—particularly bad things.” —Jennifer Fawcett 

Jennifer Fawcett is an author, actor, and playwright. She grew up in Canada and spent many years in theatre there before moving to the US. She has an MFA from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop and was a founding member of Working Group Theatre. Her work has been produced in regional theaters across the US and UK. Her play Apples in Winter won the National New Play Network Smith Prize and the Susan Glaspell Award. She has written two novels, including Beneath the Stairs and Keep This for Me.

Among other things, Jennifer and Carter discuss making professional connections with other authors, maintaining a relationship with your editor, and advocating for yourself to your publishing team. At the end of their conversation, they make up a descriptive story using a line from Audrey Lee’s The Mechanics of Memory.

“The idea that you could be at the whim of something as mercurial as a muse doesn’t work if you also have to show up for a job and a family and kids.” —Danielle Girard 
Danielle Girard is the USA Today and Amazon #1 bestselling author of sixteen novels. Her books have won the Barry Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, and more. In addition, two of her titles have been optioned for screen. Her next thriller, Pinky Swear, will be on February 24, 2026. Danielle is also the creator and host of the Killer Women podcast, where she interviews the women who write today’s best crime fiction. 
Among other things, Danielle and Carter discuss writing first-person present tense, Danielle going back to get her MFA after four published books, and the challenge with writing characters who are demographically different from you. At the end of their conversation, they make up a mysterious story using a line from Wendy Walker’s Blade.