Making It Up with Chad Boudreaux, author of Scavenger Hunt Artwork

Carter Wilson's Making It Up

In this conversation series, USA Today bestselling novelist Carter Wilson talks to writers of all backgrounds in order to find out why they do what they do. He and his guests discuss childhood influences, roots of creativity, luck and loss, tools of the craft, and the highs and lows of publishing. At the end of their conversation, they pick a random sentence from a random book and use it to create an impromptu short story. Visit Carter at www.carterwilson.com.

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Carter Wilson's Making It Up

Making It Up with Chad Boudreaux, author of Scavenger Hunt

February 09, 2023 • Carter Wilson • Season 1 • Episode 74

Before launching his career as a novelist, Chad Boudreaux served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He has also served in several high-ranking positions at the U.S. Justice Department, where he was hired the night before the September 11, 2001 attacks. During his time at the Justice Department, Boudreaux focused most of his time on matters relating to terrorism and homeland security.

His career in the government inspired him to write his debut novel, Scavenger Hunt, released in January 2023.

Among other things, Carter and Chad discuss the discipline necessary to write novels while working a full-time job, the parallels between being a lawyer and a fiction author, and the sheer amount of work it takes to get a novel published. At the end of their conversation, they craft a short story of conflict beginning with a sentence from John Grisham’s The Street Lawyer.

Connect with Carter at www.carterwilson.com

Connect with Chad at www.chadboudreaux.com