Scott William Carter's Blog, page 2

Run of the House, Now in Full Color

While I love the black and white version of Run of the House, I’ve been been debating about adding color to the strip for a while, and I finally decided to take the plunge. Since I do much of the finishing work with Adobe Photoshop anyway (after scanning in a hand drawn comic), it wasn’t that big of a leap to add color. The above strip is one that was sent out to subscribers a few weeks ago.

Why the change? While I fell in love with black and white comics in the newspapers (you remember what those things are, kids?), those limitations were mostly due to printing cost, and I don’t have those issues for a comic that’s published digitally. Yes, using color will increase my printing costs too down the road, if and when the comic is collected in book form, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. I like all the options that using color gives me.

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http://www.runofthehouse.net/

Run of the House, Now in Full Color, Plus a Special Discount

While I love the black and white version of Run of the House, I’ve been been debating about adding color to the strip for a while, and I finally decided to take the plunge. Since I do much of the finishing work with Adobe Photoshop anyway (after scanning in a hand drawn comic), it wasn’t that big of a leap to add color. The above strip is one that was sent out to subscribers a few weeks ago.

Why the change? While I fell in love with black and white comics in the newspapers (you remember what those things are, kids?), those limitations were mostly due to printing cost, and I don’t have those issues for a comic that’s published digitally. Yes, using color will increase my printing costs too down the road, if and when the comic is collected in book form, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. I like all the options that using color gives me.

To receive new comics straight to your inbox, please become a free or paid subscriber. Free subscribers get a comic every Monday. Try it out, risk free. Paid subscribers get a second comic every Wednesday. Right now, I’m running a FALL FORTY SPECIAL, which gets you 40% OFF the annual subscription price. Sign up today:

http://www.runofthehouse.net/fallforty

Fall Update, Pictures of Mendocino

First, an update on the current book in progress, especially since many of my readers have asked: Yes, I’m working on the next Garrison Gage book. I hope to have it out this year. That’s pretty much all I can say about it at this point, since I’m always hesitant to talk about works in progress, but the book is coming.

In the meantime, I hope many of you are enjoying the third book in the Karen Pantelli series, Dead-Eyed Drifter, where Karen faces off against a serial killer. Some wicked twists and surprises in that one.

In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, we’re definitely transitioning to fall. Although we’ve just entered a rainy stretch, we had some wonderful late summer days lately, which is pretty common in September here, but the days are getting shorter, the nights cooler. The leaves are just starting to turn on many of the oaks, maples, and other trees. It’s one of my favorite times of the year.

Hard to believe summer’s almost gone. In early August, Heidi and I spent a fun week down in Mendocino, California, which is on the rugged and beautiful Highway 1, about a three hour drive north of San Francisco. We drove down from Oregon over two days, staying in the same Cape Sebastian area we stayed in last year. Here are some shots from the Oregon part of our trip.

Near Coos BayBandon, OregonCape SebastianChetco Point (Brookings)BrookingsSunset view from our Airbnb in Cape Sebastian Area

While I’ve been down to the California Redwoods many times, this was mostly in the areas around Crescent City, so it was fun to finally drive through the Humboldt Redwoods and the Avenue of the Giants. The place we stayed in was just across Mendocino Bay and had a spectacular view of the city perched on its rocky coastline.

Why Mendocino? It started with Murder She Wrote, of all things. We’d been watching it occasionally in the evening, as something light and fun that wouldn’t engage our minds too much, and we wondered where the “Cabot Cove” episodes had been filmed. The answer was Mendocino, California, which, after admiring its beauty online, eventually led to our latest road trip. Some of the other highlights of the trip included visiting Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden in Fort Bragg, riding the Skunk Train, and of course exploring Mendocino. I’ll end this with some shots from the California part of our adventure.

Avenue of the GiantsMendocino BayMendocino, in the fogOur AirbnbFrom the deckJessica Fletcher’s houseRosie at the Botanical GardenThe Skunk Train in Fort BraggOtter Point

New Book Published: DEAD-EYED DRIFTER

I’ve got a new book out!

Here in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, we’ve had a nice stretch of 80 degree days. Although I’ve gotten a few nice hikes in recently, I’ve been a bit more homebound as of late, puttering around the house and the yard when I’m not doing my creative work. My wife has been fostering kittens from the Humane Society, so that’s provided plenty of entertainment without even leaving the house. I just lifted one off my keyboard . . .

If you’re looking for a break from your own puttering, you might be interested in my new book: Dead-Eyed Drifter. It’s the third in the Karen Pantelli series, a character who got her start in the Garrison Gage books, about the former FBI agent who becomes something of a drifter . . . and this time she’s drifted herself right into facing off against a serial killer. 

That’s a long ways away from playing with kittens, isn’t it?

Loads of action and suspense in this one, plus a few shocking twists. More about the book is below, including links to retailers. 

Dead-Eyed DrifterA Karen Pantelli Novel

He hunts. He kills. He walks among us. Nobody knows he exists … until now.

Former FBI agent turned full-time drifter, Karen Pantelli pursues a promising lead on her long missing mother to Orcas Island, Washington. Toiling as a hotel maid, she reaches a dead end until an encounter with an eccentric math professor raises a gruesome possibility. Her mother may have been murdered by a serial killer, the work of a cunning monster who has claimed hundreds of lives and evaded detection for decades by camouflaging his kills as accidents, suicides, or random acts of violence.  

Aided by recent advances in artificial intelligence, the professor believes he can finally predict the killer’s pattern. But then a stunning twist changes the game, propelling Karen across thousands of miles on a desperate mission to save innocent people before the trail goes cold forever.

Ebook: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play 

Paperback: Amazon 

Summer Update

That’s a shot of Mission Bay in San Diego, where Heidi and I spent a lovely five days a couple months ago. We went there partly to celebrate my fiftieth birthday (yikes!), but mostly because neither of us had spent more than a day there. San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, Coronado Island . . . We had a great time. It was also a nice break from weeks of gray and drizzle here in Oregon.

Not that it’s raining now! The weather has been spectacular as of late, which is pretty much the norm this time of year in the Willamette Valley. These are the months when I couldn’t even imagine living anywhere else. I once told a waiter in Istanbul (now there’s a way start to a sentence) that God created the Earth in six days, and on the seventh day . . .  he realized he hadn’t got it quite right, so he created Oregon. I was only partly joking. I love this place. I’m not the only one either. Here’s a shot of Rosie on a recent hike at Pheasant Creek Falls:

Is that the face of pure joy, or what?

The third Karen Pantelli book will soon be entering production, due out in six weeks or so, and the next Garrison Gage book (I’ve got about a third written) shouldn’t be too far behind. I’ve continued to publish two Run of the House comics a week via email and at www.runofthehouse.net. You can see one of the latest at the bottom of this post. If you’d like to subscribe, Mondays are free. Wednesdays are for paying subscribers, but the annual subscription is currently 50% off.

Astute readers will notice that the website has gotten a makeover. That took more time than I would have liked, but it was necessary. The old one was getting more vulnerable to cyberattacks (the age we live in, alas, even for small fry like me). I wanted a cleaner, simpler look, anyway, especially since I’ve even more fully embraced being an Internet Minimalist. Speaking of that, I’m still off social media. I don’t miss it. That’s not to say I won’t use it again at some point, but for right now, at least, I’m much happier without it in my life. We’ll see what the future brings. I still think the best use of my time is to channel it into my creative work.

And the best way to never miss one of my books, of course, remains my “New Release Newsletter.” I generally only email when I have something new out (there are no chatty posts like this one), so please do sign up. No spam and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Back before too long. Meanwhile, I’ll see you in the funny pages:

  

Quitting Social Media (Mostly)

That’s a shot in Nye Beach in Newport, Oregon from a couple weeks ago. As we often do, Heidi and I decided to spend a couple days at the coast, much of it spent staring at the Pacific Ocean. A great way to recharge.

Some minor news: I dropped my personal Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts a couple months ago. I’d been thinking about it for a while, long before Twitter became a dumpster fire, and even before Facebook made it impossible for even your friends and family to see something you post unless you pay for it. There’s parts I’ll miss, of course (so many cute cats!), and I have no problem with people who enjoy social media, but this year I’m really making a concerted effort to only use the Internet with intention. To be very selective about what I read and why. As I mentioned when I announced the return of the Run of the House comic, I’ve really become a fan of Substack, the newsletter subscription service, and I’m already following quite a few people on there, across a wide range of fields: Ted Gioya, Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell, Simon Owens, Sherman Alexie, Austin Kleon, and Sam Kriss, to name just a few.

Since Substack makes its money by taking a cut of subscriptions, and not by selling the customer to advertisers (the model for almost all social media), the incentive for the company is primarily to keep the writers and readers happy, not the advertisers, and that’s created a very different experience for everyone. I’m rooting for them, and not just because I’m using the platform for Run of the House.

Anyway, I didn’t even mention I was leaving the social media sites above before I pulled the plug (it felt a bit like huffily shouting “I’m leaving!” at a party), but I felt I should mention it here now that I’m pretty certain I’m not going back, at least not any time soon.

The best way to make sure you never miss one of my books is visit this site or sign up for my “new release” email newsletter.

A Free Comic Every Monday! Run of the House Returns

A couple months ago, I re-launched of my Run of the House comic strip. It’s now published twice a week using the Substack platform, meaning it goes out both as an email and it appears at www.runofthehouse.net, the Substack website, and the Substack app, which you can download, if you so choose, and read many other fine publications.

If you want to try out my comic, please subscribe! Mondays are completely free. Wednesdays are for paying subscribers. If you sign up for the annual subscription, it works out to $3/month, but I’m currently running a “50% Off Forever” special that brings it down to $1.50/month.

When I originally published Run of the House, I used a combination of Patreon, a homegrown website, and social media, but I never liked that approach. I was already a fan of Substack as a reader, since it eliminates most of what I don’t like about social media. As a writer, I like it even more.

I originally put ROTH on hiatus because I couldn’t quite get the balance right with the writing. Now I’ve got a better handle on it, and I’m several months ahead, so I feel confident enough to announce the re-launch publicly. I don’t expect everyone who likes my novels to like the comic (heck, most of my readers don’t even like all my novels), but give it a shot. If the comic gives you ten seconds of joy, I feel I’ve done my job.

Looking for Little Red Now Available as An Audiobook …Narrated By Me!

That’s Rosie at the park today, with impatiens blooming in the background. After getting our flu shots, and treating ourselves to breakfast as a reward, we hit the local Saturday Market and stopped for a walk at the park. Early fall days are often gorgeous here in the Willamette Valley and today was no exception. My heart goes out to people in Florida, who just experienced quite the opposite of gorgeous. (Boy, that’s the understatement of the year, isn’t it?) We have our own worries as far as natural disasters are concerned (every heard of the really big one?) but hurricanes are not one of them.

I do have some neat news: Looking for Little Red, already available in print and as an ebook, is now available as an audiobook … narrated by me! It’s available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes for immediate download. And yes, except for narrating a short story as a way to learn how to do this (“The Red Scarf,” a little holiday tale that was originally published in Cicada magazine) I’ve never done this before. I’ve worked with narrators on many of my other books, of course, but I’ve never done one myself.

Will I do it again?

Very likely yes, though how often, and for which projects, remains to be seen. It was was very time-consuming, which I expected, but I also enjoyed it more than I thought I would. So it will probably be on a case by case basis. There are still many of my books (like the first two Karen Pantelli novels, for example, read by the excellent Jennifer Pickens) that make a lot more sense for someone else to narrate.

Other than that, a lot of good writing days in lately. After the writing retreat I mentioned last month, I came back even more committed to making sure I’m spending the bulk of my most productive hours on what Cal Newport calls “deep work,” and that’s been paying dividends.

News & Muse (October 2022): Looking for Little Red Now Available as An Audiobook …Narrated By Me!

That’s Rosie at the park today, with impatiens blooming in the background. After getting our flu shots, and treating ourselves to breakfast as a reward, we hit the local Saturday Market and stopped for a walk at the park. Early fall days are often gorgeous here in the Willamette Valley and today was no exception. My heart goes out to people in Florida, who just experienced quite the opposite of gorgeous. (Boy, that’s the understatement of the year, isn’t it?) We have our own worries as far as natural disasters are concerned (every heard of the really big one?) but hurricanes are not one of them.

I do have some neat news: Looking for Little Red, already available in print and as an ebook, is now available as an audiobook … narrated by me! It’s available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes for immediate download. And yes, except for narrating a short story as a way to learn how to do this (“The Red Scarf,” a little holiday tale that was originally published in Cicada magazine) I’ve never done this before. I’ve worked with narrators on many of my other books, of course, but I’ve never done one myself.

Will I do it again?

Very likely yes, though how often, and for which projects, remains to be seen. It was was very time-consuming, which I expected, but I also enjoyed it more than I thought I would. So it will probably be on a case by case basis. There are still many of my books (like the first two Karen Pantelli novels, for example, read by the excellent Jennifer Pickens) that make a lot more sense for someone else to narrate.

Other than that, a lot of good writing days in lately. After the writing retreat I mentioned last month, I came back even more committed to making sure I’m spending the bulk of my most productive hours on what Cal Newport calls “deep work,” and that’s been paying dividends.

A Summer of Hiking, a Writing Retreat, and a Daughter Back to College

That’s a shot off the deck from the house I rented in Lincoln City, Oregon last week, up on the bluff in the Nelscott area—a gorgeous four days spent writing, recalibrating, setting goals, and, for three consecutive nights, discussing the business of publishing with a dozen smart professional writers, most of whom were from Oregon, but several who came from as far away as Canada. Some stayed in a house together. Others rented their own individual hotel rooms. The beauty of this “parallel play” approach was that the days were spent however people wanted. With the exception of the nightly discussions, it was up to each person to turn their stay on the Oregon coast into a worthwhile one. No stories were critiqued. No fees were charged. These were all professionals doing amazing things in the business, all there to learn and share. I came away with a notebook full of topics to research further.

After years of pandemic-enforced isolation, it was great to talk face to face with savvy creative people again.

I set a goal to try to get one hike in a week over the course of the summer, and while I didn’t quite get that, I came close, ranging over much of the state. Sometimes family or friends accompanied me, but usually it was just me and Rosie, my intrepid Irish Setter. Silver Creek Falls, Mt. Jefferson, Smith Rock, Thunder Cove … There were a few busted hikes along the way (one because of multiple flat tires, another because an out-of-shape friend found he’d overextended himself), but there were many, many highlights. I was reminded again and again why I love Oregon so much. A couple favorite photos:

Horse Rock RidgeIron MountainSmith RockRosie at Thunder Cove

The temperature topped out at a very pleasant 80F the last few days, but Fall is definitely coming. While the leaves haven’t begun to turn yet, I can feel it in the air. We got our daughter moved back into OSU over the weekend, so the house is a bit quieter. Now with an apartment with a 12-month lease, and a new job near campus that offers year-round employment (a dream job for her), she probably won’t be home for long stretches quite so much in the future, but who knows, life being what it is. In the thick of a new Karen Pantelli novel, so looking forward to getting in some long writing days. That was actually my biggest takeaway from the writing retreat, how important is for me to stay off the Internet the vast majority of the day and just staying in that creative space. It does wonders both for my productivity and my peace of mind.