

Writers, Ink: Your backstage pass to the world's most prolific authors
J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle
What does it take to succeed as a writer? Join host J.D. Barker and a panel of industry experts as they pull back the curtain and offer rare insights from the household names found on bookshelves worldwide.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 9, 2025 • 1h
Agent Mark Tavani shares publishing and marketing insights.
Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, JP Rindfleisch, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Smashwords, Edelweiss, and the word of the year. Then, stick around for a chat with Mark Tavani!Mark Tavani started his publishing career in 2000 with Ballantine Books and spent over 23 years with Penguin Random House, Bantam, Del Rey, and G.P. Putnam's Sons. He edited bestsellers and award-winners across numerous categories of fiction and nonfiction, including books by Jim Abbott, Steve Berry, C.J. Box, Robert Crais, Justin Cronin, Clive and Dirk Cussler, Jeffery Deaver, George Dohrmann, Lisa Gardner, Jack McCallum, Lisa Scottoline, Bill Simmons, and R.L. Stine. He represents both fiction and nonfiction. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dec 2, 2025 • 54min
The impact of direct sales on your local bookstore with Bob Lingle.
Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about B&T, James Patterson, Bookshop.org, and Barnes & Noble. Then, stick around for a chat with Bob Lingle!Bob Lingle: https://www.instagram.com/bookstorebob/Bob Lingle: "I’ve owned Good Neighbor Bookstore since 2018, and despite everything else going on in the world. It’s been the best years of my life. My three kids have the opportunity to grow up in a bookstore. And collectively we have learned about the power and importance of community, and having a place where we’ve curated stories for people to enjoy, to learn from, to foster empathy, and maybe even change their life." - https://boldjourney.com/meet-bob-lingle/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 25, 2025 • 1h 1min
The importance of character with Richard Kirshenbaum.
Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Shein, Sourcebooks, and Anthropic. Then, stick around for a chat with Richard Kirshenbaum!Richard Kirshenbaum is CEO of NSG/SWAT, a high-profile boutique branding agency. He has lectured at Harvard Business School, appeared on 20/20, was named to Crain's New York Business's "40 under 40" list, and has been inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame. He is the author of Under the Radar, Closing the Deal, Madboy, andIsn't That Rich? and the New York Observer's "Isn't That Rich?" column. He lives in New York City with his wife and three children. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 18, 2025 • 1h 11min
James Patterson explains why hope is not a strategy, but a little tenacity can take you far.
Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Kindle Translate and Spotify's audiobook recaps. Then, stick around for a chat with James Patterson!James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels withBill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient ofan Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 11, 2025 • 57min
Breaking into the thriller world with J. Luke Bennecke.
J. Luke Bennecke, a veteran civil engineer and bestselling thriller author, shares his journey from infrastructure expert to thriller writer. He discusses the origins of his debut novel, Civil Terror: Gridlock, emphasizing real-world infrastructure vulnerabilities. Luke reveals the challenges he faced in publishing, including agent setbacks and self-publishing. He highlights the importance of persistence and community in a writer's career and offers practical advice for new authors, such as writing daily and enjoying the craft. His stories connect thrilling fiction with timely real-life threats.

Nov 10, 2025 • 1h 7min
Story structure with Ender’s Game author, Orson Scott Card.
Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about a new fund for literary arts organizations, James Patterson's podcast, and how to read a book and feed a neighbor. Then, stick around for a chat with Orson Scott Card!Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers. His most recent series, the young adult Pathfinder series (Pathfinder, Ruins, Visitors), the fantasy Mithermages series (Lost Gate, Gate Thief, Gatefather) and the Side Step series (Wakers, Reawakening) are taking readers in new directions.Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Sarah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts, including his "freshened" Shakespeare scripts for Romeo & Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Merchant of Venice.Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 10, 2025 • 1h 6min
Edoardo Ballerini discusses the art of narrating audiobooks.
Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about a new report for publishers, Amazon's algorithm change, and Gen Z's screens survey. Then, stick around for a chat with Edoardo Ballerini!
Edoardo Ballerini: Called "a master in his field" (The New York Times) and "in a class by himself" (Oprah Daily), Edoardo Ballerini is an award winning narrator of audiobooks, a familiar face on screens (from "The Sopranos" to the recent "A Murder at the End of the World"), and a few other things, too. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.

Nov 10, 2025 • 56min
Elevated horror born from a practical mind with Thomas Olde Heuvelt.
Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about the Frankfurt Book Fair, New York Comic Con, and the Pushkin job. Then, stick around for a chat with Thomas Olde Heuvelt!
Thomas Olde Heuvelt is an international bestselling author from The Netherlands. His breakthrough novel HEX was published in over twenty-five countries and hailed as 'totally, brilliantly original' by Stephen King and as 'phenomenal, phenomenal' by film director Mike Flanagan. His follow-up novels Echo and Oracle have since seen global publication, the former boasts, according to the Guardian, 'possibly the most frightening prologue ever written', while the latter was judged by The New York Times to be his 'sharpest, most compelling work to date'.
His newest novel, Darker Days, is a devastating modern take on the Faustian bargain. It will be published in the US with Harper Books and in the UK with Bantam in October 2025. Olde Heuvelt, whose last name in Dutch dialect means 'Old Hill', was the first translated author to win a Hugo Award, in 2015. He lives in the south of France with his partner and pet lizard. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.

Nov 10, 2025 • 1h 3min
Writers, Ink Podcast: Episode 316 - The art of storytelling with international bestseller, A.G. Riddle.
Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, and Jena Brown as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about B&T, Ingram Spark, confusing books, and TikTok. Then, stick around for a chat with A.G. Riddle!
A.G. Riddle spent ten years starting internet companies before retiring to pursue his true passion: writing fiction. His novels have sold over six million copies worldwide and been translated in twenty-four languages. Several of his works are in development for feature films. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife, daughter, and an eccentric dog. No matter where he is, or what's going on, he tries his best to set aside time every day to answer emails and messages from readers. You can reach him at: ag@agriddle.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.

Oct 7, 2025 • 58min
From debut novel to nine book series with Ariel Sullivan.
Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, and Jena Brown as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about anxiety, Reading Rainbow, and the publishing industry's gambling problem. Then, stick around for a chat with Ariel Sullivan!Ariel Sullivan is the author of Conform. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two sons, and their two French bulldogs. Growing up a military brat, Ariel moved every two years. As a perpetual new kid, Ariel often observed from the outskirts, where a deep love of reading was born. When she isn’t writing, Ariel loves to read everything from poetry to psychology, bake with her sons, listen to live music, and travel. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.


