September 9, 2020

Horror with a Message: BlueInk Talks with Debut Author K.P. Kulski

By Paul Goat Allen

Pseudonymous dark fiction writer K.P. Kulski’s debut novel Fairest Flesh is a blood-soaked fusion of the historical account of infamous 16th century Hungarian serial killer Erzsébet Báthory, a beloved German fairy tale, and profoundly powerful themes that are just as timely today as they were almost 500 years ago. And […]

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August 11, 2020

10 Indie Books You Won’t Believe Actually Exist

By Paul Goat Allen

I’ve reviewed a lot of books over the last 25+ years and many of those have featured formulaic, rehashed, and predictable storylines, premises, and ideas. When it comes to traditionally published titles, I get it—publishers need to make money and they only publish what books that they think are going […]

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July 30, 2020

10 Apocalyptic Reads to Make 2020 Seem Less of a Dumpster Fire

By Paul Goat Allen

Yeah, 2020 has been a nightmare thus far—and the pandemic is just one burning bag of garbage in this blazing dumpster fire of a year. Every day seems to introduce some new horror, and—to no one’s surprise—people are turning to novels to temporarily escape all of the stress and existential […]

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July 27, 2020

The Business of Writing: BlueInk Review Talks with Shelley Adina/Adina Senft

By Paul Goat Allen

Shelley Adina is the author of 42 novels published by Harlequin, Warner, and Hachette, as well as Moonshell Books, her own independent press. She writes steampunk and contemporary romance as Shelley Adina; writes classic Regency romance as Charlotte Henry; and as Adina Senft, writes Amish women’s fiction. She holds an […]

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July 13, 2020

3 Reasons Why Social Media is a Necessary Evil for Writers

By Paul Goat Allen

The path to self-publishing success is filled with minefields, any one of which—once detonated—can derail the sales of a well written novel. Bad editing, a lack of proofreading, forgettable cover art, no promotional plan, failure to understand reader expectation, the list goes on and on. But perhaps the biggest mistake […]

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July 6, 2020

10 Steamy Novels to Heat Up Your Summer Nights

By Paul Goat Allen

Fiction, at its very best, elicits a powerful emotional response—be it fear, sadness, joy, or sexual arousal. Achieving the latter, however, may be the most difficult challenge to writers. Decades ago, when I first started editing and reviewing for B&N, one of my very first interviews was with the legendary […]

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June 29, 2020

5 Thriller Elements to Consider Adding to Your Novel

By Paul Goat Allen

Peruse any national bestselling list and I’ll bet you that somewhere near the top is a thriller of some kind—a psychological thriller, a crime thriller, a legal thriller, a medical thriller, etc. They’re everywhere! There’s an obvious reason for this—thrillers are the perfect (high-octane, fuel injected) vehicle for a few […]

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June 8, 2020

The Next Coming Golden Age of Science Fiction?

By Paul Goat Allen

Some people enjoy gardening in their free time. Or watching movies. I like to examine weekly bestselling lists—and watch the various mainstream fiction and genre fiction categories rise and fall in popularity. I’ve been doing it for decades—and it’s quite fascinating to try to connect the popularity of genre categories […]

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