J.F.Penn

Thrillers, Dark Fantasy, Crime, Horror

J.F. Penn

How Does The Physical Body Define Us In Life … And In Death? My Research For Desecration, London Psychic Book 1

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DesecrationIn this video, I go through some of my research for Desecration, London Psychic Book 1. You can also see it in slideshow format at the bottom of the article.

Death isn’t always the end.

Desecration3DResearch and Inspiration behind Desecration, London Psychic Book 1 by J.F.Penn

The idea for Desecration came from a visit to the Hunterian Museum in London, where anatomical specimens line the walls. It made me wonder about how the physical body defines us in life … and in death.

Jamie Brooke is a British police detective who struggles against the rules and yet remains passionate about bringing justice to the dead. Jamie’s escape into tango comes from my own obsession with this ‘vertical expression of a horizontal desire.’

Blake DanielBlake Daniel, the reluctant psychic who helps Jamie on the case, works at the British Museum as a researcher. My writing always has an edge of the supernatural …

The anatomical Venus figures, like the one found at the crime scene, were popular teaching devices as well as pieces of art.

Teratology is the study of ‘monsters,’ abnormalities in physiological development, often caused by genetic or environmental factors. The Victorian ‘freak shows’ were made up of people born misshapen and the medical museums are full of their remains. But what if they were created deliberately?

The Bodies exhibition in New York gave me the idea for Rowan Day-Conti and his macabre corpse art sculptures. Researching that alternative world led me to body modification and the Torture Garden nightclub. It’s fascinating to see how people use the body as a canvas to define themselves.

This tattoo was the inspiration for the exotic dancer, ‘O.’ Seen at the National Gallery, London, Seduced by Art Photography exhibition.
Richard Learoyd's Man with Octopus Tattoo II, 2011

A visit to the Hellfire Caves of West Wycombe, rife with rumours of Satanic ritual and sexual depravity, inspired some of the climactic scenes.

Desecration is available in ebook, print and audiobook formats. More images at pinterest.com/jfpenn/desecration/

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Desecration-Verletzung. Available now in German

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Der Tod ist erst der Anfang!

desecration germanDie junge Frau ist reich, schön – und tot. Inmitten der alten medizinischen Ausstellungsstücke des Royal College of Surgeons liegt ihre sezierte Leiche sorgsam aufgebahrt. Detective Sergeant Jamie Brooke sucht einen ungewöhnlichen Mörder und ahnt, wieder einmal muss sie bei ihren Ermittlungen ungewöhnliche Wege gehen. Denn sie hat nur eine einzige Spur: Eine kleine antike Elfenbeinfigur, die neben der Toten gefunden wurde. Nur Blake Daniel, Hellseher wider Willen, kann Jamie jetzt noch weiterhelfen.

Als ein schrecklicher privater Schicksalsschlag Jamie zeigt, wie nah der Mörder ihr mit seinen makabren Phantasien schon gekommen ist, ist es beinahe zu spät. Denn je tiefer Jamie und Blake in eine dunkle Welt aus Grabräubern, Missgeburten und rituellen Zeremonien tauchen, desto gefährlicher wird es für ihr Leben …

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22 Thrillers With Kick Ass Heroines

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I love reading (as well as writing) thrillers with kick ass female characters!

22 thrillersHere are a selection of books featuring feisty women who can fight as well as outsmart their enemies, some you may have heard of, and others will hopefully be new for you.

dieeasyCharlie Fox in Die Easy by Zoe Sharp

Charlie Fox, ex-Special Forces trainee turned bodyguard, described as “ill-tempered, aggressive and borderline psychotic, Fox is also compassionate, introspective and highly principled: arguably one of the most enigmatic − and coolest − heroines in contemporary genre fiction – Chicago Tribune” and Lee Child said: “If I were a woman I'd be Zoë Sharp. If Jack Reacher were a woman he'd be Zoë's main character, Charlie Fox.” Click here to sample or buy.

snakeskinLucy Guardino in Snakeskin by C.J.Lyons

Just your average Pittsburgh soccer mom, baking brownies and carrying a loaded forty-caliber Glock…CJ Lyons' FBI Special Agent Lucy Guardino has been described by real life FBI Agents as “dedicated, smart, and fearless.” Click here to sample or buy.

POEAlexandra Poe in POE by Brett Battles & Robert Gregory Browne

Half-Iranian bounty hunter reluctantly working for a defense contractor tracking down terrorists worldwide in the hope of finding her father, an Army colonel, who has been AWOL for 10 years. Poe is tough as nails, and never backs down from a fight, occasionally to her detriment. Click here to sample or buy.

bloodlinerollinsSeichan in Blood Line and the SIGMA series by James Rollins

Born in Vietnam, Seichan was raised on the streets, fighting for survival until she was recruited by the Guild to become one of their most feared assassins. Now part of SIGMA, Seichan seeks her past … Click here to sample or buy.

budapestMorgan Sierra in One Day In Budapest by J.F.Penn

An ex-Israeli military psychologist specializing in psychology and religion, Morgan Sierra joins the secret world of ARKANE to solve supernatural mysteries around the globe. A Krav Maga expert, passionate about protecting her family, Morgan never gives up on a fight or a quest. Click here to sample or buy.

fleeChandler in Flee by J. A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson.

Chandler isn’t a person; it’s the codename for a woman who was shaped from a raw military recruit into a living weapon. She’s an assassin without remorse or fear, doing the bidding of an agency so secret that only three people know of its existence. But when her cover gets blown, she becomes the target of a wide-reaching conspiracy led by a mysterious figure whose connection to Chandler goes far beyond what she could have imagined. Click here to sample or buy.

therighteousEliza Christianson in The Righteous by Michael Wallace

Raised in a polygamous enclave, Eliza still manages to be a headstrong, independent woman, investigating evils both human and supernatural in The Righteous series. She doesn’t flinch from a fight, rescuing others and defending her family to the end. Click here to sample or buy.

hungergamesKatniss Everdene in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Forced to fight for her District while the Capitol celebrates and the rest of Panem suffers under their tyranny, Katniss must kill to survive the murderous attempts of the other tributes. Click here to sample or buy.

dragontattooLisbeth Salander in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Salander, a tattooed computer hacker who joins Mikael Blomkvist to investigate a murder in the powerful Vanger family, turns into an avenging angel as the series progresses. Click to sample or buy now.

genevadecisionPia Sabel in The Geneva Decision by Seeley James

Pia Sabel plays to win. Until a few weeks ago, she was an international soccer star. But now she’s taken the helm of her billionaire father’s private security company, and she’s playing against a whole new set of opponents – the kind who shoot to kill. Click to sample or buy now.

silenceoflambsClarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Seeking insight into the deadly madman she must find, FBI rookie Clarice Starling turns to Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a monster cannibal held in a hospital for the criminally insane. As Dr. Lecter invites Clarice into the darkest chambers of his mind, he forces her to confront her own childhood demons in return for knowledge; an unspeakable tuition he exacts to teach her how the monster thinks. Time is running out, but Clarice is stronger than you think … Click to sample or buy now.

smokeandboneKarou in Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Raised half in our world, half in ‘Elsewhere', Karou has never understood Brimstone's dark work – buying teeth from hunters and murderers – nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole. Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought. Click to sample or buy now.

sentinelJane Harper in The Sentinel by Jeremy Bishop

Jane is a sarcastic, strong, no-holds-barred heroine capable of fending off angry whalers, anti-whaling activists…and viking zombies! Shipwrecked on an arctic island where ancient Draugar (the inspiration for modern day zombies and vampires) were buried, Jane, along with a band of survivors must face off against the elements and a 600 year old enemy. Click to sample or buy now.

shininggirlsKirby in The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

The girl who wouldn’t die hunting a killer who shouldn’t exist. Harper stalks his shining girls through the years – and cuts the spark out of them. But what if the one that got away came
back for him? Click to sample or buy now.

inceptioKaren Brown in Inceptio by Alison Morton

Karen Brown, angry and frightened after a kidnap attempt, has a choice – being eliminated by government enforcer Jeffery Renschman or fleeing to mysterious Roma Nova, her dead mother's homeland in Europe. Unable to rely on anybody else, she undergoes intensive training, develops fighting skills and becomes an undercover cop. But crazy with bitterness at his past failures, Renschman sets a trap for her, knowing she has no choice but to spring it… Click to sample or buy now.

Want more thriller recommendations? Click here to check out more recommended books here.

Pentecostés. Thriller de la serie ARKANE. Spanish edition available now!

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Un poder mantenido en secreto durante 2000 años. Una mujer que podría perderlo todo.

pentecostes spanishIndia. Cuando una monja es quemada viva en el ghat sagrado de Varanasi, y la piedra que llevaba en el cuello es robada, se desencadena una serie de sucesos a nivel internacional, en los que varios grupos irán a la caza de las reliquias de la iglesia primigenia.

Forjada en el fuego y sangre de los mártires, las piedras de Pentecostés han sido traspasadas de generación a generación por los custodios, quienes han mantenido su poder y ubicación secretos.

Hasta ahora.

Los custodios están siendo asesinados y las piedras robadas por aquellos que pretenden utilizarlas para el mal en un mundo transformado por el fundamentalismo religioso.

Morgan Sierra, psicóloga de la Universidad de Oxford, se ve obligada a participar de la búsqueda tras el secuestro de su hermana y sobrina. Jake Timber, el agente de ARKANE, una organización secreta del gobierno británico que se especializa en experiencias paranormales y religiosas, la ayudará a llevar a cabo su misión.

¿ Morgan deberá arriesgar su propia vida para salvar a su familia, ¿pero podrá mantener la lealtad de quienes la ayudan?

Desde los lugares más antiguos y sagrados de la cristiandad en España, Italia e Israel, hasta los confines de Irán y Túnez, Morgan y Jake deberán descubrir dónde están las piedras de los apóstoles. En una carrera contra el tiempo y ayudados únicamente por el conocimiento de los mitos de la iglesia primigenia, tendrán que cumplir con éxito su misión antes de que un Nuevo Pentecostés sea convocado, esta vez por las fuerzas del mal.

Pentecostés, el primer libro de la serie ARKANE, es una historia de suspenso y acción que explora el alcance y limitaciones de la fe dentro de los confines de la historia cristiana de los primeros siglos, la arqueología y la psicología.

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Tráiler del libro Pentecostés

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXjxuAE_NJY

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Writing Dark Fiction, Research, Travel And Books I Love. Interview With J.F.Penn On Scenes And Sequels

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This interview transcript is from the Scenes and Sequels Podcast with Dave Kearney, recorded in May 2014. We talk about my research process, obsession with travel and what inspires my stories, as well as discussing my darker side! I also read an excerpt from the Prologue of Desecration which you can listen to below.

Writing dark fiction.
Dave: Welcome to the Scenes and Sequels podcast for readers and writers of genre fiction. I’m your host, Dave Kearney, and on today’s show, I chat with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, J.F. Penn about her new book, “Desecration,” the first in her new London Mystery series.

Dave: Hi, all, it’s Episode Seven of the Scenes podcast, and that was the opening passages from “Desecration,” read by the author, and my guest on today’s show, J.F. Penn. Now, it’s just brilliant to be able to chat with Joanna today, because she shares some just amazing insights into her writing process, and in particular, we talk a bit about theme and just the level of research that Joanna does when she’s writing her stories. And I really think it shows in a story like “Desecration,” because as a reader, it really sort of forces you to ask the question of where fact ends and fiction begins, and that’s really cool, because it gives that story a level of believability, which I think is really important.

And, with that in mind, we also talk a little bit about Joanna’s views on challenging readers. And Joanna believes that writers have the responsibility to tackle difficult themes and to examine difficult issues from a character’s perspective, and by doing so, it challenges readers to be thinking about the story long after they’ve finished reading it. And I think that’s really cool as well. Perhaps it doesn’t hold true for every story; it’s definitely something to think about, because, certainly from my perspective, after reading “Desecration,” it definitely had me thinking for some time afterwards, certainly about some of the themes underpinning the story, and that definitely comes through in our conversation today.

Just quickly, one other thing that we chat about today is some of the challenges for writers in switching between genres, and anyone who’s familiar with Joanna’s work would know that she also writes the ARKANE thriller series, and so we chat a little bit about the different approach that she’s taken to writing her ARKANE thrillers, and the London Mystery stories.

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Pentecost. Ein ARKANE Thriller Now Available In German

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I'm thrilled to announce the launch of Pentecost in German, now out in ebook formats and coming soon in print. If you read German, you might also like to sign up for my German language list – giveaways and another book coming this summer!

Mysteriöse Kräfte wurden 2000 Jahre lang geheim gehalten.
Eine Frau ist in Gefahr, alles zu verlieren.

Pentecost GermanIndien. Auf den heiligen Ghats von Varanasi wird eine Nonne bei lebendigem Leib verbrannt, und Unbekannte stehlen den Stein, den sie bei sich trägt. Das löst eine internationale Jagd nach den Reliquien der Frühkirche aus.

Die Pfingststeine haben die Feuer und das Blut der Märtyrer überdauert. Sie wurden über Generationen von Hütern weitergegeben, die ihre Wirkung und die Aufbewahrungsorte geheim hielten.

Bis jetzt.

In einer Welt, die sich durch religiösen Fundamentalismus verändert, werden die Hüter ermordet, und die gestohlenen Steine sollen für dubiose Zwecke verwendet werden.

Als ihre Schwester und ihre Nichte entführt werden, macht sich die Psychologin Morgan Sierra von der Universität Oxford auf die Suche nach den Steinen. Sie wird dabei von Jake Timber unterstützt, der für ARKANE arbeitet, ein geheimnisvolles britisches Regierungsinstitut, das auf übersinnliche und religiöse Erfahrungen spezialisiert ist. Morgan muss ihr eigenes Leben riskieren, um ihre Familie zu retten – wird sie dabei am Ende verraten?

Die Suche nach den Steinen führt Morgan und Jake von frühchristlichen Stätten in Spanien, Italien und Israel bis in entlegene Orte im Iran und in Tunesien. Es ist ein Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, bevor ein neues Pfingsten heraufbeschworen wird, bei dem es diesmal um die Feuer des Bösen geht.

PENTECOST ist die erste Folge der ARKANE Serie. Der temporeiche Thriller handelt von Grenzbereichen des Glaubens vor dem Hintergrund von frühchristlicher Geschichte, Archäologie und Psychologie.

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Rezensionen

vorablesen reviewsRead some of the early reviews on Vorablesen.de:

„Das Buch hat mich ein wenig an Dan Browns “Da Vinci Code” erinnert, ist aber auf jeden Fall kein Abklatsch und es lohnt sich, das Buch zu lesen!”

„Zuerst war ich skeptisch und dachte ‚noch so ein Mystery-Thriller à la Dan Brown’ aber dieser Thriller hat mich von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite einfach mitgerissen. TOLL! Mehr davon!”

„Ich war positiv überrascht, wie es der Autorin gelungen ist, die Bibel so real in ihr Werk einzubauen. Ich werde sicher die weiteren ARKANE Bücher lesen.”

 

The Darker Side Of The Dreaming Spires With Dan Holloway

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I recently read No Exit by Dan Holloway, a dark novella. There are a lot of books that feature the dreaming spires of Oxford, but this one offers a very dark and different viewpoint.

Dreaming spiresAlice is drawn into Petrichor, a group of Parkour enthusiasts who portray decay as beauty, and death as just another choice. When her friend Cassie is bullied into suicide, Alice makes a choice that will change her life. The writing is poetic in places, shocking in others, and the length is just right for a short, twisted tale. Fans of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects, and my own Desecration, will enjoy.

Here's an interview with Dan Holloway, based on my questions from the book.

So many people only see the tourist side of Oxford, tell us about some of the darker sides that you perceive, places that inspire darkness in your writing?

There are so many sides to Oxford. I started out as a student, and that’s the world I wrote about in The Company of Fellows. But even then I was more interested in the underbelly of ego and hidden perversions and desires that I sensed the tips of in my student days.

no exitSince then I’ve come to know Oxford best through its rich cultural life, in particular the spoken word scene, which has very little to do with tourist Oxford. Oxford is home to Hammer and Tongue, one of the UK’s oldest poetry slams that’s been going for over a decade, and the best bookshop I’ve ever been in, The Albion Beatnik. These are worlds of political activism, from LGBT rights and Reclaim the Night through incredible projects with the homeless community like the Old Fire Station’s Crisis Skylight Café to guerrilla campaigns against climate change. It’s a world where the people you meet are as likely to live on a boat as in a cloister.

It’s not necessarily a dark world – though as recent news stories have shown, Oxford has that. But it is a world the tourists don’t see – and most of all it’s a world of passion and creativity that’s raw, flawed, and brilliant – everything tourist Oxford isn’t.

I love Petrichor and the theme of the beauty of decay – what drew you to that?

Oh that’s such a hard question and I need to tread so carefully because the answers come from the world around me as I grew up, and I don’t actually want to imply that Stroud is a rotting carcass of a town…

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Talking About Death And Morbid Anatomy With Joanna Ebenstein

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When I tell people that I'm a taphophile, someone who likes graveyards, I often get funny looks. When I write books like Desecration, that open with a murder in a museum of medical specimens, and explore themes of corpse art, body modification and teratology, people question my interest with such morbid things.

Joanna EbensteinBut if you understand these fascinations, if you are my kind of weird, then you will also love Morbid Anatomy, a fantastic blog that covers the themes I am passionate about and much more.

In the video below (or here on YouTube), I talk to Joanna Ebenstein, multidisciplinary artist, author and designer, as well as the founder of Morbid Anatomy blog and library and now the creative director of the Morbid Anatomy Museum in New York. You can read discussion notes below the video.

We discuss:

  • Joanna's background in photography and graphic design, and how she got started with an exhibition on medical museums and anatomical art that led into a blog and then a global community of people interested in these darker topics
  • The themes of Morbid Anatomy include 19th century hysteria, the uncanny, art and anatomy, death and culture, collectors and collecting, sexology, freaks and monsters, baroque art, gothic literature, history of medicine, taxidermy and there are now artefacts as well as books.

Things that fall through the cracks and flicker on edges, delightful in ways to certain kinds of minds.

  • We discuss why some people find topics like death confronting, and about the lack of dignified discussion around death. There is an avoidance of great emotion in our society, but some of us are drawn to investigate these things that seem ‘wrong' or taboo in some way.
  • On how two smiley, upbeat women can be into such dark things …
  • morbid anatomy anthologySome of the objects that Joanna is interested in, including Anatomical Venus figures (which I used in Desecration as a clue to the murder), as well as a small Korean funeral doll that would assist in the underworld.
  • The Morbid Anatomy Museum will be opening in New York this year, it is an extension of the Library that Joanna has been running privately and will contain lots of artifacts, books and exhibitions as well as community spaces. You can read about the plans and join the funding on Kickstarter here. I'm really excited about it!

You can find Joanna at the Morbid Anatomy blog here or @morbidanatomy on Twitter, as well as her gorgeous photos on Flickr.

Right image: Flickr Creative Commons Peter Pelisek

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