Hello from Bath, I'm just back from a long weekend in Bruges and Brussels in Belgium researching my next ARKANE thriller. I saw relics of the True Cross and the Holy Blood. Very cool! Some photos above and more on Facebook and Instagram @jfpennauthor. I'm still working on my dissertation to finish up my Masters in Death, Religion, and Culture, but I hope to have more news about books to come before the autumn. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who joined the Kickstarter for Bones of the...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hello from Bath, Spring is here and I recently attended a reunion back at my Oxford college, which was strange but also wonderful to see old friends and where they have ended up in life after 30 years. There was a moment in the old hall when a bell rung and Grace was said before dinner and the years fell away. Precious memories indeed, and you can read/listen to me talk about Oxford in this episode of my Books and Travel Podcast on Decadence, Discipline, and Dreaming Spires. Writing-wise, I...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Hello from Bath, 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...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Hello from Bath, It's spring here which is lovely, and I am in the final phases of preparing for the launch of Bones of the Deep, my next thriller, and also starting to research the next ARKANE thriller, Crown of Thorns. While you wait for those, you might enjoy my short story, The Black Church, now available in ebook and audiobook, human-narrated by me! It's free for a limited time from my store, linked below, and it's also in my 12-story collection, The Buried and the Drowned. A week alone...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Hello from wintery Bath, and happy new year! I hope you're getting back into the swing of things as we move into 2026. I'm just finishing edits on my next thriller, Bones of the Deep, details below. If you prefer a desert thriller to the ocean, Death Valley is on special, with the ebook free on Amazon 22 - 26 Jan, 2026. Click here to check it out on Amazon, or here on other stores. Reviews would be much appreciated! I'm also back at college, working on my Masters in Death, Religion and...
7 months ago • 2 min read
Hello from wintery Bath, There are places in the world that we always plan to visit and then life happens and we never quite get there. Well, twenty plus years ago, I saw a picture of Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA, and a few weeks ago, I finally made it! It was a quiet, cold November day and there were hardly any people around as a small group of us descended into the lower canyon with a Navajo guide, and slowly made our way through the narrow, winding slots. The bright sun shone down through...
9 months ago • 2 min read
Hello from Bath, Thanks to everyone who backed The Buried and the Drowned. I've signed the gorgeous hardbacks and they are starting to arrive all over the world, and you should already have any ebooks or audiobooks. Just reply to this if you don't have what you ordered. I was recently in London revisiting the Hunterian Museum, which inspired my crime thriller Desecration, and which I'm writing about again for my current Masters in Death, Religion, and Culture. It was fascinating to see how...
10 months ago • 2 min read
Hello from Bath, Autumn is definitely here in the south-west of England, and I am working on fulfilling my Kickstarter for The Buried and the Drowned. Backers should have the ebook and audiobook, and I'll be signing the special hardbacks next week at the printing factory before they're shipped. It will be out everywhere in December. I've also recently started on a Masters in Death, Religion and Culture at the University of Winchester where I will be researching the deeper themes behind my...
11 months ago • 1 min read
Hello from Bath, It's conker time here in the south west of England (horse chestnuts for Americans!) and there's an autumn chill in the air. I love the seasonal shift and this year, things are a little different for me. I'm starting a Masters degree in Death, Religion, and Culture at the University of Winchester in a few weeks' time, which I will do along with continuing to write books. You know my fiction, so you know it's a very me kind of thing! I'll share more over the coming year, but...
12 months ago • 1 min read
