I have eight books published, and they are all standalone thrillers. By standalone, I mean none of my books is part of a series (though The New Neighbor and The Dead Husband have very direct ties to one another.) In case you haven't noticed, series...

Uncategorized
The First Line
Every now and then I'll get asked about writing the opening lines to my novels. How long do you toil over each of those words, making sure they're perfect? How often did you go back and change that first sentence? And how did you decide on the first line of The New...
Book Launch Day!
April 12, 2022 Hello, friends. Just a brief newsletter this month to let you know my latest thriller The New Neighbor is out today. If you haven't already, I encourage you to pick up a copy at your favorite bookstore. If you use an e-reader, well, that works, too....
ME ME ME ME ME
Authors HATE self-promotion. They despise posting book photos with links to pre-order, loathe telling you about good reviews, and cringe announcing the deal the publisher is running. Most authors are happy with their laptops, sitting in their little writing room,...
Halloween Scream Reel
For this year's Halloween theme I was going to convert my entire garage into a disco inferno (picture Bee Gees with Satan masks), but decided it was best during a pandemic not to make little kids walk through an enclosed area (next year!). So I went back to...
What’s Your Thing?
Welcome to October, which is a great time if you're into all things creepy, spooky, or otherwise tinged in darkness. And fortunately I am. You see, apparently it's my thing. We all have a thing, I suppose. Like your aunt in Florida who, for whatever reason, likes...
What If?
Screw outlining.That’s easy for me to say, because I suck at it. Sure, I had tried outlining very early on in my career, but never in earnest. So after I'd written a few books, I decided to give it a serious go—notecards and everything. I spent nearly six months...
Musings – Audiobook Edition!
After years of writing my musings I decided to do something a little different this month. Audiobook musings! Same great content, but now I get to ramble on with a microphone instead of a keyboard. I discuss my experiences with my new conversation series Making It Up,...
Now What?
With the launch of my seventh book now more than a month behind me, it's natural to wonder what I should be doing now. In books past, during the few weeks post-launch I would obsessively monitor sales ranking (It just hit #1,054 in Domestic Thrillers Featuring...
A Very COVID Halloween
This was going to be THE year, man. First, Halloween 2020 falls on a Saturday, Second, that's also the night the clocks get set back an hour in the U.S.. Finally, there will be a full moon that night (a blue moon, actually). Do you know the last time a full moon was...
Sign up for Carter's newsletter: Subscribe