Hello Creatives, It is very hot here in the UK and I am still battling my Masters dissertation. I am dredging up all my finishing energy for this one! I'm also about to start narrating the audiobook for How to Write, Publish, and Market Short Stories, coming end Sept/October, and I have some website rejigging for my fiction self as J.F. Penn. Lots to do! Are you struggling with a writing or author-related project? Click reply and let me know. We're all in it together this August! From blog to...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Hello Creatives, I'm back into my dissertation at the moment, and academic writing is a challenge for sure, but worth it for the rigour of research, which I always love! Even though I'm not writing fiction at the moment, I am always open to creative inspiration, and I found much to love at Coventry Cathedral, which we visited last week. Photos above and more in the article below. Click here to visit Coventry Cathedral with me Do you find creative inspiration from traveling to new places? Or...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hello Creatives, We're just back from a long weekend in Brussels and Bruges in Belgium where I did some much-needed book research. Photos above and more on Instagram and Facebook @jfpennauthor if you'd like a closer look. Also, do you know about the 'windowing' strategy for publishing? It's how I release my books now and might help you think about your next release. Basically, it means releasing your book in different formats and into different channels to different audiences over time, with...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hello Creatives, Thanks to everyone who backed my Kickstarter for Bones of the Deep! I had a wonderful signing day for the foiled hardbacks up at the BookVault printers, so all books should be with you soon. It will be out on the usual platforms over the summer. I was also in London last week for an author conference, having industry business meetings and catching up with writer friends. It's been a productive few weeks but a good reminder that the author life is not just sitting alone...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hello Creatives, Can you believe it's June already?! I hope you have your creative projects for the year well underway. Click reply and let me know how it's going. I'm focused on finishing up the fulfilment for Bones of the Deep Kickstarter, and if you missed the campaign, the book will be out on the usual stores in August. I'm also writing the draft of my dissertation for my Masters in Death, Religion, and Culture, so that's my main project for the next few months, alongside a new story with...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hello Creatives, I had a book research and social trip to London this week. It's always a treat to walk along South Bank, more pics here. My Kickstarter for Bones of the Deep also finished, so I will be moving into fulfilment next. Keep an eye out for an email if you backed the campaign, and the book will be out in the usual places later in the summer. I'm also busy putting the final touches to my AI-Assisted Artisan Author webinars coming up this weekend, Sat 16 May and then an advanced...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Hello Creatives, I was in Oxford last weekend for a university reunion. It was both strange and wonderful to sit across from people I last knew in my twenties and hear what their lives have become. Some have taken paths you might have predicted. Others have gone places no one would have guessed. A creative life rarely runs in a straight line, and I find I’m most drawn to the unexpected stories, the people who started over, who found their work later, who are still figuring it out. Decades in,...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Hello Creatives, One of the most common questions that authors are asked is: "Where do you get your ideas?" Well, for me, it's often about where I travel and what I find there. In 1999, I sailed on a tall ship from Fiji to Vanuatu in the south pacific, and something about that crossing never let me go. I just couldn’t find the right story for it ... until now. Bones of the Deep has finally arrived, with a setting that takes you out on the open ocean, the stolen bones of a merfolk culture, and...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Hello Creatives, Spring flowers are blooming here in Bath and I am looking forward to a lot more time outside in the coming months! I hope you are enjoying the seasons wherever you are in the world. In the meantime, I am almost ready to launch my next Kickstarter for Bones of the Deep, and I'm working hard on finishing my Masters course. We also had a book research trip to Paris which will eventually turn into my next ARKANE thriller, Crown of Thorns. More photos on Facebook/ Instagram...
5 months ago • 2 min read