Carter Wilson's Blog, page 3

The Unbound Writer

You smell that? That’s the scent of a new year, fresh out of the dryer. Crisp and clean,  almost like new. So what are you going to do with 2024? Fold it, put it away, and forget about it? Or put it on immediately and get it covered in dirt and sweat before it’s even lunchtime?

I think I’ll choose the latter.

I’ve got a lot going on this year and I couldn’t be more excited. This is the year I’m throwing myself headfirst into the new company Jessica and I just formed, Unbound Writer. I teased it a bit in my last newsletter, but we’ve been working over the past month to get everything in place.

The mission of Unbound Writer is to bring confidence, joy, and success to the lives of writers at all levels, and to examine and break down those mental barriers stopping so many writers from advancing toward their dreams.  Through Unbound Writer we’ll be offering in-person writing seminars and retreats, one-on-one coaching and mentoring services with me, and online classes featuring some of the best writers out there.  We still have a lot of work to do (website coming soon!), but I’m happy to say we are ready to accept bookings for our 2024 retreat dates, which are:

May 2-4, 2024  

October 17-19, 2024

The retreats will both be hosted in a luxury home in Boulder, Colorado with a limited amount space available for accommodations. I’ll be hosting a maximum of 10 writers per retreat, and each retreat will offer 2.5 days of instruction and coaching, dedicated writing time, guest speakers, one-on-one time with me, and plenty of group bonding.

As a newsletter subscriber, you’ll receive the details of all the offerings as they come available in my monthly newsletter, but I also don’t want to inundate you with information. I get it—many of you just want to hear about my dog and cat (and who can blame you?). To that end, if you’d like to be the first to know about all or just one of our offerings (and to be part of a chance to win freebies), just fill out this interest form. I promise I won’t email you too often.

Wishing you all the very best in 2024, and thanks as always for being a part of my community.

New episodes of Making It Up are out! This month I chatted with critically acclaimed poet Erin Hoover (No Spare People), debut novelist Elise Hart Kipness (Lights Out), and literary giant Martin Clark, who’s been lauded by the New York Times as “the thinking man’s John Grisham.”

All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

What’s Entertaining Me

Podcast

Smartless “Santa”

I’ve written up this podcast before so I won’t go into too much detail, but it’s an interview-style show hosted by friends Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes. The hosts takes turns bringing on guests, and the other two never know the identity of the guest until they start recording.  I recommend this light-and-breezy show as a whole, but if you’re going to listen to one episode you have to check out “Santa.”  Santa’s played by Will Ferrell and the improv he does with the interviewers’ questions is the funniest thing I’ve heard in awhile.

TV Show

Jury Dury (Amazon Freevee, 2023)

Aren’t you always so excited when you find something to watch that’s original? It’s harder and harder these days, and in the case of reality TV, impossible. Or so I thought until I watched the clever, captivating, and hilarious Jury Duty.

I should say this is scripted reality, because this is a written and acted series about a jury sitting through a trial that has one major twist: one juror has no clue it’s a show. That’s right, all the other jurors, the prosecutors, the defense attorney, the plaintiff and defendant, and even the judge are all actors. It’s a great setup that could still end up as mindless TV, but this show, aside from being unbelievably witty, has substantial heart to it. The payoff at the end is great, but what’s even better is the entire final episode granting the viewer the behind-the-scenes of the entire project. Funny, feelgood, and not to be missed.

Photo of the Month

I was driving the other afternoon with the kids and the light hitting Long’s Peak was just sublime.

Update from my Kids
Both kids home from college for winter break, and guess who they were most excited to see?

Update from my Pets

The greatest gift of all…a cranky old cat.

Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend

For all you Shining fans…

That’s it for now! Just a reminder to subscribe to my newsletter for more content and access to contests and giveaways. Oh, and if you follow me on social media you’ll see a lot more pictures of my goddamn pets. Until next month…

Waiting on a Volcano

I only went to one writer’s conference this year. Ideally I attend two or three, but, you know, that gets expensive! I made the hard decision to forgo Thrillerfest and Bouchercon (my usuals), and instead attend something truly special: Iceland Noir (“A literary festival celebrating darkness in all its forms”).  Jessica and I were excited to go—the conference was to take place in November, so daylight and temperatures would be at a minimum, the odds of seeing the Northern Lights at a peak, and the chance of hanging out with fellow bleak literary minds a guarantee.

Then two things happened: Jessica got covid, and an Icelandic volcano explosion became imminent.

Ugh.

Jess tested positive the day before our flight. To underscore the suckiness of this, this was her first time contracting covid. We sit around home most of the year; why couldn’t that damn virus hit us then? But she had to cancel and I went to Iceland without her, only to learn days before the flight that a potentially sizable volcanic eruption was likely to happen about ten miles from the airport.

I wasn’t worried about any actual danger, mostly because the Icelandic people assure you it’s only a big deal to locals in the immediate area (the small town of Grindavik was evacuated and remains so, though no eruption has yet occurred as I’m writing this). But if you followed the U.S. or U.K. media you were led to believe the entire country of Iceland would soon explode and forever supply the world with ice cubes. If you followed Iceland media, you were told to keep calm and carry on. So carry on I did!

I guiltily went on the tours Jess and I had booked: a Northern Lights viewing and a Golden Circle day-tour. While both tours were amazing, we’ve vowed to go back together so she can experience this wondrous country as well, and also visit the many things I didn’t see.

The conference was fantastic – an intimate gathering spread out over multiple locations in Reykjavik. Highlights included interviews with Neil Gaiman, Dan Brown, Louise Penny, and Iceland’s solitary forensic pathologist, Dr. Pétur Guðmann Guðmannsson . I was on a panel about family secrets, which explored the appeal of dark domestic thrillers.          

Some pics for you below, and wishing you all the happiest of holiday seasons.

Praise for my upcoming release, The Father She Went to Find

“The Father She Went to Find is a blast! I loved Penny Bly, the genius who can remember every line of every book she’s ever read and the details of each meal she’s ever had. Not to mention, she has an amazing talent for creating portraits that reveal the inner nature of the person being drawn. Her journey across the country to find her missing father kept me reading throughout the night. A thriller with heart, amazing characters, and plot twists I didn’t see coming. A true page-turner, this book is a winner from one of our best crime novelists.”

–David Heska Wanbli Weiden, award-winning author of Winter Counts

RELEASES APRIL 2, 2024

New episodes of Making It Up are out! This month I chatted with novelist Carol Dunbar (A Winter’s Rime), fantasy romance author and BookToker Hannah Nicole Maehrer (Assistant to the Villain), and author/professor Edward Cahill (Disorderly Men).

All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

What’s Entertaining Me

Holiday Movies

Jess and I were sitting on the couch the other night scrolling through the holiday-movie section of Netflix, and boy did the offerings look terrible! Granted, I’m not one for most rom-coms. But neither do I care much for the other categories in which most holiday movies fall:

Princes/princesses/knights/royal babies experience light holiday peril in a castleTeens and adults magically inhabiting each other’s bodies in order to learn about real holiday spiritPrinces and princesses switching bodies, also usually in a castleTeen wanting a boyfriend/girlfriend for Christmas  Adult wanting a forever-partner for ChristmasWidow/widower going through the holidays alone, realizing the spirit of their departed still lives on inside them (and also usually in a tree ornament or in an old, unwrapped gift they never had the chance to open)He’s an evil real estate mogul plotting a land grab, she’s a cupcake designer/ingenue trying to save her grandparent’s farm, etc.  Creepy old men spending too much time alone with little kids—performing dubious magic tricks—because they kinda look like Santa

For my money, the best holiday movies are (in no particular order):

Die HardScroogedLove, ActuallyElfBojack Horseman Christmas EpisodeHome AloneNightmare Before ChristmasA Christmas StoryChristmas VacationTrading PlacesThe HolidayGrelimsThe RefGroundhog Day (technically a holiday!)A Charlie Brown Christmas

Don’t agree? What’s your favorite?

Photo of the Month

More Iceland! My buddy took this amazing shot of the radical landscape in this unique country. Here’s his description of the photo:

“At Þingvellir National Park in Iceland, the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are gradually rifting apart above sea level. Here, Earth’s geodynamism is visceral. “ Photo credit: Michael Williams.

Update from my Kids
My daughter’s flight home for Thanksgiving got diverted to deal with a medical emergency on board. I haven’t the slightest idea where her dark soul comes from.

Update from my Pets

The hell did she do with Santa?

Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend

Unbound Writer
I’m so excited to announce a writing venture Jess and I are launching: Unbound Writer. This will be the new company and brand under which we will be offering coaching & mentoring services, writing retreats and workshops, online classes, and more!  For now the offerings will live on my current website HERE. You’ll be hearing more about this over the next few months (and I’ll be polling my newsletter list to gauge interest), but for right now know we are actively setting up dates for the next writing retreat in Boulder, likely in late April or early May.

More to come, but if you want to know more now, shoot me a message and let’s chat!

That’s it for now! Until next month…

Halloween Rules

This was my first Halloween with neither of my two kiddos at home. Wow, how fast it all goes by! Seems like it was just yesterday I was showing the little ankle-biters the proper way to decorate for Halloween. They didn’t listen at first; for the few several years they just wanted to play with the fake body parts and bleached bones. But by the time they were ten I figured they’d at least gotten the primary rules down, which I hope will stay with them long enough to pass down to their own dark and twisted offspring.

What are the Wilson rules for Halloween decorating, you ask? Well, they’re pretty simple, but it only works if every rule is followed.

There has be a theme. Every severed hand and pentagram painted in blood has to serve the theme; if not, kill your darlings.The theme has to be changed EVERY year. So you spent $500 on last year’s Shining theme? Tough shit, this year we’re doing zombies.Finally on themes: it should go over the heads of the kids while still being creepy. Your goal is to impress the parents. You think a kid is gonna appreciate a life-sized shot-by-shot deconstruction of the shower scene from Psycho? Hell no, but that kid’s dad is gonna lose his fucking mind.Not too gory! No, I’m not saying that out of concern for the little ones, it’s just a lazy way to decorate.  It’s boring. Remember: less is more, and nothing’s scarier than one’s own imagination.Have your main set fully enclosed (garage, blanketed front porch, etc.). This allows you to established a delicious sense of claustrophobia while limiting exits.Fog, fog, fog.Don’t overlook the power of sound. Really, fog and a creepy soundtrack gets you 75% there.Don’t try to scare as much as permanently invade the dreams of the kids. Sure, it’s fun to make a handful of trick-or-treaters cry, but more impressive is being sued for therapy costs ten years later.  Buy shitty candy to hand out. You just spent all your money decorating, and now you’re gonna hand out full-sized Snickers to 250 kids? I don’t think so. Hope you like knockoff Jolly Ranchers, ya little bastards.Invest in high-quality blacklights. Those you can use every year.If you don’t have an animatronic connected to a motion sensor, you’re doing it all wrong.Finally, have fun. The reason you’re going to so much trouble is likely buried in some wretched past trauma you can’t even remember, but I say embrace it. After all, if we can’t celebrate the dead, what’s the point of living?

This year’s theme was Haunted Attic. The first video below shows the set up, and second showcases a representative screams. Enjoy!

New episodes of Making It Up are out! This month I chatted with Anthony-nominated novelist Heather Levy (Walking Through Needles), humorist Amy Weinland Daughters (Dear Dana: That Time I Went Crazy and Wrote All 580 of My Facebook Friends a Handwritten Letter), and we produced a LIVE episode on stage with three incredible authors.

All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

What’s Entertaining Me

Book

Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy (James B. Stewart, Rachel Abrams, Penguin, 2023)

If you like true stories of horrible people, this one’s for you. Touted as a real life Succession, the book documents a painstaking investigation of despicable billionaire Sumner Redstone (Viacom/CBS) and all the despicable descendants and circling bottom-feeders surrounding him. Gotta say, this one was almost too much even for me—these folks are simply awful. Prepare to take a long shower by the time you hit the appendix.  

Show

The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix, 2023)

Now we’re talking! Boy, did I like this limited series. From Netflix: “To secure their fortune — and future — two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die, one by one.”

And die they did! Horribly, creatively. The show’s creator is Mike Flanagan, who did other top-notch horror thrillers including The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, and much of the cast is (thankfully) recycled from those earlier series.

Dark and quirky, with beautiful sets and talented actors who know exactly how to perform with just the right amount of tongues-in-their-cheeks, what’s not to like? The major bonus is every episode has direct ties to a Poe short story. I was in heaven.

Photo of the Month

Have I shown this? I don’t remember. But these are the creepy ruins of an old farmer’s house about five miles from where I live.

Update from my Kids
The highlight of Ili’s month was meeting Zeke the Wonderdog, the unofficial and wildly popular Michigan State mascot who catches frisbees at halftime. What’s less popular at MSU football games is showing pictures of Hitler on the Jumbotron.

Update from my Pets

Hey, look, a photo of an animal other than Guff, Scully, or Tuli! Meet Benny, my kids’ dog at their mom’s house. He’s adorable and loving, unless Scully is within ten feet. Everyone loves Scully, but Benny is only one who sees through all her bullshit.

Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend

Really gets one in the Halloween spirit.

Coaching & Mentoring
In addition to my Gentle Novelist retreats, I also offer one-on-one coaching and mentoring on an hourly basis (discounted packages available). I work with writers at all levels to provide support, advice, and feedback based on my twenty years of experience.

Common topics include:

• Developmental editing (full novels and partials)

• Query-letter critiques

• Social media/web presence coaching

• Book-launch support

• Accountability partner

• Public-speaking training

• Getting to your why as a writer

And much more. Contact me if you are interested in a free, 15-minute consultation to see if one-on-one mentoring/coaching is a good fit for you.

That’s it for now! Until next month…

The Father She Went to Find

Who the hell is Penny Bly?

Early in the pandemic, this was the question I couldn’t get out of my head. Penny Bly was going to be the driving force behind my next thriller, but I knew very little about her.

As most of you know, I don’t outline; my books simply start with an idea for an opening chapter and I take the ride from there. But in 2000, what came to me was not an idea for an opening scene, but rather a person. This woman Penny. I knew her name, and I knew she was a 21-year-old savant, one of only 75 in the world. I also knew Penny wasn’t born a savant, but rather became one through physical trauma (acquired savant syndrome). She sees numbers as colors, has a perfect memory, and can draw with photographic detail.

I was still writing my previous book, but for months I thought daily about Penny. Where does she live? Does she have friends? What trauma happened to her to make her a savant? And, above all else, what does she want?

Turns out, all Penny ever really wanted was to find her father. But in order to do so, she would have to venture out into the real world, a place where all the smarts in the world can’t stop those with very bad intentions.

Penny took me on a wild ride—I hope she does the same for you. The Father She Went to Find releases April 2, 2024.

Making It Up
New episodes of Making It Up are out! This month I chatted with brilliant thriller writer Lindsay Cameron (Just One Look), literary suspense novelist Chris Riley (The Broken Pines), award-winning writer Carl Vondereau (Saving Myles), and Danish literary legend Michael Katz Krefeld (Darkness Calls).

All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

What’s Entertaining Me

Book: Where You End (Abbott Kahler, Macmillan, 2024)

I met Abbott at a small literary conference in Colorado, where we were both guest authors. At the time, she had just released The Ghosts of Eden Park (under the name Karen Abbott), a New York Times bestselling non-fiction look at Prohibition through the eyes of George Remus, one of the period’s most fascinating characters. We’ve since become friends and have traded emails over the past couple of years, and in November she’ll be on my podcast promoting her upcoming book Where You End. This is her first novel and her first work written under Abbott Kahler, and she was kind enough to send me an advance copy (it releases in January).

What a read!  I normally cringe at the term “literary thriller” but if there’s any book that fits the bill, it’s Where You End. There’s endless argument over what the term “literary” even means, but Kahler’s gorgeous writing is what did it for me.  The highly original plot with its endless paranoia and second guessing is enough to yank the reader in, but the sublime phrasing and bewitching descriptions makes you yearn to get lost in the pages. There’s no question this novel will be hitting many 2024 best of lists, so do yourself a favor and pre-order a copy ASAP.  

Movie: Hypnotic (2023)

Rarely, if ever, do I review something I don’t like. I think it’s because if I read or watch something that wasn’t for me, it feels like so much effort to write multiple paragraphs about it. So here you go, a haiku review of the thriller Hypnotic.

Mind-controlling crooks

Ben Affleck must stop them all

This film fucking stinks.

Photo of the Month

It’s Halloween time, and as I’ve done the past few years I’m converting my garage into a theme. This year’s theme is “haunted attic,” which means a ghost girl singing a creepy lullaby, lots of white sheets and black lights, a good amount of fog, and a possessed doll that launches from its chair and shakes when a motion sensor is triggered. Bring on the screams!

Update from my Kids
I flew out to Baton Rouge, LA to spend a few days with my boy on his fall break at LSU.  We toured the campus, ate some Cajun food, and I got a chance to spoil him wildly. A perfect trip!

Update from my Pets

Scully is not so sure about her Halloween costume.

Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend

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That’s it for now! Until next month…

Find a Way to Write

I have a few mantras about writing that I like to push out to the world through public speaking and social-media posts (you may have seen my “writing tip of the week” videos; if not, shame on you). I’m a big believer in substituting action for excuses. As such, it’s been very easy for me to get on my high horse when aspiring writers complain about their lack of productivity. WRITE EVERY DAY I command. EVEN IF IT’S JUST FIFTEEN MINUTES.

But now I have met my match. Now I get it. I totally get it. Because I just had surgery on my right hand, and I have zero use of that hand for two weeks.  I have one week left, and I have to say my daily writing sessions have turned to complete shit. Simply put, WRITING WITH ONE HAND FUCKING SUCKS.

The natural move is to use dictation, because we all know how advanced speech to text has become. Well, let me tell you, that fucking sucks too. It’s taken me nearly 1/2 hour just to write these three paragraphs so far because I have to go back and change every other word even though I’m using a microphone. Or maybe I’m just now realizing I’m a mumbled-mouth idiot.

Something interesting I’ve learned is that my writing mouth and my writing fingers don’t produce the same text. I simply think differently when I’m typing, generally resulting in the prose I’m aiming for. When I speak it, that same prose comes out like a sixth-grade original play. The words just trip all over themselves.

This is all to say I should have written this newsletter the day before my surgery. Oh well, at least you’re not paying for this. Also, forgive any typo$.

The upside is I’ve been scaring kids with my mummy-paw

Making It Up
Making It Up is celebrating 100 episodes! This month I chatted with historical fiction writer Aimie K. Runyan (A Bakery in Paris), espionage storyteller M.P. Woodward (Dead Drop), Canadian thriller novelist Del Chatterson (Simply the Best), and literary juggernaut Javier Castillo, who’s been dubbed “the Spanish Stephen King” (The Snow Girl).

All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

What’s Entertaining Me

Book: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (David Grann, Doubleday, 2017)

If you do a web search for “killers of the flower moon,” you’re going to see a lot of buzz about the upcoming movie directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. But this was first a #1 New York Times bestselling book published in 2017 that describes the tragic murder of two dozen members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma back in the 1920s, and the subsequent search for justice. This is the kind of book you read and think to yourself, why the hell didn’t I know about any of this? The answer is because, like so many things, it got whitewashed before being buried entirely. Nearly as stunning as the brutality of the murders themselves is how much hands-on investigating the author had to do to uncover the facts of this case. It’s a good thing this story is getting the attention it deserves with both the book and such a high-profile movie, and I encourage you to digest both.

Small side note: this is the first nonfiction book I’ve read where photos are peppered throughout the book and not clumped together in the middle, and it’s amazing what value this adds to the read.

Movies: Revenge flicks!

Right before my son went off to college we found ourselves together and wanting to watch a movie. After a decently long scroll through all the thousand streaming services we subscribe to, we finally settled upon The Equalizer, a 2014 revenge thriller starring Denzel Washington. After watching it I came to the realization that I am a complete sucker for a revenge story, especially if it stars Denzel Washington (see also Man on Fire). The Equalizer tells the story a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him cannot stand idly by when… WHO CARES?? IT’S A MOVIE WITH DENZEL WASHINGTON SHOOTING PEOPLE IN THE FACE FOR TWO HOURS!

Two weeks later I watched The Equalizer 2 by myself, and left just as satisfied. And good news! The Equalizer 3 is hitting the theaters now. I think we’ve all learned that you seriously don’t wanna fuck with Denzel.

Photo of the Month

The very first Gentle Novelist coaching program and writing retreat is officially in the books! We had an amazing 2 1/2 days of writing, learning, and definitely laughing. Stay tuned for the announcement of 2024 dates. If you’re looking to step up your writing game, this program might be just the thing for you.

Update from my Kids
Because we’re an annoying dog family now, anytime my kids or I see another Golden Retriever in the wild we take a picture and share with each other. So Ili saw this dog at Michigan State, took a picture, and sent it to Sawyer and me.

Which prompted this reaction from Sawyer…

Update from my Pets
Speaking of the actual devil, guess who managed to ninja herself into my pizza box and devour three slices of pepperoni jalapeno pizza?

Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend

This applies to thriller books as well.

Other Thriller Authors You Should Be Reading
Samantha Bailey! A rock star of a writer. Hugely talented, zero ego, enjoys a good cocktail party.

That’s it for now! Until next month…

What’s In a Name?

People are always surprised when they find out book titles are often not the title the author used. Looking back, my publisher changed the title of five of my nine books. And that’s okay! I’ve long since learned not to get attached to my working title, and often I’ll just use the placeholder UNTITLED until I’m at least 1/3 into the first draft.

Publishers change titles for myriad reasons, the number one being the author’s own title sucks ass. But authors are delicate creatures, so publishers know to use kid gloves when it comes to altering the very thing the book will be called.

PUB: So I know you’re very attached to the name of your book, but I wanted to see how receptive you’d be to some alternative suggestions.

AUTHOR: What’s wrong with my title?

PUB:  We’re just not sure The Unbearable Solitude of Her Mystic Genius hits the sweet spot in the thriller market.

AUTHOR: Did you test it?

PUB: Yes, we tested it.

AUTHOR: And?

PUB: The consensus of the focus group was that it sucks ass.  

There is some science involved here. The publisher will take a series of titles, including all suggestions from the author, and test them either through focus groups or proprietary algorithms. The highest-rated ones float to the top, and then there’s more discussion. Often this is a revelatory process and results in titles that really pop. I’m quite certain the original working title of Gone Girl was There was a Woman Who was Around For a Bit and then Not So Much.

I went through this recently for my upcoming book (releasing April 2024), and I’ve grown to love where we landed with it.  In fact, I’m excited about all aspects of this book, and the cover art is just perfect. Rest assured I’ll be hyping the hell out of this starting starting in a few months, but for now just know the title isn’t the one I came up with. And, honestly, I’m still not sure what the real issue is with 50 Shades of Dorian Gray.

Making It Up
New episodes of my conversation series Making It Up are out! This month I chatted with historical fiction writer Bryn Turnbull (The Paris Deception) and award-winning, USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight (Starring Adele Astaire).

All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

What’s Entertaining Me

Movie: Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan, Director) Hell, yeah, we went to the movies! I honestly think this was only the second movie I’ve been to in a theater since 2019. And I’m not going to review the movie (I liked it) since all we’ve heard about is Oppenheimer and Barbie for the past two months. Rather, I want to review the movie-going experience. We saw the movie in the Regal Cinema in Longmont, CO.

The good things:

1) The seats. Damnnnnn, they were nice! Recliners have been around for years, but these we extra comfy. The only downside was when you lowered or raised them the leather rubbed and make it sound like gastrointestinal disorder.

2) The sound. Brilliant. The whole theater shook. Never have I been so excited for thermonuclear explosions.

3) The spacing. Also brilliant. I think there were only 165 seats in this massive theater and it didn’t feel like a crowded COVID den. Seriously, how do these places make money?

4) The previews. Not bad! This is when I usually nap, but the whole thing went by fast. And they left the lights on during the previews, which meant all the confused people arriving and trying to find their seat numbers didn’t have to use their cell-phone flashlights.

The bad things:

1) The price. I’m over 50, which means from now until the rest of my life I’m allowed to complain about how much things cost. Sixteen bucks for a matinee! And three of the four of us got popcorn and/or a drink, which totaled forty-six dollars. FORTY-SIX DOLLARS! In my day that would’ve cost less than ten bucks, and you could’ve used the change to play three rounds of Q*bert or Dig Dug in the theater arcade.  

2) The dude whose cell phone went off in the few seconds of silence during the atomic bomb testing scene. Jackass.

3) The inability to pause. This was a big one. We were all dying to have control over the movie so we could pause at any time to ask questions like Is that Robert Downey Jr.? and Wait, why are they in New Mexico? We’ve been way too spoiled by streaming services.

Overall I give the movie-going experience 4.5 stars. And once I win the lottery I plan to go again! (I slay myself).

Ghost story: A few months ago I guest-lectured in a high-school class. Now, this was a really nice private school, and since they were doing a module on horror and thriller writing, the whole class was taking a field trip to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO. If you haven’t heard of the Stanley, you might know it by its fictitious name: The Overlook Hotel from The Shining. Yup, this was the hotel King stayed in and which served as inspiration for one of his best-known works. And not only were these kids visiting the hotel, they were staying the night!

A few weeks later I emailed the teacher to see how it all went, and she sent the following response:

“I have stayed at the Stanley three times now, and I have never photographed anything creepy until last month when I attempted to take a picture of two of my students and ended up with the attached image.

The weirdest part (aside from the fact that no one else was in the shot when I took it so what the heck is that shadowy figure doing there and is there a face next to it as well??) was that I plugged in my cell phone that evening in the hotel and when I woke up the next morning it was completely dead. It refused to turn on again until the next day back at school, at which point it was fully charged (even though I had not plugged it in again after leaving the Stanley). So weird!”

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME????

Photo of the Month

Sawyer and Scully lake swimming! It took her a while to figure it all out (scroll down for more on this).

Update from my Kids
So my daughter had to go to the local police station to get fingerprinted for an upcoming job (she’ll be working the fall semester with Michigan State Police’s cold-case unit—so cool!) They get the prints done and then they have to run her I.D. through the system, so she hands her license it to the cop and he leaves for a few minutes to process it. When he returns, he hands the I.D. back and says, “Oh, and this other card was stuck to your license.” Then he hands her the second card, which, of course, is her FAKE I.D.   And the kicker is…he said nothing! Just handed it right back to her, even though clearly it’s fake (different ages, obviously, and different states). She was mortified, of course. But not enough to change her ways.

Update from my Pets
So, yeah, Scully couldn’t figure out the whole swimming thing. She basically tread water (very successfully) until she finally figured out if she kept her front paws below the surface she could glide as smoothly as a curling stone on ice (click to play).

Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend

This makes me laugh every time I watch it, because I’m a horrible human.

Other Thriller Authors You Should Be Reading
Hank Phillippi Ryan! It’s no secret thriller writers are the most wonderful people, and Hank epitomizes this. Generous, kind, always smiling, and a helluva talented storyteller. No wonder everyone loves her.

That’s it for now! Until next month…

Seven Steps to Write a Novel

Think of all the ways to spread an idea and you’ll probably get a consensus that one of the most difficult ways is to write a novel. To express through character, emotion, and story that big idea you have. So many people tell me they’ve always wanted to write a book. So few actually do.

The truth is, writing a novel is not that hard. In fact, putting your story–your big idea–into a 90,000 word narrative that’s actually good–can be done through these seven steps.

1) Make your bed. Every single morning. It’s a small thing, I know, but it’ll establish a little bit of momentum and accomplishment to start your day.

2) Be curious. I started writing out of the blue 20 years ago without any experience or aspirations to do so. I’ve since had eight books published and a ninth on the way. But it took writing that first book–a book that never sold, by the way–to force myself to be curious about the act of writing. Why am I doing this? Should I trust my instinct to continue? Without curiosity, you will never find the passion necessary to write a book.

3) Write for yourself. Tell the story that speaks to you, not necessarily the story you think others want to hear.

4) Write every day. This is critical. Build the muscle. I only write an hour a day, but I do it every day. That’s it. At that pace, you can write a novel in less than a year.

5) Don’t chase perfection. Your book will never be perfect, and the thing that stops most writers from finishing something is that never-ending feeling of it’s not good enough. Just get that first draft done, warts and all. And then as you edit that ugly, ugly first draft…

6) Kill your darlings. Be brutal with yourself as you edit. Challenge every sentence, every word. Delete anything that doesn’t serve your story, no matter how much you may love those words.

7) Finally, embrace rejection. The second hardest thing to do as a writer is to share their work. The hardest thing to do is embrace the rejection that will come, and I guarantee it will come. But within all that rejection lies immense opportunity.

There are seven steps to writing a novel, steps anyone can take. Writing a book isn’t hard. Trusting your instinct to write in the first place may be the toughest part of it all.

Making It Up
A whopping six new episodes of my conversation series Making It Up are out!

This month I chatted with bestselling suspense novelist Kara Thomas (The Darkest Corners), New York Times bestselling author of the Matt Drake thriller series Don Bentley (Hostile Intent), parole officer-turned-novelist Christopher Flory (Trust Misplaced), international bestselling author Rachael (R.H.) Herron (Hush Little Baby), New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (Hollow Beasts), and A.G. Riddle, whose novels have sold nearly five million copies and have been translated into twenty languages worldwide (The Extinction Trials).

All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Limited space still available at The Gentle Novelist coaching program & writing retreat, taking place this August 9-11 in beautiful Boulder, Colorado.

And announcing the guest speaker lineup!

Thriller novelist extraordinaire Wendy Walker, whose novels have been translated into 23 foreign languages, topped bestseller lists both nationally and abroad, and have been optioned for both television and film.

David Heska Wanbli Weiden, an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, who is the author of Winter Counts (Ecco, 2020), which was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The book was the winner of the Anthony, Thriller, Lefty, Barry, Macavity, Spur, High Plains, Electa Quinney, Tillie Olsen, CrimeFest (UK), Crime Fiction Lover (UK) Awards.

And Elizabeth Copps, founding agent of the acclaimed boutique Copps Literary Agency.

We’ve got so much planned for the 2.5-day retreat. If you are finally ready to commit or re-commit to writing your book, this might just be the thing for you. Scholarships/group discounts available.

Full details at www.carterwilson.com/gentle-novelist

What’s Entertaining Me

Movie: Smile (Parker Finn, Director) I’m not a big horror-movie guy. I suppose I was as a teenager, but nowadays I just get too damn freaked out (go figure). But I do appreciate horror movies that aren’t over-the-top gory and are creative in their approach (one of the reasons I liked M3GAN). I just watched Smile with my kids, and we all enjoyed it as much as we were unsettled by it.

From the website: After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, a psychiatrist becomes increasingly convinced she is being threatened by an uncanny entity. Yeah, that “traumatic incident” was pretty fucked up, and I suggest not eating spaghetti during it. But this was a solid creepfest of a movie, much in the way The Ring was. And the highlight was the protagonist, played very convincingly by Sosie Bacon, Kevin Bacon’s daughter (who enjoys only one degree of separation).  If you like horror but are not into the extreme stuff, give this a watch.

Book: You Always Come Back, Emily Smith (Crooked Lane, October 2023) I got an early look at a debut author’s thriller in order to blurb it, and it was great! It won’t be released until October, but be sure to pre-order or look for it when it’s out. Here’s the blurb I wrote for it:

“Emily Smith’s You Always Come Back is one of those very rare debuts that forces you to lean over and read every single word. A family drama in the ranks of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Smith’s story follows July Weaver’s reluctant return to her family home after vowing never to do so. And who would blame her? The Weaver family has a sordid and heartbreaking past, culminating with the patriarch in prison for a series of murders. Smith’s writing is sublime and, in July Weaver, she pens a fierce, vulnerable, and flawed protagonist who ranks amongst the most memorable in modern-day thrillers. This is a story that will stay with me for some time.”

Photo of the Month (and Update from my Kids)

The kids asked what I wanted to do for Father’s Day. I said climb up 2,768 steps. So off to the Manitou Incline we went!

Update from My Cat and Dog
Friends? Enemies? Depends on the day.

Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend

Other Thriller Authors You Should Be Reading
Hannah Mary McKinnon! The kindest of souls and the darkest of writers–the complete package! And I was lucky enough to listen to her read a chapter of my book on First Chapter Fun, and I assure you nobody can tell a story better.

That’s it for now! Until next month…

Being Curious

Whenever I’m talking about my 20-year writing journey, one thing I always mention is the power of curiosity. Together with empathy and perseverance, curiosity is a necessary tool for the writer.  It gives the storyteller (and the reader) the agency to ask, “What if this were me?”, a question that fuels narrative drive. It gives the writer different roads to explore, it blows up outlines (a good thing), and it generates plot twists that no one–least of all the author–saw coming.

But curiosity is not just a tool for writing. I wouldn’t even be a writer were I not curious about why I began writing in the first place. I started down this path as a simple exercise to solve a self-imposed riddle, which manifested itself into a 400-page manuscript. Had I not been curious and introspective about why I wrote a book (without any prior experience or aspirations to do so), I likely would’ve dismissed penning a (bad) novel as a quirk, a fluke, a hiccup of life. But I deeply questioned the meaning of the experience. I was 33, had a full-time job in hospitality consulting and a kid on the way, and I just upped and wrote a goddamn novel out of the blue. And only when I poked and prodded my brain with incessant questions about why I would do such a foolish thing, my brain finally answered because maybe this is what you’re supposed to do with your life.

Since that time I’ve always challenged myself to be curious about situations, even when I didn’t want to. Several years ago I was writing at a Starbucks. Headphones on, gaze focused on my laptop screen. But in my peripheral vision I saw someone very close to my right shoulder, and when I turned there was this dude who was talking to me. What I wanted was to dismiss him and get back to my writing, but I challenged myself to be curious about him, so I took off my headphones, turned my body to fully face him, and we had this really intense, quasi-spiritual conversation for about a half-hour. Sure, he was a bit eccentric, but my curiosity kept saying maybe you’re supposed to be talking to him today. Maybe this is a meaningful event in your life. And I can say I truly enjoyed our interaction.

At the end of our conversation, he looked at me with a fierce intensity and said, “You’re going to be big someday. Like millions of dollars big.” Then he paused before adding, “But it won’t happen until you’re fifty.” Then he left, and I never saw him again.

So I’m almost 53 now, and looking back I’ve come to realize the guy was just a random lunatic.

But still. Be curious.

Most of the time it pays off.

Ted Lasso: Be Curious

Making It Up
Newly added episodes of my conversation series Making It Up are out!

This month I chatted with novelist, artist, and Fulbright Scholar Rebecca Keller (You Should Have Known), pop-culture writer and debut novelist Lauren Thoman (I’ll Stop the World), and brilliant suspense-weaver Tessa Wegert (the Shana Merchant mysteries).

All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Only three spots remaining!

All you aspiring or established writers out there–this is the year to finally write your novel. I’m pouring my 20 years of writing and publishing experience into my Gentle Novelist writing retreat, where I will give you the tools, clarity, and momentum you need to write your book. This coaching program and retreat will be lighter on tips and methodology (there will be some, but there is no “one way” to write a book) and heavy on motivation, inspiration, community, and accountability.

August 9-11, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado.

Gentle Novelist

Scholarships available.

What’s Entertaining Me

Podcast: Scamfluencers (Wondry Podcasts) From Wondry: You never really know someone…especially online. In today’s world, the power of influence can be the quickest path to money and fame, and it often ends in ruin. These are the stories of the world’s most insidious Scamfluencers. And we are their prey.

I usually prefer a nice scam podcast that has a seven-or-eight-episode arc, because then you get to hear all the nitty gritty details of the crime and investigation. But if you’re looking for single-episode stories about all the horrible people in the world, this is the podcast for you.  My favorite so far was actually a two-part episode about boy-band grifter Lou Pearlman. Man, what a piece of shit that guy is.

Show: Unstable, (Netflix, 2023) From Netflix:  “A biotech genius tries to bounce back from the depths of grief with help from his son, who works to escape his dad’s shadow and save the family business.”

This is the kind of show that you pepper in between your serious binges of Succession and The Old Man. Humorous, light, and surprisingly heartfelt, Unstable features Rob Lowe as said biotech genius and John Owen Lowe (yes, Rob’s own son) as his son. Once you get past Rob Lowe’s agelessness-that-can-only-come-from-drinking-the-blood-of-virgins, you’ll discover the writing is tight, most characters are fully formed, and the “don’t be evil” vibe of the biotech company not too annoying. I’ve liked the first few episodes enough to keep watching. That is, if I remember to. How many shows have I not finished simply because I forgot I started watching them? Jesus, a lot.

Photo of the Month

The sky above my house a few weeks ago. These are either mammatus clouds or a massive inverted challah bread floating in the sky.

Update from My Kids

He did it!

Next up: college.

Update from My Cat and Dog
Scully was so excited by her new backyard splashpad that she got the zoomies.

Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend

Other Thriller Authors You Should Be Reading
Wendy Walker! Happy book birthday to What Remains, Wendy’s latest, captivating thriller (which A.J. Finn calls “absolute splendid storytelling.”) Not only does Wendy write with a beautifully dark ferocity that that will keep you reading all night, she’s also funny, open, honest, a great listener and expert advice-giver. Pick this book up today!

That’s it for now! Until next month…

Why Novelists Hate Their Books

I did a talk and book signing last weekend at a charity event, and the organizers had five of my eight novels available for sale. During the signing, readers would scan the available titles and inevitably pose this question to me: “Which of these books is your favorite?” Sure, I get it, someone who’s never read my stuff wants to buy the book I love the most. Were I in their place, I’d want to know the same thing.

What readers don’t know is most novelists HATE all their books. This fact, inevitably, makes for an awkward conversation.

________

Which of these is your favorite?

Well, they pretty much all fucking suck, so take your pick.

<> Aren’t you a bestselling author?

Yeah, go figure.

<> Well, they can’t be THAT bad.

That’s the attitude that put the Nazis in power.

Good lord. <>

________

Sure, okay, that’s slightly exaggerated. But the truth remains: every book is a relationship that runs its course.

It always starts off strong. There’s the idea for the book, or maybe even just an opening scene. I’ll get excited just thinking about it. And then I write that first scene and BAM, I’m in love. I think of all the possibilities. The places we’ll go together. All I want to do is spend time writing, discovering, unearthing a new world, with new characters, finding inspiration in the littlest of things.

This honeymoon stage lasts, oh, probably 100 or 150 pages. And then doubt starts to creep in. What if this isn’t the one? What do you mean I have to work hard at this relationship? This existential struggle continues for another 150 pages or so, and then a true sense of despise takes over. Okay, I’ve put in all this effort, and you’re still not giving me what I want. You’re not as special as you once were, and sometimes you don’t even make sense at all. I’m not sure how this is going to end, but it’s gonna be bad.

It’s difficult to escape the loathing that’s pervasive about 80% into that first draft. I’ve spent so much time on it I no longer have any perspective if the book is good or not, and my default sense is it stinks. And this is when I start to get the *faintest* inkling for a new book, a tiny seed of an idea planted that slowly, day by day, grows into a mild obsession. Suddenly all I want is to be with my new book and have nothing to do with my current one. But I can’t just break things off. I have to finish what I started, get the necessary closure.

So I write the ending, and usually this is when the spark comes back. A sense of you might be the one after all. But it’s too late, and by the time that last sentence is written, there might even be a tear or two. It’s over. It’s all over, and time to move on. Time to fall in love again with something new.

And then the cruelest of all things happen. Right in the middle of the honeymoon phase with the next book, my editor sends me notes on the last manuscript. This means I need to spend two or three months rethinking a relationship that’s ended. Do you know how difficult it is to work to make something better after you’ve already moved on? It’s like going back to marriage counseling after the divorce has been finalized.

So this is why novelists hate their books. This is why I never, never go back and read any of my books. Never listen to the audio edition, either. The irony is the book I hate still has to come out and be promoted, and I have to talk about it like it’s the current love of my life. And I have to do readings! This is when a funny little thing happens. When I’m looking for a passage to read, I have to scan the book, and once in awhile I’ll find a section that, impossibly, I don’t hate so much. That I might actually like. A sentence or two that could even be borderline great. And there’s that spark AGAIN, but this time it only lasts as long as a dying ember coughed from a campfire. Then, like that, it’s gone.

So the next time you’re in line at a book signing deciding which book to buy from an author, I suggest asking the following question: which of your books do you despise the least?

I guarantee the answer will be readily forthcoming.

Making It Up
Newly added episodes of my conversation series Making It Up are out!

This month I chatted with #1 national bestselling author Samantha Bailey (Watch Out for Her), USA Today bestselling and five-time Agatha Award-winning author Hank Phillippi Ryan (The House Guest), acclaimed flash-fiction writer Nancy Stohlman (After the Rapture), and critic-favorite novelist Ciera McElroy (Atomic Family).

All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Reserve your spot for my novel-writing retreat!

The details have been finalized for my Gentle Novelist coaching program and retreat, taking place August 9-11, 2023 in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. The in-person retreat is limited to 10 people and booking is now open! Read about the retreat and reserve your spot here:  

carterwilson.com/gentle-novelist

Join me this summer for an intimate, inspirational, challenging, and rewarding writing experience. My sole focus is to have you leave the retreat with the tools, motivation, and momentum to finish that book you’ve been thinking about for years. I understand that retreats not only require commitment, but money! That’s why I’ll be awarding one scholarship per retreat, which reduces the tuition by 50%. If you are interested in the scholarship, please fill out this form.

Looking forward to helping you make your writing dreams come true.

What’s Entertaining Me

Book: The Girl Who Died (Ragnar Jónasson, Minotaur, 2021)  I’ve never read Ragnar’s books, but figured it was time since I’m headed to Iceland this November for a writer’s conference he founded. Translated from Icelandic, The Girl Who Died is a standalone thriller about a young woman seeking a new start in a secluded village where a small community is desperate to protect its secrets.

Of all the interesting characters in the book, the most compelling is the setting of Skálar, a remote  fishing hamlet in Iceland with a population of ten. The prose is solid, Jónasson instills a beautiful sense of paranoia and crushing solitude, and the reader, like the main character Una, immediately feels the simmering malevolence of the dark and isolated destination.

A solid mystery with a satisfying ending, The Girl Who Died will not be the last book I read from the writer who The Times UK labeled “the best crime writer in the world today.”

Show: White House Plumbers, (HBO, 2023) From the HBO website:  “This five-part limited series imagines the behind-the-scenes story of how Nixon’s political saboteurs, E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux), accidentally toppled the presidency they were zealously trying to protect… and their families along with it.”

I’ve only watched the one episode released so far, but this show is fantastic. And note how the description uses the word “imagines.” That’s because, though inspired by the real Watergate events, the show itself is also considered a satire. Which means the characters are over-the-top, and the dialogue bordering on the absurd. Which also means the show is funny as hell, and I can’t think of better actors than Harrelson and Theroux to pull it all off. A must-watch for fans of both political history and the Keystone Cops.

Photo of the Month

Because I needed MORE places to write, I recently had a stamped-concrete patio built at my house, upon which I installed up a hard-top gazebo. You’ll find me here most of the summer.

Update from My Kids

Exciting times! My son committed to LSU Honors College, where he’ll be studying athletic training and exercise science. And my daughter is home after her sophomore year at Michigan State, and she’ll be sitting in that gazebo all summer studying for the LSATs. She was excited to be with Scully again!

Update from My Cat and Dog
A rare instance of interspecies getting-alongness.

Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend

Book-Love Instagram Post of the Month
Not book love, but figured I’d share my love of this pic floating under the #carterwilson IG hashtag.

That’s it for now! Until next month…

The Power of Being Humbled

In many interviews with writers, this question almost always come up: What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring writers? My answer is unwavering: write every day. But

I’m never asked the second most important thing a writer—aspiring or otherwise—can do, which is this: share your work and take the beating.

I’ve often preached about the power of rejection (and holy shit is there a lot of that in the publishing industry). But rejection is just one form of feedback, and any writer who wants to be published needs multiple levels of it. And I’m not talking “my mom loved my book” kind of feedback. I’m talking dispassionate, agnostic readers who will gladly drag your carcass through hot coals if you went a little heavy on your use of commas.

There are many ways of getting feedback, but one of the best is to join (or form) a critique group. I’ve been in the same group (with band members having rotated in and out) for the past, oh, eighteen years or so. Currently we have six core members and a few others in the periphery. We meet once a month, and usually anywhere from one to four of us submit something to critique, usually a short story or a piece of a novel. There’s a structure to our meeting: first, we shoot the shit for a while. Then we set the date of the next meeting followed by confessions. Confessions allows a member to reveal what kind of writing they’ve done in the past month, which is a nifty little accountability trick. Some confess to having done no creative writing, while other might regret “only” having written forty-thousand words.

Then comes the critique part. At this point, everyone has already read the submission, and we go around the room saying what we thought about it. The person receiving the critique must remain silent during the discussion, but is given a chance to speak after the last person has finished.

It’s fucking scary! To this day, my palms still get a little sweaty before every critique. The best thing is everyone says exactly what they think of your writing. The worst thing is everyone says exactly what they think of your writing. And not only is your job to shut up and take the beating, but also to respect and learn from the feedback, and to be open-minded and curious about the comments. That’s not to say you have to incorporate all the suggestions; doing so would erode the voice you worked so hard to establish in your work. But you have to decide which comments resonate with you and rework your manuscript to accommodate them.

If a writer’s goal is to be published, they must seek feedback at the early stages, as humbling as that can be. It’s critical for success, and it never, ever gets easier. But not only will seeking feedback make your writing better, it will do wonders for developing thicker skin. And you’re gonna need that thick skin for when the real feedback arrives in the form of reader reviews. Better yet, probably best not to read those at all.

Like book clubs, critique groups necessitate wine.

Making It Up
Newly added episodes of my conversation series Making It Up are out!

This month I chatted with internationally bestselling author Kimberly Belle (The Personal Assistant), award-winning crime-fiction writer Tracy Clark (Broken Places), bestselling novelist Veronica G. Henry (the Mambo Reina series), and Falchion-award-winning writer Kimberly Giarratano (Death of a Dancing Queen).

All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Reserve your spot for my novel-writing retreat!

The details have been finalized for my Gentle Novelist coaching program and retreat, taking place August 9-11, 2023 in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. The in-person retreat is limited to 10 people and booking is now open! Read about the retreat and reserve your spot HERE.

Join me this summer for an intimate, inspirational, challenging, and rewarding writing experience. My sole focus is to have you leave the retreat with the tools, motivation, and momentum to finish that book you’ve been thinking about for years. I understand that retreats not only require commitment, but money! That’s why I’ll be awarding one scholarship per retreat, which reduces the tuition by 50%. If you are interested in the scholarship, please fill out this form.

Looking forward to helping you make your writing dreams come true.

What’s Entertaining Me

Book: Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World (Tom Wright, Bradley Hope, Hachette Books, 2018) Love me a good Wall Street scandal, and this is a big one. Basically this needy little man from Malaysia was able to parlay his insecurities into becoming the perpetrator of one the largest financial frauds in history. The dude even funded the film The Wolf of Wall Street. The finance-writing is dense and complex at times, but worth it to get to the parts about the over-the-top parties with celebrities.

Movie: Jerry and Marge Go Large, Paramount+, 2022) Inspired by a true story about a retiree (Bryan Cranston) who figures out a mathematical loophole in the state lottery, this is an easy and pleasant (if not a little treacly) watch. The cast is nicely rounded out by Annette Benning, Rainn Wilson, Michael McKeon, and Larry Wilmore. Something fun and a bit inspiring to watch when you’re otherwise sick of humanity.

Photo of the Month

Mexican street at dusk, 2009

Update from My Kids

My son (a senior in high school) asked his girlfriend to the prom. She recently committed to the University of Oregon (Mighty Ducks!), so he bought dozens of little rubber ducks to help make his sign. And my heart just melts….

Update from My Cat and Dog
The look of mutual guilt being caught mid-fight after being told multiple times to leave each other alone.

Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend

Book-Love Instagram Post of the Month
Thank you, @rebeccareviewedit! Love the pic.

That’s it for now! Until next month…