Episode Date: December 14, 2025 Episode Length: ~30

This week on The InkPlots Podcast, we’re spilling the literary tea on everything shaping the indie publishing world — from Amazon’s brand-new KDP DRM update to the million-dollar romantasy boom and the rise of audio storytelling.

Host [Your Name / KL Adams] walks you through the headlines, the hidden opportunities, and the indie wins you might have missed — so you can write, publish, and market smarter in 2026.

Whether you’re an author, reader, or dreamer with a manuscript still tucked in your notes app, this episode will catch you up, fire you up, and remind you why indie literature keeps breaking the rules.

• 💻 Amazon’s KDP DRM Shift — why it’s more freedom for authors and readers.

• 💎 Romantasy Goes Mainstream — major investors bet on indie-born fantasy romance.

• 🎧 Audiobook Boom 2025 — Spotify data proves audio storytelling is the next frontier.

• 📰 Indie Press Highlights — small presses & lit mags reshaping the literary landscape.

• 📚 December Indie Releases — the season’s most buzzworthy reads to gift or binge.

00:00 — Welcome & Headlines 03:30 — Amazon DRM Update 07:15 — Romantasy Investment Buzz 12:45 — Audiobook Trends 18:20 — Indie Press Spotlight 24:10 — December Book Picks 29:30 — Wrap-Up & What’s Next

• KDP Digital Rights Update

• Spotify 2025 Audiobook Report

• New Nottingham Journal

• CLMP December Indie Launches

Follow @InkPlotsPodcast on social for weekly updates, behind-the-scenes notes, and calls for listener Q&A. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen — and don’t forget to leave a quick ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ if you loved the show.

✨ InkPlots: Where indie stories, author journeys, and literary news ignite.

In this episode of Ink Plots, we explore three unforgettable stories that redefine romance in all its forms — from the fiery, forbidden, and deeply emotional to the mysterious and the dangerously thrilling.

✨ Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood — a sun-soaked love story that challenges what’s right, wrong, and worth the risk. 🌙 Layla by Colleen Hoover — a haunting, supernatural romance that proves even love can become a ghost. 🎬 Once Upon a Crime by Brynn Kelly — a smart, pulse-racing romantic suspense set against the glittering danger of Hollywood.

Each book takes us deeper into the truth about love — that it’s not always gentle, not always safe, but always worth the page it’s written on.

• The gray areas of love: power, pain, and redemption.

• The strength of women in romance storytelling.

• How indie and contemporary authors are reshaping the genre.

• Why love stories that break rules often stay with us the longest.

1. Problematic Summer Romance – Ali Hazelwood A sizzling, age-gap love story that turns a week in Sicily into a study of desire, honesty, and growth.

2. Layla – Colleen Hoover A haunting paranormal romance that blurs reality, obsession, and what it means to truly know someone.

3. Once Upon a Crime – Brynn Kelly Hollywood glam meets danger in this romantic suspense filled with wit, chemistry, and high-stakes emotion.

• Dark romance and emotional suspense

• Tropes like brother’s best friend, haunted lovers, and famous actor meets everyday heroine

• Beautiful writing that isn’t afraid to get messy

• Stories that linger after “The End”

“The best love stories are the ones that dare to go too far.”

Follow for weekly episodes featuring indie and bestselling romance authors, story deep dives, and the books that remind us why love stories will never die.

📸 Instagram: @inkplots 💌 Newsletter: theinkplots.substack.com 🌐 Website: www.inkplots.com 🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever stories find their voice.

Episode Summary: Light your pumpkin candle and sharpen your fangs — this week on InkPlots, KL Adams dives into the best-selling Halloween romances lighting up the charts right now. From witches with bad ideas to vampires with worse intentions, these reads deliver all the spooky, swoony energy October deserves.

Featured Best-Sellers:

• Mate — Ali Hazelwood (brand-new paranormal, fated mates, signature Hazelwood banter)

• Road Trip with a Vampire — Jenna Levine (witch + vampire rom-com, instant USA TODAY bestseller)

• Remain — Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan (paranormal romantic-suspense, moody and mysterious)

Rapid Recs 🕯️

• Head Witch in Charge — Avery Flynn (chaotic witchy rom-com; enemies-to-lovers with broomsticks)

• BookBub’s 2025 Witch & Vampire round-up — browse for quick TBR fuel

• Amazon’s live Best Witch Romances & Best Vampire Romances lists — check what’s spiking this week

Backlist Treat: A Hunger Like No Other — Kresley Cole (the classic fated-mates paranormal that defined the genre)

BookTok / KU Pulse: The cozy-spice trend is back — The Pumpkin Spice Café and other small-town witch romances are topping Kindle Unlimited again.

Trope Talk: Why witches + vampires always own October — danger without doom, coven community, and spice with stakes.

Connect with KL Adams 🖋️ Find show notes, full book lists, and links on Substack → theinkplots.substack.com Follow on Instagram / Threads @kladamsauthor Tag your current spooky read with #InkPlotsReads

Headliners (new & charting):

• • Mate — Ali Hazelwood (paranormal, fated mates; B&N feature, new release) Barnes & Noble

  • Road Trip with a Vampire — Jenna Levine (instant USA TODAY bestseller; witch + amnesiac vamp romcom) PenguinRandomhouse.com+1

  • Remain — Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan (paranormal romantic-suspense; appearing on PW lists) PublishersWeekly.com

• Rapid Recs:

  • Head Witch in Charge — Avery Flynn (witchy romcom; Fall 2025 lists) The Contented Reader

  • BookBub’s 2025 witch/vamp guide (browse picks) BookBub

  • Check Amazon’s Best Witch Romances & Best Vampire Romances for this week’s spikes Amazon+1

• Backlist treat: A Hunger Like No Other — Kresley Cole (fated-mates PNR classic) TIME

• Seasonal note: Kindle Unlimited readers are again cozying up with café/witch small-town vibes (e.g., The Pumpkin Spice Café popping onto lists) The Sun+1