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J.F. Penn

For readers who want to escape ...

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Spring in Oxford, a life pivot that turned into a thriller, and book recommendations

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...

Bones of the deep, a thriller

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...

The Black Church

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Hello from Bath, There's a chill wind in the morning air, and the ripening blackberries and the first fallen leaves whisper of autumn. I love the turn of the seasons, and I hope it's good wherever you are in the world. I've just finished my last research trip for my gothic cathedral book to Rochester and back to Canterbury. I've also been narrating my short stories for the new collection, The Buried and the Drowned, launching 1 September. Need a moment to escape? Come on over to my Books and...

Hello from Bath, We've just had another heatwave in the UK so it's been a little challenging to do much, but I managed to finish the second exclusive short story for my collection, The Buried and the Drowned, coming soon on Kickstarter. The story is set at The Black Church in Iceland, which I visited on my 50th birthday back in March. It's in a stunningly isolated location near the ancient volcano that inspired Jules Vernes' Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Click here to read more and see...