A week alone in Iceland's most isolated church as an ancient darkness stirs ... Plus spring book updates, and recommended thrillers
|
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 in Iceland's most isolated church. A grief too heavy to carry. An ancient darkness stirring beneath.Pastor David Thornwell has lost his wife, his faith, and any reason to keep preaching. A week-long retreat at a tar-blackened chapel on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula seems like the right place to let go. But the journals left by previous caretakers tell a different story — one of lights beneath the floor, claw marks on the door, and a dig abandoned without explanation. As the aurora blazes and the ground fractures beneath the altar, David realises this church was never a house of God. It was a seal. And something beneath it is waking up. Click here to get the ebook / audiobook from me Click here for Amazon and other stores It's coming soon on Audible and other audiobook stores, and reviews are much appreciated wherever you download it, or here on Goodreads. Recommended booksAs ever, I am a reader as well as a writer! I am pretty busy reading for my current Masters degree in Death, Religion, and Culture, but here's a few books you might like that are less academic! A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers. A cheerful little sci-fi story about a future tea monk who encounters a curious robot out in the reaches. I'm trying to read more positive sci-fi stories, so if you can recommend any, let me know! Scratch Moss - David Barnett. If you enjoyed my Blood Vintage folk horror, you will enjoy this story of an ancient evil that claims a sacrifice from an English mining community every year in order to keep the town prosperous. Red Empire - Jonathan Maberry. A bioengineered version of The Black Death surfaces and Joe Ledger and his team must save the world once more! One of my favourite series, and while it can be read as a stand-alone, I recommend reading the series in order. Let me know what you're reading — just click reply!
|
J.F. Penn
For readers who want to escape ...
Hello from Bath, While I love ancient Gothic cathedrals, I also enjoy visiting gorgeous modern architecture and art, and Coventry Cathedral is a wonderful example of this, which I visited last week! If you'd like to come on a tour, you can see some photos above and more in my article below. Click here for Coventry Cathedral No writing news at the moment, as I am working on my dissertation for my Masters in Death, Religion, and Culture, but ideas for the next ARKANE thriller are bubbling away...
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...
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...