Hello, friends.
I had a minor scare with my car this week. Pamela and I smelled what we thought was a burned-rubber smell around it Thursday afternoon right after I came home from work. We then saw something leaking from the car. When I backed up, Pamela dipped the tip of her finger into the spot. Something black or dark, dark brown came up. But then it hardened and became almost powdery.
Have I mentioned that my wife is great at research? I should try to employ her research more for my writing but I don’t think she’s interested. She researched the smell and leak and got worried so I ended up taking a sick day on Friday and bringing my car to the shop. We were very worried because the last thing we need right now is an expensive car repair.
Good news came back in that the problem was actually road tar that’d been kicked up into the engine area and was melting, hence the smell and the leak. The place even took 50% off of the astronomical diagnostic fee. There’s some stuff my car will be needing soonish like a new battery and front brake pads, but right now there’s nothing majorly wrong with the car. What an adventure!
Welcome to the 148th installment of Gauthic Times, the newsletter about my writing, my life, and making art rather than content. 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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About 1,800 words were added to Project: Moons, bringing the book up to around 46,300 words, or 192 pages. The characters have pretty much taken over.
Last weekend I worked up my nerve and reached out to three writers to ask for possible blurbs for The Monster in the Closet. Two said to send them the book and one said they wouldn’t have time for rereading the book but would send along a general blurb to help with promotions for all my work, which I greatly appreciate this.
This is a huge thing for me because I get so goddamn anxious about reaching out. Nearly every time I’ve reached out to someone I admire, I’ve received positive replies and encouragement. It’s weird being published for 26 years but still feeling like I’m new to this. Mainly because I’m still new to this. But every little success helps and I appreciate it more than many realize.
Speaking of which…
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What if the monster in your child’s closet is real?
Tim Beaulieu’s daughter, Cleo, says that the monster is also her invisible friend, whom she blames for innocuous trouble. The whole thing makes Tim uneasy as he tries to remember a part of his childhood that is missing. Surely nothing can be wrong. Can it?
When the boy in the apartment upstairs goes missing after hurting Cleo, horrific memories begin to resurface as Tim finds himself under suspicion for the unthinkable. His daughter and those around him are in danger.
Tim must face his past to save Cleo but can they survive the monster in the closet?
Coming February 24th, 2026, from Macabre Ink, an imprint of Crossroad Press.
Preorder the digital or print editions now!
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As I scrolled through Instagram today, IG recommended a woman who writes and gives advice on the platform. I stopped for a moment because I’m always open to hear things that may help. Her advice was some that I’d heard before, which is that writers need to use social media for more than just posting about their books coming out. That people will more likely buy books from people they feel they know than those they don’t. I get that, I truly do. Many of the books I’ve bought this year are a result of people I “know” through social media. There’s a problem that I see though. How can I make enough content for people to feel they know me when what time I have to create kinda sorta needs to be used to make my art, the actual writing that I feel is my calling, my vocation?
I know that people do it and I’m sure that if I did this thing and that thing, I’d be able to work full-time as a teacher, be a husband and father, be a son/brother, read the books I want to read, watch the movies and TV shows I want to watch, and draw the other art I enjoy and still manage to sleep and be fit. There are always people others point to who have done it. I’ll be damned if I can figure out how I can do that, though.
I’m not looking for advice on this, I think that social media is hitting an ending trend. Honestly, the ads writers I follow post about their work helps me find it more than their thoughts on the recent Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein film (which was fantastic, by the way). That’s not to say that I’m not interested in their opinions, I am, which is why I follow them, but them posting about upcoming books and projects is far more helpful to me as a consumer.
That said, like everyone else who as enough ego to believe that complete strangers should read their words, I, too, enjoy the ability to post random thoughts, observations, and memes when I see fit. If people want to get to know me better, subscribing to this newsletter, my blog, and my Patreon are probably going to be better than waiting for my next TikTok video or amazing Instagram post.
I have some great ideas (I think) for those mediums, as well as YouTube, but the time and space to do those things are a real setback. My desk is in the middle of my apartment. As I write this, my daughter sits on the couch to my left sniffling and watching YouTube on her computer and my wife sits behind me playing a videogame. If I were to use my webcam, the whole apartment would be on display, something nobody wants. That means setting up somewhere else. The kitchen table is an option but there’s no good background for a video there. My bedroom, I suppose, because if I sit on the bed I can have a blank white wall behind me. The patio has been fun sometimes, but that runs the risk of neighbors coming by and watching and, oh, yeah, I’m in New England and it’s getting cold. That basically leaves my car.
I suppose I could try videos in my car but it’s not enough just to record a video. For it to work well, it should probably be edited, which takes time. And for the videos to have any real impact I’d need to do them constantly. This means that as long as I’m a full-time teacher, I’ll need to choose between making videos to promote my writing or writing.
Look, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe this whole missive is just me trying to justify what others seem to be able to do and do well. Maybe. Probably. But I also feel like being a creative in this modern world is difficult enough without having to feel like you’ve gotta be a one-person entertainment industry.
I do intend to play around with some of this stuff a little more once the holidays are over. I have tons of ideas and I feel more and more like I may be able to do them, but when push comes to shove, I’m going to have to choose writing every time. Let’s face it, it’s why you’re here reading this.
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That’s this week’s newsletter. Thank you so much for subscribing, reading, and for your support.
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Gautham: Bill Gauthier.com 
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