Author: Scott William Carter

Fall 2019 Update: Now Writing Full Time and Other News

I don’t want to bury the lead, so I’ll start off with the biggest news: As of November 4th, I’m now a full-time writer.

After nearly 20 years at the university, it finally seemed like the right time. I’ve been self-employed before — I owned a bookstore for a few years in my late twenties — so being self-employed is not completely new to me, but this is the first time I’ve been a full-time writer. My commute is now thirteen feet, bedroom to office. My coworkers are very quiet . . . except when they’re cleaning their paws.  In the picture above, you can see one of them, Paisley, sitting in my office recliner. Er, I mean, on my office recliner.

What does it mean for my readers? Well, the books should come a lot faster now. I won’t be writing any faster, mind you, or at least I don’t intend to. I’m just going to be spending a lot more hours at it rather than getting up at the crack of way-too-early to get in my pages before heading off to the day job. I have a good sense of what kind of pace is sustainable for me long term, but we’ll see how it goes. So far, so good. I’ve been hitting my quota, getting in my daily words on another book. I know if I get that right, I can figure out the rest. 

And what is that book? Well, I’m working on a spin off character from the Garrison Gage series right now — someone who appeared in a couple books and deserves her own series. (That’s enough of a clue. You’ll have to wait until I’m done for more.) After that, I’d like to jump right back to Gage for the seventh book in that series. And then? Well, I have a lot of ideas.

Speaking of ideas, what about the comic? Now that I don’t have that pesky day job, will be I be publishing Run of the House more frequently? Well, we’ll see. For now, I continue to publish the cartoon strip every Wednesday over at http://www.runofthehouse.net. I’m going to reassess my plans with it down the road a bit, after I’ve settled into my new routines, but I fully intend to keep it going. It appeals to a different part of my creative makeup, one I’d let go dormant for far too long.

Oh, in other news, Bury the Dead in Driftwood, the sixth Garrison Gage book, is now available in audio. You can find it on Audible and on iTunes, narrated by the wonderful Steven Roy Grimsley, who has narrated all of the Garrison Gage and Myron Vale books. If you like listening to audio books, as I do, please check it out.

It’s a gray and drizzly November day here in Oregon. In other words, perfect writing weather.  Time to get back to it.

Recalibrating the Cartoon Strip (Changing to a Once-a-Week Schedule, Pausing Patreon . . . for Now)

It feels a bit strange writing this post, just a week after posting about reaching my 50th comic strip with Run of the House, but, alas, reality has intervened as it sometimes does. While I love producing the strip, and plan to continue doing it, I now have a much better idea of how much time it takes — which means how much time it’s also taking from other things. Unfortunately, while I thought I could maintain the balance of writing/university work/family/cartooning without anything really suffering, it turns out there really are only 24 hours in a day, and something had to give. Lately, that turned out to be the writing, as much as I tried to deny it to myself. My weekly word counts don’t lie, since I’ve always been a big believer in tracking them so I’m honest with myself about my productivity, and they’re down considerably in the last few months. 

And since I have two kids going to college before long, and the writing is (ahem) quite a bit more profitable (and equally enjoyable), I’ve got to continue to prioritize it.  I knew when I was starting to use my morning writing time for the cartoon strip that I was going to have to make some hard decisions . . . So I’m dropping back to a once-a-week, Wednesday publishing schedule for Run of the House, starting next week (August 28).

But I’m not quitting! If anything, I’m more motivated than ever to get better as an artist and cartoonist, just as I’m equally motivated to get better as a writer. I’ve learned a ton about cartooning the last few months, both the craft and the business side of things, and I have some ideas on how to evolve the strip in the months ahead and how to keep getting better overall. This really is primarily about time. Well, yes, paying college tuition, too, but primarily time.

Finally, I’ve paused the Patreon donations. It doesn’t feel right to take your contributions when I’ve cut my publication schedule. I was tempted to just close my account for now, which I may still do, but then I saw that Patreon has a “pause” alternative that preserves some options for me. They’ve changed their membership plans since I started, so if I completely close it I’m forced onto the new plan. 

So, to recap: Going forward, you’ll be able to read all the weekly strips over at http://wwwRunofthehouse.net, and you won’t be charged by Patreon if you were one of my early backers. Thanks again for your support!

50th Comic!

My cartoon strip, Run of the House, reached a neat milestone today. I published my 50th comic!

R0050

If you’d like to read the other 49, you can see them all at www.runofthehouse.net. So far I’ve kept to my M/W/F schedule without fail since starting the strip back in April. My goal has been to just keep working on getting better, and I’ve been encouraged how much the strip has already evolved. I see definite improvement, which is gratifying. That’s what it’s all about to me, folks, whether it’s writing, cartooning, or anything else: it’s about just working at the craft and getting better. The rest is gravy. While it’s been challenging finding the time to do this with the writing, the family, the day job, and everything else, I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.

And while I know some of my most dedicated readers of my “regular” writing would probably prefer I stick to books, the balance has been very, very good for me. It’s actually reinvigorated my creativity and brought new perspective to the writing side of things, too. In other words, I think it’s making me a better writer.

And I’d love your help! If you want to support me on this journey, plus get the comic a week early, access to the backstage blog where I share insights and behind-the-scenes stuff, and other extras, consider chipping in $1-$3/month over at my Patreon page. I’d really appreciate it!

 

New Book Published: Bury the Dead in Driftwood (a Garrison Gage Mystery)

After far too long a wait, the sixth Garrison Gage book, Bury the Dead in Driftwood, is now out in the world! For those of you who want to get right to reading, more information about the book is below, including links to various retailers.

A two year gap between books may be nothing for the likes of George R.R. Martin, but I’ll try not to make my Gage fans wait that long if I can help it. In fact, it was such great fun catching up with Gage and his friends that I’m launching right into the next Gage book. I can’t promise you when I’ll finish it, of course, but there’s a good bet it won’t be two years.

burythedead_ebookcover_081219Bury the Dead in Driftwood
A Garrison Gage Mystery

They find her buried in driftwood.

Harriet Abel never shows up for her appointment. Irritating as hell? Sure. It’s hard enough to work as a private investigator without potential clients standing you up.

Of course, it’s difficult to show up when you’re dead.

A revered community figure in the Oregon coast town of Barnacle Bluffs, the teacher extraordinaire never gets a chance to explain why she wants to hire Garrison Gage before her body turns up in a sandy grave. Seldom deterred by the lack of a client, Gage barrels forward intent on discovering the woman’s killer. Unfortunately, the professional curmudgeon stirs up a lot more trouble than he expects, putting innocent people in imminent danger.

In the past, Gage always triumphed over whatever dark forces stood in his way, but this time he may have gone too far — and he won’t be the only one paying the price.

[Learn more.]

Ebook:
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play
Paperback:
Amazon | B&N | Indiebound
Audio:
Audible | iTunes | Amazon

(Links to other retailers posted when available.)