Writers, Ink: Your backstage pass to the world's most prolific authors

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Kevin Tumlinson, and JP Rindfleisch as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about OpenAI, Microsoft, KDP, and a publishing scam. Then, stick around for a chat with Nicolina Torres!
Prior to her work as a writer, Nicolina Torres was a manager for Barnes & Noble for 15 years, in seven stores, and represented B&N on Channel 2’s Living Dayton Show for two years. She was a D.J. for 88.3FM WAIF for two seasons. Nikki’s thriller This Red Fire was a 2017 Launch Pad Manuscript Competition Top 10 pick, and her dystopian novel, Young Nation, received an honorable mention in the same contest.​ Her short story “Aunt Dorothy in the Canoe” was published in the Deception Anthology. In 2025, Night of the Mallrats was sold at auction to HarperCollins imprint Harper Perennial. She has had multiple books and short stories optioned for film by companies such as Vuelta Group, Stampede Ventures, Exile Content Studio, Sony, and EMJAG Productions. Nikki was a mentor for the 2021 Tracking Board Launch Pad Prose Competition. She is represented by Kiana Nguyen at Donald Maass Literary Agency and book-to-film agent Katrina Escudero. She is first generation American on her father’s side—her paternal family lives in Santiago, Chile. When not reading or writing, she’s watching bad vintage horror movies and cooking comfort food. She lives out in farm country and is “Aunt Nini” to her young niblings.


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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and JP Rindfleisch as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about the 2026 Emmys, AI fears, and a dating app for book lovers. Then, stick around for a chat with Jessica Brody!
Jessica Brody is the author of more than 20 novels for teens, tweens, and adults including How to Write a Murder, The Geography of Lost Things, The Chaos of Standing Still, Amelia Gray is Almost Okay, and the System Divine trilogy. She’s also the author of the #1 bestselling Save the Cat! Writes a Novel plotting guides and her latest guide for writers, Page One to Done as well as the founder of the Writing Mastery Academy, dedicated to helping fiction writers get unstuck and finish their novels. Her books have been translated and published in over 20 languages and several have been optioned for film and television. She lives with her husband and dogs near Portland, OR.


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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Authors Guild, Anthropic, literary video games, and Simon & Schuster. Then, stick around for a chat with Nicholas Russell!
Nicholas Russell: I’m a writer and editor from Las Vegas. My work has been featured in The Believer, McSweeney’s, The Yale Review, Reverse Shot,The Point, The Baffler, The Nation, and Dirt, among other publications. I’ve attended Short Fiction workshops at VQR and Tin House, as well as the Critics Academy for the New York Film Festival and the Press Inclusion Initiative at the Sundance Film Festival. I’ve also received support from MacDowell and the Nes Artist Residency. I’m a contributing writer at Defector (formerly at Gawker 2.0), managing editor at Still Alive Magazine, and a bookseller at The Writer’s Block. My debut novel Observer is out on September 15, 2026.

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about murder, library eBook lending, and Bookshop.org. Then, stick around for a chat with Danielle McKechnie!
Danielle McKechnie: After studying at Circle in the Square Theatre School, Danielle McKechnie moved to Los Angeles and transitioned to a behind-the-scenes role in production, development, and writing across film, television, traditional radio, and live entertainment. As an author and creative producer, she now lives in her hometown of Vancouver with her husband and two daughters.

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Dolly Parton, copyrights, and HarperCollins. Then, stick around for a chat with Lisa Gardner!

Lisa Gardner, a #1 New York Times bestselling thriller novelist, began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead. A self-described research junkie, she has transformed her interest in police procedure and criminal minds into a streak of internationally acclaimed novels, published across 30 countries. She’s also had four books become TV movies (At the Midnight Hour; The Perfect Husband; The Survivors Club; Hide) and has made personal appearances on TruTV and CNN. Lisa lives in New Hampshire where she spends her time with an assortment of canine companions. When not writing, she loves to hike, garden, snowshoe and play cribbage.

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