I enjoy talking to people. Mostly.
I believe everyone has a good story to tell. The trick is getting the story out of them, and I love that challenge. Likewise, I hate small talk, and am slowly dying inside whenever the discussion turns to weather or Zoom backgrounds. If I meet you at a cocktail party (remember those?) there’s a decent chance within five minutes I’ll be asking you about your deepest fears.
With that in mind, a few months ago I decided to start talking to writers in order to unearth their personal stories. I wasn’t interested in what books are on their bedside table or what one piece of advice they’d give to aspiring authors. I wanted to know what their lives were like growing up, what struggles they’ve faced writing. What makes them happy. Or even what their deepest fears are.
Today I’m launching the first three of my conversations in my new writer interview series Carter Wilson’s Making It Up. In these 45-minute episodes I talk to Edgar Award-winning thriller writer Alex Marwood, gritty noir novelist Joe Clifford, and NY Times bestselling author Julie Clark. I’ll be posting new episodes about every 10 days, available both on my YouTube channel and as podcasts.
And why, you ask, is it called Making It Up? Well, at the end of every conversation, my guest chooses a random sentence from a random book on my shelves and we use it to create an impromptu short-story together. Talk about deepest fears…this part scares even the most seasoned of writers.
For a taste of the show, here’s a short trailer:
I just love the conversations I’ve been having, and I’m excited to share this series with you. You can access both the video or podcast versions of the show HERE, or you can subscribe on my YouTube channel or wherever you get your podcasts. Enjoy!