Gautham: Bill Gauthier.com

Hello, friends.

I’m at the end of my last full week of summer vacation. This week I have to go in two days for planning. Well…I don’t have to, I actually signed up to for extra pay. Money was the motivator. Also, there not being many people around. Also, planning time is good. Then the following week will have two BS days—I meant PD days, ‘scuse me—so I’ll be clinging to what time I have left from here on.

Welcome to the 186^th installment of Gauthic Times, the newsletter about my writing, my life, and musings on a bunch of things, mostly nerd stuff. 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.

Thank you.

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The Monster in the Closet is out now! Order it here!

You can also grab my novel Echoes on the Pond, my collection Catalysts, or my novellas Alice on the Shelf and Shadowed if you haven’t already. And if you’ve read them, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads, and wherever else books are sold and reviewed.

You could also read the first draft of Four Moons on Patreon. It’s a werewolf story and I think it’s fun. It is a first draft, though. If you’re interested, Patrons at the $5 tier and above have access but there is also a way to buy into the whole book for $13.99. You don’t have to be a long-term Patron for that second option.

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Editing continued on Four Moons this week, bringing me to the halfway point of the novel. I made two videos for Patreon where I edit a tense, action-packed chapter.

I added another 5,200 words to Project: Memoir, bringing the total to 34,800 words. According to my research, most memoirs weigh in between 30,000 and 60,000 words, which means I’m somewhere around halfway through. And yet, I haven’t even left childhood in my story. Which isn’t a surprise since the memoir is about how various media had a strong influence on me. Most of the influence happened in my first 13 years of life, and I’m just approaching the thing that changed everything at 13.

Looking at my notes for Project: Nightmares yesterday, I had an epiphany. I knew what the first chapter would be but something felt off. Then yesterday, as I looked at some notes I’ve taken, a prologue came to me. And it rocked me. Now I feel like I know how the book opens. Which means, I have to sit down and start writing it. I still need to do another draft of Project: Amusement Park, which I was hoping to do this summer but didn’t for reasons that are silly.

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I already screw up my “monthly” schedule for these random musings “essays” because I guess I had stuff to say in July, but here we are in August. Do you hear that? Some of you will. If you’re a teacher (and, perhaps, a student) it’s the ticking of the clock as summer vacation winds down and the 2026-2027 school year is about to begin. I know that in some parts of the U.S., school has already begun. I’ve seen pictures of social media friends’ children and grandchildren doing their first day of school but here in this part of Southeastern Massachusetts, school begins in two weeks. Mr. Gauthier will return to service before that, though. Two planning days this coming week and then the mandatory PD days the week after. Blech.

As I typed “the 2026-2027 school year,” a small amount of shock hit me. I began my career in education in the 2006-2007 school year as a teaching assistant. The following year I was a teacher. Twenty years. My original plan was to do it for five years, save a nest egg, and then write full time. This was when I was single. I think things turned out better in the long run, at least on a personal level if not professional. I’ll have more ruminations on the upcoming school year in a couple of weeks.

Right now, D23 is happening. A Disney convention that I never thought I’d care about until they first bought Marvel and then Lucasfilm. Between that and San Diego Comic Con last month, the inner six-year-old is chomping at the bit for new MCU and Star Wars. I can’t help it. I know not everyone feels the same way, and that’s okay. Personally, I’ve been enjoying the hell out of The Multiverse Saga (though I have, sadly, missed some of the shows…I’ve gotten behind) and the new Star Wars movies and shows.

I understand why The Multiverse Saga is controversial for many. Besides the fact that there were so many damn things coming out, time travel and parallel universe stories, I believe, have always been a hard sell. Time travel less so if done fairly straight forward. I remember as a kid a lot of people I knew didn’t like Back to the Future Part II because it was too hard to follow. Not me. I fuckin’ loved the movie so much I saw it twice in the theaters. Multiverse or parallel universe stories are more difficult and are truly part of the comic book and science fiction DNA. I suspected the MCU would be going there as far back as Captain America: Civil War. It would be an easy way to keep the characters fresh while also bringing in past stories. From a marketing standpoint, it’s genius. Why have one Spider-Man when you can multiple? But I also see how a mass audience wouldn’t be keen to it. Still, I’m looking forward to Avengers: Doomsday. I know some aren’t for a variety of reasons but I’m into it.

Speaking of the MCU, Spider-Man: Brand New Day was so good! I’ve been thinking about it since we went as a family last week to see it. Tom Holland and everyone else did such a great job.

I just finished listening to the Black House audiobook. Written by Stephen King and Peter Straub, and read by Frank Muller, it’s a fantastic piece of work. The novel was published the week of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and I don’t think the book found as big an audience as it deserved. King and Straub take narrative chances that are bold and a lot of fun. After listening to The Talisman and now Black House, I’m ready for the third book of the trilogy, Other Worlds Than These, when it comes out in October. I’ll read the book and eventually get the audiobook, read by Patton Oswalt. I remembered loving Black House when I first read it and found I still love it now. Listening to (or rereading) the two Talisman books right after listening to (or rereading) the Dark Tower series is perfect. If you’re a fan of audiobooks, give these a listen.

Speaking of reading, I’m currently reading Christa Carmen’s The Daughters of Block Island, her debut horror novel. I’ve had it since we did a book signing together a couple of years ago and I’ve finally started it. I think I’m almost halfway through and it’s so good! I’m going to need to pick up her other books.

This summer I read J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit for the first time and enjoyed it a lot. Now I’m reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time. I have it as a single volume of more than 1,200 pages and am just over 200 pages into it. I’m not surprised that I’m enjoying it but surprised by how much I am. My fantasy reading has been underwhelming and there’s a project I’d like to write that falls somewhere in that genre, so I decided it was time to familiarize myself with some of the classics. Future reading will include Mervin Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy and Stephen R. Donaldson’s The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. There’s also a series of books that not many people have heard of from a guy named George R.R. Martin that I remember shelving when it first started way back when I worked at a Big & Nasty chain bookstore. It had a silver foil cover with a throne of swords on it. I can’t remember the name but wonder what happened with it. Striking cover.

Alas, those other long-ass fantasy books will not be read this summer. And for several of them, I need to find the books in boxes I have in my fabled book closet.

Speaking of the book closet (which is a double closet in our hallway that has been filled with boxed books since we moved in back in 2009 because I never got bookcases I needed/wanted), I meant to go through the books and do another purge and maybe rearrange things this summer. I never did. And now I feel bummed about it. I guess there’s still time.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is glorious. It’s so fuckin’ weird and I’m there for it. I was very late getting into Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon but did so last year as family viewing. The current spinoff is for just me and Pamela right now and it sings. I won’t mention the Georgie spinoff because I hated the two episodes I saw of it despite such talented people.

I have one more book to review but I’m going to do that in a separate section below.

After 1,100 words, I think I’ve babbled your ears (eyes?) off (out?) so I guess I’ll go now. Thank you for reading and for your support. I always appreciate it.

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The Calamities once again proves Chuck Wendig is cutting paths in the horror field that will help guide those of us who also work to harvest there. I spent my time reading it thinking that this guy’s writing in ways most of us want to but didn’t know we could. I feel the same way when I read Paul Tremblay’s work, too. The Calamities is another doorstop novel for Wendig and that makes me even happier. It is the first of two (I think) books in a series called The Fiends, and I’m eagerly awaiting the next one.

It’s absolute storytelling with narrative thrust and human characters that entertains and frightens. There are ideas and images in this novel that will entertain and horrify. I loved it!

The Calamities by Chuck Wendig comes out on Tuesday, August 18^th. Preorder it if you haven’t already and definitely check it out when it’s released.

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I’ve been invited to take part in the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival on October 17^th, 2026, at the Lawrence Public Library in Lawrence, Massachusetts. I’m excited because so many authors, editors, and people I admire will be there, as well as a few friends. Find out more here!

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That’s this week’s newsletter. Thank you so much for subscribing, reading, and for your support. Be safe out there, friends.

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