Gauthic Times: The Bill Gauthier Newsletter #144, or No Kings and Hamilton

Hello, friends.

As I write this, reports are that 7 million people attended the various No Kings Day protests, which swells my heart. You can see that today’s essay will be a little about that, but only a little. It’s more about Hamilton.

There’s also some news regarding my forthcoming novel, The Monster in the Closet! I’ll add that below.

Welcome to the 144^th installment of Gauthic Times, the newsletter about my writing, my life, and art that compliments life. If you’re a reader who subscribes via Substack, my website, or Patreon, your encouragement helps motivate me. I’m not breaking any records but I’m thankful to have any audience.

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I worked on Project: Moons a little bit this week but between a very hectic schedule, being teacher exhausted, and distractions galore, not much was done.

There was a lot of back-and-forth for the cover of The Monster in the Closet but I think we finally got there. Now I just need to go through the proofs for the print edition and make sure it looks as good as it can. This means the novel will be ready for its publication in February. More on that below.

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The Monster in the Closet will be released in February from Macabre Ink, an imprint of Crossroad Press! This is my second novel and I’ll share more about it as we get closer. The cover was designed by David Dodd and was something of a collaborative effort. I’m really happy with it.

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The way the universe sometimes gives you the right things at the right times is pretty amazing and almost makes me think there’s a plan or energy or something at work. As I write this on Saturday, October 18^th, 2025, there are No Kings protests happening around the United States. People who understand the danger that is America in 2025 are out in droves saying, “No.” This weekend, my family and I are going to be seeing Hamilton in Boston. The coincidence and importance of all of these events does not escape me.

This will be our second time seeing the show. Last year we went to Providence to see it, getting tickets for G for her 12^th birthday. This year, my mother-in-law bought G tickets for the show in Boston for her birthday. When we saw Hamilton in Providence, it was a week or so after the 2024 election and I remember tears coming at several moments during the show. I suspect that the tears will flow freely and often this time. How can they not?

The genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical is that it takes modern ideas and music and uses it to tell the story of the founding of the country and highlights the hypocritical inequities and injustices of the creation of the country. It points out in a highly entertaining fashion that many of the Forefathers knew of their own issues so created a constitution that was better than they were, that was about the ideal of what this new country should be about. There was infighting, betrayal, anger, but also the sense of understanding they were making history.

Here we are now nearly 250 years later making history again, but in the wrong direction. Those rights and promises made are being removed and pulled back. People who seem to fetishize the American flag are co-opting it to make it a symbol for a land that would turn the stomachs of the Antifa who stormed the Normandy beaches in World War II to stop this kind world from happening.

The story of Hamilton is about legacy and following one’s dreams. Of making mistakes, owning those mistakes, and trying to move beyond them. One of the central themes is the idea that one’s history will be told by those left behind and what will they say when you’re gone? How does one make the world a better place in big and small ways while they’re here and leave a legacy that can inspire others to the same.

Lin-Manuel Miranda took historical stories and turned it into a personal story about creating and trying to change the world for the better. With Hamilton, he achieved that, while also making history relevant to those who may not pay attention otherwise.

Seeing the show on the same weekend where millions of people are expected to march peacefully to say, “Enough is enough,” in the city where so much of the American Revolution began, does not escape me. As the show says, “History has its eyes on us.” I just hope we don’t fuck it up.

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