Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, and Jena Brown as they discuss the week’s entertainment news, including stories about book club scammers, Kindle Unlimited, and BookTok Hub. Then, stick around for a chat with Alma Katsu!
Alma Katsu: NYT bestselling author Alma Katsu’s books have been nominated for and won multiple prestigious awards including the Stoker, Goodreads Readers Choice, International Thriller Writers, Locus Magazine, the Western Heritage Awards, Spain’s Celsius 232 festival, and appeared on numerous Best Books lists including NPR, the Observer, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Goodreads, and Amazon.
She has written two spy novels (RED WIDOW and RED LONDON), the logical marriage of her love of storytelling with her 30+ year career in intelligence. She also writes novels that combine historical fiction with supernatural and horror elements. THE HUNGER (2018), a reimagining of the story of the Donner Party, was named one of NPR’s 100 favorite horror stories, was on numerous Best Books of the Year lists, sold rights in 17 languages, and continues to be honored as a new classic in horror. Her first book, THE TAKER (2011), was named one of the top ten debut novels of 2011 by Booklist.
Ms. Katsu is also a contributor to the Washington Post Book World, where she reviews thrillers. She has relocated from the Washington, DC area to the mountains of West Virginia, where she lives with her musician husband Bruce and their two dogs, Nick and Ash.
Check it out!
Alma Katsu: https://almakatsubooks.com/
Fiend: https://almakatsubooks.com/fiend/
Agent Eric Smith Emailed Back Book Club Scammers So You Don’t Have To – https://www.instagram.com/p/DOPbrQrDcAr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MTcxczRnaHJpZWxiaA==
Kindle Unlimited Library Distribution has arrived! – https://writepublishsell.com/ku-ebooks-library-distribution
Spotify Launches BookTok Hub – https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/98564-spotify-teams-with-tiktok-on-booktok-hub.html?oly_enc_id=5567B4071634C0Y
IngramSpark: https://www.ingramspark.com/
Author Anchor: https://authoranchor.com/
BookTrib: https://booktrib.com/promote-your-book/#
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
James Blatch – https://www.jamesblatch.com/
Kevin Tumlinson – https://www.kevintumlinson.com/
Dick Wybrow – https://www.dickwybrow.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.
Navigating New Genres with Alma Katsu
Returning guest Alma Katsu has recently gained valuable insight into navigating new genres. With the release of her new spy novel, Red Widow, she’s learned how to grab the interest of her existing horror readers, change her marketing approach to attract readers in a new genre, and write something different and true-to-life while keeping it dramatic. Alma is best known for her novels The Taker and The Hunger, the latter of which prompted a blurb from Stephen King on Twitter. Katsu worked in federal intelligence for most of her life and is currently a technology consultant. To check out Red Widow, follow the link below.
From Amazon.com:
Ms. Katsu’s debut novel, The Taker, was selected by Booklist as one of the top 10 debut novels of 2011. She is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Writing Program and Brandeis University, where she studied with novelist John Irving, and an alumni of the Squaw Valley Writers Conference. Like many writers, she has a day job, too: for over 30 years, she was an intelligence analyst for the federal government and RAND, and is currently a consultant on emerging technology.
Whether you’re traditionally published or indie, writing a good book is only the first step in becoming a successful author. The days of just turning a manuscript into your editor and walking away are gone. If you want to succeed in today’s publishing world, you need to understand every aspect of the business – editing, formatting, marketing, contracts. It all starts with a good book, then the real work begins.
Join international bestselling author J.D. Barker and indie powerhouses, J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon, as they gain unique insight and valuable advice from the most prolific and accomplished authors in the business.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- Why writing Red Widow was a little risky
- Why it’s hard to write fiction about something you know a lot about
- The business aspect of switching genres
- Why virtual events aren’t as popular as they used to be
- The importance of social media advertising
Links:
In Computero: Hear How AI Software Wrote a ‘New’ Nirvana Song – https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/nirvana-kurt-cobain-ai-song-1146444/
J. D. Barker – http://jdbarker.com/
J. Thorn – https://theauthorlife.com/
Zach Bohannon – https://zachbohannon.com/
Alma Katsu – https://www.almakatsubooks.com/
Red Widow – https://mybook.to/RedWidow
Story Rubric – http://storyrubric.com
Nonfic Rubric – http://nonficrubric.com
The Career Author Summit 2021 – https://thecareerauthor.com/summit2021/
Proudly sponsored by Kobo Writing Life – https://kobowritinglife.com/
Music by Nicorus – https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep
Voice Over by Rick Ganley – http://www.nhpr.com and recorded at Mill Pond Studio – http://www.millpondstudio.com
Contact – https://writersinkpodcast.com/dev/contact/
*Full disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links.
Writing Historical Horror with Alma Katsu
Alma Katsu is an expert at writing historical horror. Armed with her chilling writing style and an extensive knowledge of historical events, she adds a unique supernatural twist to the past. Alma is best known for her novels The Taker and The Hunger, the latter of which prompted a blurb from Stephen King on Twitter. Katsu worked in federal intelligence for most of her life and is currently a technology consultant.
From Amazon.com:
Ms. Katsu’s debut novel, The Taker, was selected by Booklist as one of the top 10 debut novels of 2011. She is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Writing Program and Brandeis University, where she studied with novelist John Irving, and an alumni of the Squaw Valley Writers Conference. Like many writers, she has a day job, too: for over 30 years, she was an intelligence analyst for the federal government and RAND, and is currently a consultant on emerging technology.
Whether you’re traditionally published or indie, writing a good book is only the first step in becoming a successful author. The days of just turning a manuscript into your editor and walking away are gone. If you want to succeed in today’s publishing world, you need to understand every aspect of the business – editing, formatting, marketing, contracts. It all starts with a good book, then the real work begins.
Join international bestselling author J.D. Barker and indie powerhouse, J. Thorn, as they gain unique insight and valuable advice from the most prolific and accomplished authors in the business.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- How Stephen King’s tweet changed Katsu’s career
- How Katsu crafts historically accurate thrillers
- The value of a great editor
- Why it’s important to make connections with other authors
- Why “getting published” isn’t validation
- How to find your unique voice
Links:
Alma Katsu – https://www.almakatsubooks.com/
The Taker (Book 1/3) – https://books2read.com/TheTaker
The Hunger – https://books2read.com/TheHunger
J. D. Barker – http://jdbarker.com/
J. Thorn – https://theauthorlife.com/
Music by Nicorus – https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep
Voice Over by Rick Ganley – http://www.nhpr.com and recorded at Mill Pond Studio – http://www.millpondstudio.com
Contact – https://writersinkpodcast.com/dev/contact/
*Full disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links.