All right, now that it’s November you probably don’t want to hear about Halloween. Too bad. You can go down to your local grocery store and immerse yourself in all the Christmas decor you want, but for now, we’re doing a Halloween debrief.
I’ve come to realize writing thrillers and enjoying Halloween have some major overlap, namely that it allows you to explore the dark side of mortality while still being safe. It’s all pretend, but you can make it pretty damn real. And just like in my books, I don’t go for cheap and easy gore with my Halloween themes. It should be about the mood. The threat of something happening. The “what if” of every moment.
Some years I throw myself more into my Halloween decorations than others, but I always make it a theme and not just a bunch of skeletons on my front lawn. This year’s theme was pirates, and as I’ve done for the last several years I’ve turned my garage into a staging ground of screams.
And it’s not just about the visuals. It’s about what’s hidden (due to heavy use of a fog machine), what you hear (music and voiceovers), and what you smell (the little kid crapping his pants next to you). And I usually employ some nice visuals aside from static props, including hologram-eque projections, motion sensors, and hand-built animatronic props.
I will admit, life is full and I kept things as simple as possible this year for Halloween. But simple is good! You don’t need to be tricky to scare someone, and sometimes the most basic haunts are the most effective. I try to keep that in mind when I write.
By the end of the night, we had counted 293 trick or treaters, not including the hordes of parents who loved watching their kids freak out. So yeah, a good night.
Enjoy this short and sweet scream reel.
New episodes of Making It Up are out! Over the past month I chatted with:
- Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist
- Karen Dionne, USA Today and #1 internationally bestselling suspense author
- Barbara Feigin, memorist and advertising pioneer
- Gina DeMillo Wagner, award-winning journalist and author
All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.
| As far as I know, these are the places I’m supposed to be where you can meet me and stuff. Check my event calendar for the latest updates. |
| November 16, 2024 3PM “The Art of Thriller Writing” Class Standley Lake Library Arvada, Colorado January 29th, 2025 6PM Joint Book-Launch Event Carter Wilson & Barbara Nickless Tattered Cover Colfax Denver, Colorado February 5, 2025 Totally Criminal Cocktail Hour Stillwater, Minnesota Details TBD STAY TUNED FOR MORE EVENTS IN EARLY 2025! Lots of scheduling stuff currently in the works |
What’s Entertaining Me
On the Page
The 13th Step (Lew McCreary, September 2024)
I was at the Bouchercon (Mystery Writers of America) conference in September and I ran into Marcy McCreary, a lovely suspense author. We were talking for a few minutes and then she pressed a book into my hands. “My husband wrote this,” she said, “and it’s amazing.” I gladly accepted, because who doesn’t love amazing books? But I also felt a little guilty holding it; my to-read pile is cascading and I wasn’t sure I would ever get to it. Then she told me something that struck me silent. She said right after her husband wrote the book, he was diagnosed with a form of dementia.
My father passed from early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 69, and once Marcy told me about her husband Lew, I knew I’d be reading the book. And lest you think I’m sharing a person’s secret medical history, Lew is very open about his struggles on the Kickstarter campaign page that he launch to get the book into the world. I had no idea if the book would be amazing or not, but I felt compelled to crack it open.
And what about the book? In short, Lew is a hellua writer. The plot details a support group comprised of family members of violent-crime victims, and the “13th step” is the final step encouraged by the morally ambiguous group leader Candace, who softly encourages violent revenge as a coping mechanism to her members.
The plot, while gripping, takes second stage to Lew’s writing, which can most aptly be described as fiendishly clever. I fucking love clever writing, especially when it doesn’t get in the way of story flow, which is precisely the case here. You read this book and instantly recognize an author who just loves words. Loves and respects them. Promises to arrange them in just the right way, and does so with what seems like natural ease. The kind of writing that makes me jealous, in short.
My hat’s off to this fine, fine author. Please check his book out and see what it means to be a writer at the top of his game.
On the Screen
Woman of the Hour, (Netflix, 2024)
I love a good documentary, and the next best thing is a bang-up docudrama, especially if it’s true crime (The Staircase is a good example of this). So Jess and I were eager to dive into Woman of the Hour, a docudrama about a serial killer in the 70s who wound up as a contestant on The Dating Game.
Woman of the Hour both stars and is directed by Anna Kendrick, and though she excels in both roles, her acting is more sure-handed. She plays the poor struggling actress who lands a role as the Dating Game “girl”, and of course she selects the killer to go out with (this is the meat of the true story). The story goes back on forth in time, establishing the series of murders leading up to the killer’s appearance on the game show. It’s all highly compelling, but what’s lacking is a narrative thread tying everything together. This could easily be accomplished through fiction, but as a docudrama it hews more closely to the truth, which, as with all things in real life, is often jumbled, confusing, and without a satisfying conclusion.
Nonetheless, it a fascinating story and worth the watch. As a bonus, Daniel Zovatto plays an exceptional creep.
Photo of the Month
Had the great pleasure of signing 130 copies of my upcoming book for a luncheon with independent booksellers. I also got to emcee the event, which was a blast!
Update from my Kids
Sawyer’s Halloween costume was, inexplicably, a walrus. Ili and her boyfriend Yash went as Jokers. You decide who wins.
Update from my Pets
And of course Scully had to match my Halloween theme…
What’s in My Backyard?
It’s been some time since I’ve given a backyard update, simply because I haven’t seen many critters around. But a few weeks ago my camera caught something in my yard I’d never seen in the 23 years living in this house…a fox!
Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend
Wonderful journals spotted by my friend in The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles.
My Next Unbound Writer Event!
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…
