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.
Check it out!
Nicolina Torres: https://www.nicolinatorres.com/
Night of the Mallrats: https://www.amazon.com/dp/006347297X?tag=harpercollinsus-20
Unsealed Files Show Open AI/Microsoft Knew Copying Was Illegal and Could Hurt Authors – https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/copyright/article/101300-unsealed-files-show-open-ai-microsoft-knew-copying-was-illegal-and-could-hurt-authors.html
Love v. Wiley Book Writers: A Publishing Scam Gets a Rare Comeuppance – https://writerbeware.blog/2026/09/18/love-v-wiley-book-writers-a-publishing-scam-gets-a-rare-comeuppance
KDP’s new limit: two titles per format – https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G202172740
Show Links:
Writers, Ink on YouTube! – https://www.youtube.com/@jdbarker_author/podcasts
J.D. Barker – https://jdbarker.com/
Christine Daigle – https://www.christinedaiglebooks.com/
Jena Brown – https://www.jenabrownwrites.com
Kevin Tumlinson – https://www.kevintumlinson.com/
JP Rindfleisch: https://shop.jprindfleischix.com/en-cad
BookTrib: https://booktrib.com/promote-your-book/#
TODAY’S SPONSOR:
AutoCrit – https://www.autocrit.com/jd (click this link to take advantage of our Writers, Ink special offer!!!)
Other Links
Best of BookTok – https://bestofbooktok.com/
Booktrib – https://booktrib.com/author/writers-ink/
Music by Nicorus – https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep
Voice Over by Rick Ganley and recorded at Mill Pond Studio
Website Design by Word & Pixel – http://wordandpixel.com/
Contact – https://writersinkpodcast.com/contact/
Transcription: https://app.castmagic.io/share/2ffd7459-4a4c-440b-a4cd-32e0cface870?tab=transcript&ai_content=true&magic_chat=true
*NOTE: Some of the links are affiliate links.