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 are you particularly drawn to cathedrals as I am? Just click reply and let me know.

Organic Writing with Steven James

How can organic writing and leaning into the pivot help your stories stand out? And how can you pitch a story as a discovery writer if you genuinely don't know what's going to happen next?

Steven James gives his writing tips after more than 20 years as an author, and in the intro, Better Than Free in an Age of AI.

​Click here to listen or read the transcript​

7 Tips for Sustainable Creativity

After more than a decade of releasing The Creative Penn Podcast on Mondays, I’ve moved it to Wednesdays.

On the one hand, this might sound like nothing at all, but it’s also a big deal, for you and for me, and in this episode, I explain why I'm making the change, and past guests give some tips on sustainable creativity for the long term.

​Click here to listen or read the transcript​

Bundles, Boxsets and Anthologies with Jamie Ferguson

What's the difference between a bundle, a box set, an anthology, and a collection? How can being part of an anthology be creatively interesting and useful for marketing? With Jamie Ferguson

In the intro, audiobook marketing tips, and the Builder's Creed.

​Click here to listen or read the transcript​

The book where I found my voice (free for 3 days)

I wrote several thrillers before Desecration, but this was the book where I found my author voice.

I'd been circling the things that truly fascinated me — anatomy, death, religion — but I held back, worried my themes were too dark. With Desecration, I finally gave myself permission to write the shadow.

A murder at the Royal College of Surgeons, secret anatomical collections, a psychic who reads the dead. This is a proper J.F. Penn book!

It's FREE on Kindle until Wed 29 July, and also in Kindle Unlimited. Read it and see what it looks like when an author stops writing what they think they should and writes what the Muse really wants ...

​Click here for Desecration​