Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, and JP Rindfleisch as they discuss the week’s entertainment news, including stories about Anthropic, Grok chats, and C-SPAN. Then, stick around for a chat with Brian McAuley!
Brian McAuley grew up in Weird NJ on a steady diet of Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes. He received his BA in Creative Writing and Horror Theory from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study before getting his MFA in Film from Columbia University.
As a WGA screenwriter, Brian has written five films for the Lifetime Network in addition to writing and producing the award-winning thriller Dismissed for BoulderLight Pictures. He sold his TV series pitch Affliction to Syfy Network in a pilot development deal and penned an episode of Fuller House for Netflix.
Brian’s debut novel Curse of the Reaper was named one of the Best Horror Books of 2022 by Esquire. His 2023 Christmas horror novella Candy Cain Kills received praise from Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews, leading to the 2024 sequel Candy Cain Kills Again: The Second Slaying.
His new novel Breathe In, Bleed Out will publish on September 2nd, 2025 from Poisoned Pen Press. His short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in various magazines and anthologies.
Brian teaches as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Screenwriting at the Sidney Poitier New American Film School of Arizona State University.
Anthropic Is Settling As Authors Claim to Win “Historic Settlement” – https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/anthropic-settles-class-action-us-authors-alleging-copyright-infringement-2025-08-26/
Hundreds of thousands of Grok chats exposed in Google results – https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrkmk00jy0o?_bhlid=04ed1de7fb558110a8341fa97d98ecbbf8445c77
C-SPAN Launches Book Club Series – https://www.c-span.org/liveEvent/?americas-book-club
Check it out!
Brian McAuley: https://www.brianmcwriter.com/
Breathe In, Bleed Out: https://www.amazon.com/Breathe-Bleed-Out-Brian-McAuley/dp/1464238200
You Met Grandma at a Keg Party? The Rich Order $100,000 Memoirs for Family Only. – https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/retiree-ghostwriter-memoirs-8626ac8f?st=ZSZiSB&mod=1440&user_id=687040d3b20bac4cb0147e43
Focus Friend By Hank Green – https://www.yourfocusfriend.com
What Authors Should Know About The Anthropic Class Action Suit – https://www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-author-contact/
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.