J.F. Penn

15 Strange Underwater Places

February 10, 2018 By J.F. Penn

I first learned to scuba dive on the West Coast of Australia and have spent a lot of time diving off the coast of New Zealand. The picture below is from the Poor Knights Islands. Living in England now means I don't dive much – it's just too cold around the coast here, but watching Blue Planet II recently definitely gave me the itch to get back underwater!

Diving is a fantastic way to reach the world’s strange underwater places, some of which I've featured in my thrillers.

For example, The Sunken Cities exhibition at the British Museum in 2016 laid bare the lost Egyptian cities of Thonis-Heraklion, and inspired my short story The Dark Queen.

Here are 15 more sites around the world that harbour strange underwater places.

1) The Sea of Galilee ‘Mound’

A circular stone structure lies 9m beneath the Sea of Galilee. Found in 2003 following a sonar survey of the lake, the ancient structure is made of basalt rocks arranged in a cone shape. Around 70m wide, it reaches 10m in height. It’s also twice as large as Stonehenge.

According to archaeologists, it could be an ancient burial or ceremonial site. No other structures this size are currently known, so experts can only guess at how it was built or used. Its location makes it difficult to study, and experts place its age between 2,000 and 12,000 years old.

Traveling south from Galilee, you reach the Dead Sea, where the salt water can kill you if inhaled. Morgan Sierra dived there in Gates of Hell, looking for an ancient key. My research process just involved watching videos on YouTube, in case you were wondering!

2) The Stonehenge in Lake Michigan

Another stone henge lies at the bottom of Lake Michigan. Discovered in 2007 during a sonar survey, the stone circle lies 12m beneath the water. One stone bears what looks like a carving of a mastodon. They became extinct 10,000 years ago, adding to the mystery of the circle.

You might not be able to visit yet, but you can still imagine the people that built it.

3) An Underwater City near Cuba

Archaeologists conducted another sonar survey off the coast of Cuba in 2001. It revealed mysterious submerged structures. They cover an area of almost 2sq km, at varying depths between 609m and 750m.

Some experts believe the structures are too deep to be man-made. Yet both the Maya and the Yucatecos told ancestral stories of an island that sank. Geologist Manuel Iturralde points out that naturally occurring unusual structures also exist elsewhere. There's no guarantee that the ‘city' belongs to an ancient civilisation.

But it’s easy to imagine the daily lives experienced in such strange underwater places.

4) Port Royal, Jamaica

Once branded “the most wicked and sinful city in the world”, Jamaica's Las Vegas was an infamous pirate town. It was also badly built, and a 7.5 earthquake in 1692 sent 33 acres of the town into the sea.

Caribbean Twilight Landscape of the Port Royal Coastline, Jamaica

The town was the second largest city in the New World (after Boston). In 1675, it was so lawless that a pirate even became the Lieutenant Governor – the notorious Henry Morgan. He died in 1679, and even the cemetery where he lay ended up beneath the waves.

The ruins of the city now lie 12m underwater. Archaeologists continue to find well-preserved artefacts on the site. It became a National Heritage Site in 1999. You need special permission to dive there. Instead, see recovered artefacts at the Museums of History and Ethnography in Kingston.

5) The Yonaguni Monument, Japan

Discovered in 1986, the Yonaguni Monument lies off the coast of Japan. Experts debate the provenance of the massive rock formation – is it natural or manmade? Some believe the site began as a natural monument, later modified by humans.

Ten structures lie near Yonaguni, while five lie near Okinawa. Marine geologist Masaaki Kimura has identified man-made structures. Roads, temples, a castle, retaining walls and even a stadium lie among the ruins.

Divers discovered fireplaces, pottery and even stone tools that date to 2500 BCE. But other experts dismiss the drawings and carvings present on the monument as scratches. But it's unlikely that so many would be present in the same place.

The strange underwater places could even be the remains of the lost civilisation of Mu. According to legend, Mu disappeared beneath the sea like Atlantis.
Tourists can dive at the site so why not visit and make up your own mind?

6) Shi Cheng, China

Built between 25-200 CE, Shi Cheng (or “Lion City”) spans around 62 football fields. It also lies over 30m below Quiandao Lake, created in the 1950s as part of a dam. Surprisingly, flooding the city helped to preserve its ancient architecture. The water shields it from sun and wind damage.

Much of its arches and buildings remain intact. Shi Cheng's strange underwater places aren’t yet open to divers. But Quiandao Lake is a popular tourist destination if you want to visit the area.

7) Cleopatra's Palace, Egypt

Much of ancient Egypt's history disappeared over the centuries, looted by tomb raiders or reclaimed by the sea.

Many believe the palace of Cleopatra to be one of these lost secrets, sunk during an earthquake. Archaeologists point to a temple to Isis, a tomb (believed to be that of Cleopatra herself) and a museum on the site.

Experts have reclaimed over 140 artefacts. It isn't currently accessible but there are plans to one day open it to divers.

8) Neptune Memorial Reef, Miami

Neptune Reef, Miami — The gates of the Neptune Memorial Reef, Miami

Yes, I've even sneaked a cemetery into an article about strange underwater places! This subaquatic cemetery is also an artificial reef. It’s home to coral and sea creatures such as angelfish and loggerhead turtles.

It combines fake ruins with concrete memorials containing cremated remains. The Neptune Society, who sponsor the reef, balance the eco-system with the memorials.

Divers can explore the 16-acre site and access is even free. You can find the Neptune Memorial Reef 3 miles off the coast of Key Biscayne.

9) Dwarka, India

According to legend, Lord Krishna had a city comprising 70,000 palaces made of precious metals. When Lord Krishna died, the whole city, Dwarka, disappeared beneath the waves.

In 2000, experts discovered a series of ruins 40m under the waters near Dwarka’s modern-day settlement. The city is one of the seven oldest cities in India. Engineers conducted acoustic studies and found the ruins were geometric.

While archaeologists have recovered lots of artefacts, one caught their eye. Dated to 7500 BCE, it suggests the ruins could be ancient Dwarka after all.

divers underwater caves diving Ginnie Springs Florida USA — Ginnie Springs

10) Ginnie Cavern, Florida

Divers in Florida enjoy a range of freshwater caves. But Ginnie Springs features one of the most accessible. It also boasts crystal-clear water which makes the experience so much more magical.

You can take lights into Ginnie Cavern but the upper room of the cave already enjoys natural daylight. Its limestone walls help to reflect that light. The “Ballroom”, further inside, is the cavern that contains stunning rock formations. This is where you’ll need lights.

Open-water certified divers can even enter to explore the 100ft cavern.

11) Museo Subacuatico de Arte (MUSA), Mexico

We're used to museums as having guides, description panels, and walls. The Museo Subacuatico de Arte (also known as the Cancun Underwater Museum) has none of them. It's also underwater.

Located on the Yucatan Peninsula, the museum fulfils two intentions. Artist Jason deCaires Taylor wanted visitors to appreciate art in beautiful surroundings. His art drew visitors away from the nearby struggling reefs.

Man made reef, made of sculptures at the Grenada Underwater Sculptures park

Over 400 of his sculptures act as artificial reefs on the seabed. The two galleries are both open to snorkelers, and one of them is also accessible to divers. If you don’t fancy diving, you can also see the sculptures from a glass-bottomed boat.

12) Rummu Underwater Prison, Estonia

The Soviet Union established a prison near Rummu, Estonia, in the 1940s. A nearby limestone quarry provided backbreaking work for the inmates.

The authorities abandoned the prison and quarry in the 1990s after Estonia regained independence. With no one to pump water out of the quarry, it filled up and formed a lake. Some buildings disappeared beneath the water.

While it's not open to the public, adventurous divers often brave the wall anyway. Beyond, they explore the machinery and buildings submerged in the quarry.

13) Christ of the Abyss, Portofino

Diver Dario Gonzatti died while diving at San Fruttuoso, near Portofino, in 1947. His friend, Duilio Marcante, wanted to memorialise him. He commissioned a sculptor to create an underwater statue of Christ. The 8ft tall bronze statue stands 50ft below the waves. Christ of the Abyss isn't just a subaquatic memorial. He also acts as a reference point for divers if they get into difficulty.

The statue was removed for refurbishment in 2003, but he returned in 2005. Copies also exist in Key Largo, Florida, and St George, Grenada.

14) The Underwater Sculpture Park, Molinere

If you go to St George to see Christ of the Abyss, pay a visit to the underwater sculpture park in Molinere Bay. Created in 2006, it helped regeneration of the area following storm damage. The statues provide a home for coral and algae.

Sea life in the area gives an otherworldly feel to the sculptures. Creatures colonised the statues, making them look like lost shipwreck treasures.

damien hirst demon — Demon from Treasures of the Wreck of the Unbelievable by Damien Hirst, Venice 2017

Perhaps they inspired Damien Hirst’s Treasures of the Wreck of the Unbelievable exhibition in Venice.

15) Shipwreck of the Sweepstakes, Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada

Speaking of wrecks, shipwrecks are more obvious strange underwater places you might visit. Few are as accessible as the Sweepstakes. After sinking in 1885 in Lake Huron, it lies just 15m from the shore.

It's also only 6m down, making it easy for visitors to Fathom Five National Marine Park to see her. While divers can swim around her, a wire fence stops them from going inside, to preserve the wreckage.

That’s a lesson we need to learn where these underwater secrets are concerned. While they might be lesser known now, they still need to be preserved for future generations.

I'll be revisiting some of these places in future stories, but for now, sink beneath the waves in this supernatural short story, The Dark Queen.

A sunken city. A lost goddess … and the woman who longs to find her.

Lara is part of a dive team exploring the sunken city of Thonis-Heraklion off the north coast of Egypt. When a storm threatens the site, there's only time for one last dive and Lara is determined to be on it – even if it means diving with the man who threatened her this summer.

Because The Dark Queen is down there and Lara intends to find her before it's too late …

Sink beneath the waves in this supernatural short story from New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author, J.F.Penn. Available now in ebook editions.

Purchase now in ebook format

The Hereford Mappa Mundi: A World Off The Edge Of The Map

January 15, 2018 By J.F. Penn

My fascination with maps and cartography led me to research and write Map of Shadows, which features the Mapwalkers, who can travel through maps into the Borderlands, a world adjoining our own made from places we push off our maps, and creatures and people we write out of history.

When Sienna and the Mapwalker team need to travel over into the Borderlands to follow in the footsteps of the lost expedition before them, they travel through the Hereford Mappa Mundi.

Here's an excerpt from Map of Shadows chapter 9 when the team arrive at Hereford cathedral:

***

“Mappa Mundi means map of the world,” Mila explained, as they walked across the forecourt. “It dates to around 1300AD and gives a view of how the medieval monks understood the world back then.”

They entered the temperature-controlled room to find the Mappa Mundi lit with dim lights behind glass. Sienna walked closer to get a better look. It was truly incredible, a single piece of vellum illustrated by the hand of faith, with representations of myth and legend next to places that really existed. Perhaps this was the truth of maps. In part, they reflected the world as it actually was, and in part, they reflected the way the world could be, or as it was imagined. As Sienna looked at the Mappa Mundi, she began to understand why her father had gone on this quest.

mappa mundi hereford detail beasts — Detail of Mappa Mundi showing some of the beasts

At the very top, an enthroned Christ held his hands up to show the stigmata, the wounds of crucifixion. Next to him, believers rose from their graves and entered Heaven, while on the other side the damned were stripped, chained and dragged down to Hell where a great beast waited to devour them. Sienna shivered as she looked at the creature, imagining an Illustrator like Xander drawing it and calling it into existence. She looked over at his handsome profile. Was it possible that he and others like him could create something so terrible?

Sienna turned back to the map. An inaccessible circular island at the top of the world represented Eden, surrounded by a ring of fire and closed gates. A serpent waited while Eve held out her hand to accept the apple, ready to taste the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Sienna understood her temptation, her need to know, because that's just how she felt about the Borderlands right now.

There was a picture of Noah's Ark, the woven hull floating above a sea of red when God sent the great flood to wipe out the wickedness of humanity. The map showed a path through the Red Sea, the color still fresh after so many years, marking the wanderings of the Israelites from Egypt, out of slavery and into the Promised Land.

There were beasts on the map, a unicorn, a lynx slinking towards the southern coast of the Black Sea, a war elephant with a tower on its back, a strange parrot creature with a curled tail. There were strange-looking people too: a man with no head, only eyes on his chest holding a sword, another with one huge foot. There were troglodytes, cave dwellers in Africa, and men with heads of dogs.

“What is this map about?” Sienna asked. “It can't be real, surely?”

“A map is never truly real,” Mila said. “It's only one aspect of the reality of the creator. But we need to pay attention to the cities on the map. Maybe your father took the Force through one of those?”

mappa mundi labyrinth — Detail of Mappa Mundi showing the labyrinth

Hereford was marked by a tiny building on the River Wye, almost rubbed off by pilgrims touching it over the years. Jerusalem was right in the center of the map, with a circular wall and a castle city with eight towers, marking the place of crucifixion.

Rome was shown as a towering cathedral with text next to it: ‘Rome, head of the world, holds the bridle of the spherical earth.' Towers and pinnacles marked Paris, where the medieval University focused on philosophy and theology.

“The map is apparently a single piece of calfskin, but I think it's something different.” Xander bent as close as he could get without the alarms going off. The map was drawn on the flesh side of the skin, not the hair side, making the map undulate as one was naturally more taut than the other. “I think it's the skin of an animal from the Borderlands. There's a vibration from it as if it calls to go home. Maybe something wandered over back then, but it's certainly more than just calfskin from Earth-side.”

A labyrinth caught Sienna's eye, a circular maze, like the one in Crete with the Minotaur at the center. In the Middle Ages, many medieval cathedrals had labyrinths and pilgrims would walk around them looking for a way to the center, metaphorically searching for a way to God. She had visited Chartres Cathedral with her father years ago and they had walked the famous labyrinth together.

Mila pointed to a particular area of the map. “This is the camp of Alexander the Great. His conquest of the Persian Empire and domination of the known world was a popular theme, and there are several references on the map about Alexander. This restraining wall was built to save the world from the destructive force of the Sons of Cain.” She turned to Sienna. “Does anything here seem familiar?”

Sienna stared at the map, trying to see it with her father's eyes, trying to understand what he might have seen. He had traveled to many of the places portrayed but her eyes kept being drawn back to the labyrinth.

***

To read more of the Mapwalker adventures, check out Map of Shadows, available in ebook and print editions.

The Hidden Side Of Strange And Unusual Bath, England

November 29, 2017 By J.F. Penn

I've been living in Bath for several years now, and although on the surface, it seems like a genteel little place, there is a darker side to the city – if you know where to look.

Bath straddles the River Avon in Wiltshire in the South West of England. Made famous by Jane Austen costume dramas, the city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

But beneath the charming streets, Roman baths, and Georgian grandeur, lies a weird city. A strange Bath, a place haunted by Druids with Masonic symbols hidden in plain sight. Ley lines crackle with mysterious power along the same streets used by tour buses, and under these streets lie curses to ancient gods.

(1) Ancient curses in the Roman Baths

In the pre-Roman era, a hot spring existed in the area frequented by the local pagan population. Dedicated to Sul, the goddess of healing, the spring’s popularity drew the Romans’ attention. They combined Sul with their own goddess, Minerva, to create Sul Minerva. They built a temple to her and the resulting town became Aquae Sulis. It sounds idyllic, but excavations in the late 1970s revealed a darker side to the Romans in Bath.

Archaeologists uncovered around 130 thin sheets of metal in the waters of the King's Bath. They turned out to be curse tablets rolled into tubes and dating back to the earliest centuries AD.

Curse tablets occur across the Greco-Roman world and they fall into two categories. One group takes the form of binding curses. These were ideal if you wanted to curse love rivals or sporting competitors. The Romans were asking the gods to take matters into their hands.

The second group involves asking the gods to mete out justice against thieves and the Bath tablets fall into this category. Some of them address Sulis Minerva as the guardian of the spring. The text asks her to persecute the guilty party until they return the stolen property. Many of the tablets refer to small items stolen at the baths.

It gives a whole new insight into the people frequenting the Roman Baths in their ancient heyday.

(2) Druids, The Circus, and the Freemasons

The Circus is a gorgeous, circular Georgian terrace with three layers of classical columns. Five enormous plane trees stand in the central garden, blocking the view of the buildings and it's really hard to get a picture of the curved facade. I walk through The Circus almost every day, so it's a place I have come to love. When I wrote Map of Shadows, which opens in Bath, I started to research the area and found it has an incredible background.

Inspired by Bath's alleged druid past, architect John Wood the Elder designed the Circus by modelling its dimensions on Stonehenge. The outer circumference matches the ancient Druid standing stones, as well as incorporating the pagan circle and crescent of The Circus and The Royal Crescent just along the street.

Freemasonry was used in the design. The layout of The Circus, Gay Street and Queen Square form a key, a common symbol in Freemasonry, representing power or hidden secrets. There are over 500 carved emblems along the frieze of the columns, including serpents, stone tablets of the 10 commandments, lightning bolts, and more.

According to legend, a ley line connects Bath Abbey and The Circus, cutting along Brock Street. If that’s true, it makes The Circus the heart of strange Bath, and it plays an important part in my story, Map of Shadows.

(3) A pagan god in the Botanic Gardens

The Botanic Gardens are fantastic to visit in any season, with its ever-changing landscape of trees, flowers, fat pigeons and cheeky squirrels. I walk there several times a week and enjoy watching the seasons pass.

Detail of carvings on the frieze at The Circus. Note the 10 Commandments tablet

But there is one strange object in the gardens – a huge pagan deity carved from a tree.

William Lobb brought twelve Giant Redwoods to the UK in the 1850s. One of them ended up in Bath's Botanic Gardens and it died after contracting Honey Fungus. In 2001, the council commissioned a local artist to create a piece celebrating its life. Lee Dickson created the chainsaw sculpture that stands near the Dovecote. The 7m-tall Mankind’s Hand in Nature preserves what's left of the redwood. It helps to celebrate the Druid roots of the city.

(4) Literary inspiration and Gothic horror

Jane Austen is Bath's most famous literary inhabitant. She lived in the city between 1800 and 1809. But many overlook the short presence of an even greater writing resident – Mary Shelley.

Bath street view — This Bath street with its map shop is the inspiration for Map of Shadows

She came up with the idea of Frankenstein and his monster during the infamous evening at the Villa Diodati. Later in 1816, the writer arrived in Bath with Percy Shelley and took rooms at 5 Abbey Churchyard (now long gone) and 12 New Bond Street. When they left the city five months later, she'd finished the first volume of the novel that would make her famous.

Shelley may have given birth to Frankenstein in Switzerland, but she brought him up in strange Bath.

Charles Dickens also paid frequent visits to the city. He stayed at the Saracen's Head on a visit in 1835. Rumour has it that Dickens created The Old Curiosity Shop’s Little Nell during a stay in St James' Square in 1840. Bath's nineteenth-century social life appears in The Pickwick Papers.

(5) Angels and the dead at Bath Abbey

Close up of angel climbing down Jacob's Ladder, Bath Cathedral

The most arresting view of Bath Abbey comes at the grand West facade where angels climb stone ladders alongside the stained-glass windows, a gorgeous carved entrance doorway, and carved figures from Biblical history.

According to abbey legends, Bishop Oliver King dreamed of angels climbing to heaven in the early 1500s, and although Jacob's Ladder is a common enough motif on cathedrals, if you stand beneath the angels, you'll see some are climbing down. Are they angels – or demons?

In 2011, excavations revealed the bodies of around 6000 people beneath the floor of the abbey. Interred at the abbey until the mid-19th century, the burials stopped when they ran out of space. As the corpses decomposed, they caused voids under the stone slabs. Work is underway to repair the floor before it collapses.

(6) Ghost signs preserve Bath’s literary heritage

Ghost signs are the remnants of old advertisements painted onto walls. Sometimes the signs are legible, reminding passersby of long-gone products or local businesses. In places, you can see several signs painted one on top of another.

On Milsom Street, a building bears the ghost sign of the Circulating Library and Reading Room. The sign dates to the early 1820s and Sébastien Ardouin notes Frederick Joseph ran a bookshop at no. 43 – the building bearing the sign.

Circulating libraries found popularity in the 18th century due to the cost of books. Booksellers founded them to lend copies of the books to earn extra income. Members paid a subscription fee to borrow one or two books at a time. They were much like an early literary version of Netflix.

(7) Kennet and Avon Canal

Canal boat trip on the Kennet and Avon Canal

The Kennet and Avon Canal stretches for 140km, linking the River Avon and the River Kennet. Built between 1794 and 1810, the canal fell into disrepair after the Great Western Railway opened. Volunteers restored the canal which reopened in 1990, and I walk along it several times a month. It's one of my favorite walks, and one of the characters in Map of Shadows, Mila, lives on a canal boat.

The canal is now a popular destination for boating and it's an important site for wildlife. But we're interested in strange Bath, so if ghosts are your thing, head to the Cross Guns pub in Avoncliff. You can see the canal’s aqueduct from the gardens.

Reports tell of a Blue Lady in the women's toilets, though she appears elsewhere. She dresses in Victorian fashions and looks down to the river. Witnesses describe feelings of being watched and a sudden drop in temperature before she appears. Staff see shadows in the kitchen while patrons also see an old man in the bar. The figure of a monk sometimes appears near a fireplace in the lounge where there is a priest hole.

So, if you visit Bath, be sure to look beneath the tourist facade to the dark side beneath …

My dark fantasy novel is based in Bath. Read on if you'd like to know more.

A map of skin etched in blood.
A world under threat from the Borderlands.
A young woman who must risk the shadows to save her family.

When her Grandfather is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Sienna Farren inherits his map shop in the ancient city of Bath, England. Once there, she discovers that her family is bound up with the Ministry of Maps, a mysterious agency who maintain the borders between this world and the Uncharted.

With the help of Mila Wendell, a traveller on the canals, Sienna discovers her own magical ability and a terrifying place of blood that awaits in the world beyond.

But when she discovers a truth about her past and the Borderlands begin to push through the defenses, Sienna must join the team of Mapwalkers on their mission to find the Map of Shadows – whatever the cost.

In a place written out of history, a world off the edge of the map, Sienna must risk everything to find her father … and her true path as a Mapwalker.

This dark fantasy novel is the first in the new Mapwalker series.

Available now in ebook or print format!

14 Weird And Wonderful Places To See In Spain

September 30, 2017 By J.F. Penn

Spain is one of my favorite places, somewhere I return to over and over again. I particularly love the Sagrada Familia and the beachside tapas of Barcelona, the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, the chilled vibe of Malaga, and the cultural heritage of Granada and Cordoba.

But Spain has a darker side.

Bloody religious statues and relics fill the Catholic churches, resonant with the history of the Inquisition and the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, who forced the Jews to convert, leave, or die. Their empire took the faith to Latin America in search of gold and converts … at any cost.

Much later, Spain suffered during the Spanish Civil War with torture, killings, and mob violence. The fight against fascism characterizes memorials around the country and still scars many of those left behind.

The deep religious and cultural history brings beauty in the strange and wonderful places that you can still visit and many writers find inspiration there. My ARKANE thriller, Gates of Hell, delves into sites related to Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, while Dan Brown's latest novel, Origin, has scenes in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Bilbao.

So which of Spain's strange places should you visit?

1) Sagrada Família, Barcelona

Multi-colored columns of the Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Família church has been under construction for over 100 years. Begun in 1882, it's estimated to be finished in 2026.

Architect Antoni Gaudí scrapped the original plans for a neo-Gothic cathedral and turned the building into a monument to Modernism. Only 15-25% of the building work was finished when he died in 1926 but his vision lives on. Two of its three major façades have been finished (the Passion and the Nativity). Work only began on the Glory façade in 2002.

The church is famous for its incredible stained glass windows and awe-inspiring towers. Inside, a forest of columns stretches into the gloom above. It really is jaw-dropping and a must visit if you're in Spain. The Sagrada Familia proved an ideal location for one scene in Gates of Hell. Click here for more of my pictures from Barcelona. Here are Morgan Sierra's thoughts on entering the church.

“An elvish kingdom, a fantasy forest of marble pillars rose from the floor separating into branches that supported the high coffered ceiling in Gaudí's unique design. The impression was organic, as if the earth had grown up into this space, reaching to meet high above them in a forest canopy.

It was light and airy and Morgan could imagine Cirque du Soleil performers in here, leaping and twisting in praise to the Creator. It was a far cry from the austerity of Gothic architecture and somber darkness of most great European cathedrals. This was all light and pattern, rippling in the evening sun. The palette of color moved across gentle pinks and blues from the Montjuïc stone to darker granite and the almost burgundy of Iranian porphyry. Light streamed in through multi-hued windows of rainbow glass, all circles and curves, caressing the flagstones as light would ripple through the forest leaves.

Stained glass windows at the Sagrada Familia

Those who worshipped the pagan gods of nature would feel at home here. The only obvious nod to Christianity was the figure of Christ on the cross under a parachute above the simple altar. But it was dwarfed by the sheer overwhelming beauty of the stone trunks and intricate design of the basilica, lifting the worshippers' spirits above their earthly pain.”

Excerpt from Gates of Hell, Chapter 6.

2) Museo de las Brujas, Zugarramurdi

Apart from the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Cornwall, there aren’t many witchcraft museums. But many consider the small town of Zugarramurdi in the Navarre region the centre of witchcraft in the nation’s history. The Museo de las Brujas takes visitors back to the Inquisition, one of Spain’s bloodiest periods.

torah scroll — Torah scroll from the synagogue in Barcelona, where the Jews were massacred in 1391. It was only opened again in 2002.

Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella established the Spanish Inquisition in 1478. Heretics formed the original focus, rooting out spies among apparent converts from Islam and Judaism. In 1610, the Inquisition arrived in Zugarramurdi to investigate rumours of witchcraft. Officials tried over 7,000 people and found 53 guilty. Many now condemn the atrocities of the Inquisition, recognising the ‘witchcraft' as being simple folk medicine.

Located in a disused hospital, you can explore occult myths and legends surrounding the town. The museum aims to dispel the myths and misconceptions around witches. Exhibitions explore herbal remedies to explain how some may have confused them with witchcraft. The town celebrates the summer solstice in nearby caves and the Witch Museum takes part in the festivities.

3) Cave of the Moon, Titulcia

Titulcia lies to the south-east of Madrid, home to a bizarre underground world. Restaurant owner Armando Rico discovered the subterranean complex in 1952. The archways, medieval art and plasterwork show potential Renaissance origins, but no one knows who built the catacombs – or why.

Tunnels link a series of domed chambers where symbols cover the walls. German researchers in the 1970s thought the tunnels may have been a meeting place for the Knights Templar. It derives its name, the Cave of the Moon, from the fact some believe the central vault represents the full moon.

But researchers also found Celtic, Roman, and other medieval remains in the cave. Some visitors believe it holds psychic power while Rico believes it to represent the Earth and the moon. If you want to explore for yourself, you'll need permission from Rico to enter through his restaurant.

4) The Temple of Debod, Madrid

As weird places go, you can’t improve on an Egyptian temple in a Madrid park. Yet that’s what you can see in the Parque de la Montaña.

Many historical sites faced destruction during the construction of the Aswan Dam. The Spanish government helped saved some of these sites, including the Abu Simbel temples which appear in ARKANE thriller Ark of Blood.

Egyptian authorities gifted the 4th century BC Temple of Debod to Spain as a thank you. The single-room temple stood in the Nile Valley near the temple complex of Philae, used to worship the goddess Isis. Specialists dismantled the temple and shipped it to Spain in 1968. The site proves a popular attraction for photographers at sunset!

5) Gernika (or Guernica)

Stamp shows painting by Pablo Picasso Guernica — Stamp printed in Spain shows Picasso's Guernica

Guernica stands for devastation and loss in the annals of European history, made famous by the Picasso painting of the same name.

German forces targeted the old city during the first aerial bomb attacks on civilians and the rebuilt city now houses a Peace Museum. The museum tells the story of the 1937 bombing alongside other war atrocities, and explores conflict resolution and human rights.

The original Picasso painting now rests in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, and a tapestry version of it hangs in the United Nations Headquarters in New York, at the entrance to the Security Council room. A reminder of the horrors of war.

6) Montjuïc Cemetery, Barcelona

No article on weird places to see in Spain would be complete without a graveyard. You don't imagine the dead needing a good view, but they have one anyway in Barcelona's Montjuïc Cemetery. High on the hill overlooking the city, the cemetery opened in 1883. Its 57 acres have seen over one million burials across 150,000 plots and cremation niches.

Much like the city itself, the cemetery boasts monuments in classic, Gothic, Art Nouveau and Modernisme design styles. Surrealist artist Joan Miró rests here.

There's a Roman crematorium at the top of the cemetery, while el Fossar de la Pedrera lies to the west. This silent area, the Grave of the Quarry, is the resting place of around 4,000 people executed by the Franco regime. If you want to see the whole park, it can take over 3 hours to walk around it.

casa batllo barcelona — Casa Batlló, Barcelona exterior

7) Casa Batlló, Barcelona

You can’t miss the influence of Antoni Gaudí around Barcelona–he’s the king of weird sculpture and architecture in Spain. The Casa Batlló is one of the more obvious examples. The architect re-designed the facade and the interior of the building for the wealthy Batlló family.

Sometimes called the House of Bones, the lower floors resemble a giant ribcage. The exterior decoration further up the facade looks more like blood vessels. Many compare the ridged, undulating roofline to the back of a dragon.

If you enjoy his work, take a trip to the Park Güell overlooking the city. Gaudí’s former home in the park is now a museum, and you can’t miss its shocking pink exterior.

8) Museo Lara, Ronda

This private museum is one of the best weird places to see in Spain. Founded by Juan Antonio Lara Jury, the museum displays his vast collections. You'll see anything from vintage typewriters to old watches, handguns and microscopes.

But the Museo Lara is also home to the second Spanish Inquisition connection on this list. The cellar contains exhibits about the Inquisition and witchcraft. It includes torture equipment, mannequins in historical costume, and crazy taxidermy including a tarantula with the head of a bat. Perfect if you’re fascinated by the occult and the macabre.

Statue of the Angel Fallen From Parque del Buen Retiro, Madrid

9) Monumento del Angel Caido, Madrid

Cemeteries and parks play host to thousands of carved angels, but few focus on the fallen angel, Lucifer – except the Parque del Retiro.

Created in plaster in 1877, the sculptor drew inspiration from the Fallen Angel as he appears in John Milton’s Paradise Lost. The statue won a prize during the National Exhibition of Fine Arts.

The recast bronze version became part of a fountain where devils form waterspouts. Inaugurated in 1885, the statue divided opinion. Many hated Satan’s beautiful appearance though critics appreciated the technical skill behind its creation. It stands at 666 metres above sea level.

10) Capilla Real de Granada

Catholic churches often have fascinating icons, depictions of saints and the method of their martyrdom. The Royal Chapel of Granada features some of the most bloody and explicit scenes I've seen in my travels around the world, perhaps appropriate since the monarchs buried there, Ferdinand and Isabella, presided over some of the most brutal times of Spain's religious history. Gruesome stuff!

Inside the Grand Mosque Mezquita cathedral of Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain

12) Mezquita, Córdoba

This incredible building combines the beauty of Moorish architecture in the red and white archways with the ornate chapels and altars of the Catholic cathedral.

Córdoba was a hub of learning during the Caliphate over a thousand years ago, famous for the books collected by its knowledge-hungry rulers. Baghdad and the East were far in advance of Europe then, inventing the Arabic numerals and algebra still used today, along with decimal notation and the zero. The Mezquita was a mosque and later became a Christian cathedral during the Reconquista.

There are 856 columns inside, some of which become clues in Gates of Hell based on a Kabbalistic code that lead Morgan and Jake on to further adventures.

13) The Alhambra, Granada

With a name loosely translated as ‘the red one', the Alhambra contains stunning examples of Moorish architecture with a fantastical palace of courtyards inside the Nazrid Palace. Intricate geometric designs and Arabic calligraphy line the walls and the Court of the Lions seems to defy gravity with its slender columns and water features.

Book your slot early if you want to visit and try to avoid the crowds! More of my pictures of the Alhambra and Andalucia here.

14) Monastery of St Geronimo, Granada

Monastery of St Geronimo, Granada, Spain

This monastery is off the tourist beaten track and rewards visitors with a stunning chapel interior. You almost get vertigo staring up into the myriad vaults, all richly decorated.

There are also some freaky-looking relics and icons in the side chapels. Well worth a visit!

So these are some of my picks for weird and wonderful Spain – no doubt I'll add some more on the next trip! Happy travels.

12 Of The World’s Best Anatomical Museums

September 13, 2017 By J.F. Penn

When you book a trip to a new city, thoughts turn to popular attractions or places you might like to see. For most people, anatomical museums don’t usually rank high on the list.

But for a writer, medical museums prove fertile ground in which to find new ideas or story seeds.

If you write crime thrillers, they’re also an excellent way to ensure you’re getting the details right!

As an avid fan of such places myself, I’ve collected together 12 of the world’s best anatomical museums. If you're into the macabre as I am, then you might enjoy them too!

1. Anatomy Museum, The Hunterian, Glasgow, UK

There are two Hunterian museums in the United Kingdom because there were two Hunter brothers. The Glasgow collection is that of William, the famed teacher of surgery and obstetrician to the wealthy. William Hunter opened a ground-breaking medical school in Covent Garden to teach anatomy through practical classes.

After a rift with his brother John, William donated his collection to Glasgow University. Perhaps the most famous exhibit is the plaster cast made of a pregnant uterus. It accompanies his masterpiece textbook, The Anatomy of the Gravid Uterus Exhibited in Figures (1774). His preparations of lymphatic tissue, injected with mercury to highlight the vessels, are artworks in themselves.

Of course, with tales of resurrection men murdering people to provide bodies for the anatomy school, you have to wonder how many of these were voluntary specimens …

2. Hunterian Museum, London, UK

While William Hunter’s collection went to Glasgow, John’s collection stayed in London. The vast array of preserved specimens bears witness to Hunter’s tireless efforts to understand the body. The Hunterian Museum collects together preserved body parts and even the skeleton of a ‘giant’.

specimen jars Hunterian — Specimen jars from the Hunterian Museum, London

It’s also a central location for Desecration, the first book in my London Crime Thriller series. As fascinating as anatomical museums are, and they’re essential to medical progress, they raise ethical questions about the treatment of the deceased. That made the museum the ideal location for the story.

3. Mütter Museum, Philadelphia, USA

Founded in 1863 by Dr Thomas Dent Mütter, the museum is perhaps America's best known medical marvel. It uses a ‘cabinet museum' format to display the collections of specimens, instruments, and models.

Among other things, you can see part of John Wilkes Booth's spine, slices of Einstein's brain, and the famous skull collection belonging to Dr Joseph Hyrtl. The museum features a mix of temporary exhibitions and permanent displays. The Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden is a fascinating stop if you’ve also seen the Chelsea Physick Garden in London.

As their website explains, the Mütter Museum “helps the public appreciate the mysteries and beauty of the human body while understanding the history of diagnosis and treatment of disease.”

4. Old Operating Theatre, London, UK

While the steady march of progress continues in the nearby Shard, the Old Operating Theatre lies in a quiet Southwark garret above St Thomas Church. All that remains of the old St Thomas’ Hospital, the theatre served the women's surgical ward.

Hundreds of students would have watched the surgical procedures from the galleries surrounding the operating table and remember, this was before the invention of antiseptic or anaesthetic. Gruesome stuff!

apothecarybox — Apothecary box from the Old Operating Theatre, London

You can attend fascinating talks about the equipment by museum curators and I've even attended a Death Drawing workshop there. Like the Hunterian Museum, it provided me with plenty of research material for Desecration.

5. International Museum of Surgical Science, Chicago, USA

Founded in 1935, the IMSS aimed to promote surgical knowledge worldwide. In 1954, it opened to the public and in 1959, the museum dedicated galleries, hallways or rooms to individual nations and their surgical contributions.

The museum holds plenty of art and documentation to trace the development of surgical techniques. You can also see original x-rays, transplant equipment, and a cast from Napoleon's death mask.

The IMSS was also another of the anatomical museums to give me a story idea. It was there that I found the 4000-year-old Peruvian skull showing evidence of trepanation.

chicagoskull — Skull that inspired Sacrifice

The skull inspired American Demon Hunters: Sacrifice, the dark fantasy novel I co-wrote with Lindsay Buroker, J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon on a train from Chicago to New Orleans in 2017.

6. Museum Vrolik, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Named after Gerard and Willem Vrolik, a 19th-century father-and-son who were both anatomy professors, the museum is an interesting place to visit in Amsterdam.

It started life as the pair's private collection, viewable at their house. Their specimens included both normal anatomy and malformed examples, such as one-eyed foetuses and corset livers. The museum stresses the importance of specimens such as Siamese twins, given how rare such cases are in the 21st century.

7. Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard Medical School, USA

The Warren Anatomical Museum was founded in 1847. Attached to a working medical school, the anatomy lecturers still use the Exhibition Gallery as a teaching space. It’s a small museum, comprised of four display cases on a single floor, but if you’re in the area, it’s worth a trip. The 100 medical artefacts on display are less than 1% of the entire collection.

The displays contain actual human remains so photography is not allowed in the Exhibition Gallery. Its most famous exhibit is the skull of Phineas Gage (see image left), a railroad worker who suffered an iron bar driven through his brain. While he survived the trauma, the resulting change in his behaviour and personality revolutionised neuroscience.

8. Museum of Human Anatomy, Pisa, Italy

A lot of universities boast anatomical museums, but few have the lineage of the Museum of Human Anatomy in the Medical School of Pisa. The town was one of the first in Italy to get an anatomy school.

The museum itself dates to the early 19th century. A Second World War blast in 1944 caused flooding, damaging some of the exhibits, yet plenty of wonderful specimens remain. They specialise in osteology, displaying a range of different bones. One model is a skull, known as an exploded model, due to the separated bones on display. They also have other specimens representing different anatomical systems, such as circulation.

vesalius — An illustration from the Vesalius anatomy book

The museum even boasts a collection of embalmed Peruvian heads, alongside two Egyptian mummies. You can also pop next door to the Pathological Anatomy Museum to see all kinds of aberrations, including a two-headed cat.

9. Medical History Museum of the Hamburg University Teaching Hospital, Hamburg, Germany

Some anatomical museums attempt to trace the history of medicine. The Hamburg museum focuses on modern medicine, from the 19th century until now.

The curators are unafraid to face the darkest eras in human history. They included a display about Nazi eugenics programs. It returns a voice to those murdered by the regime for being deemed mentally or physically unfit to live. It’s a harrowing display, but it’s important to remember the sacrifices suffered by others in earlier times. I used aspects of the Nazi eugenics program in Desecration.

10. Paul Stradin's History of Medicine Museum, Riga, Latvia

The collection started in the 1920s, begun by Dr Paul Stradins. A two-headed dog rubs shoulders with Chernushka, the dog who travelled into space on Sputnik 9 and survived. Note the two-headed dog was a manmade creation. It seems horrifying today, but the work of Vladimir Demikhov inspired techniques still used in organ transplants.

Elsewhere, there are fascinating dioramas, including a medieval pharmacy and town which explains medieval healing.

11. The Museum of the History of Medicine, Paris, France

Some of this museum's collections date back to the 18th century. They specialise in the medical instruments, but they also hold anatomical specimens and other items related to surgery.

streetartskeleton — Skeleton street art in London shows enduring interest in anatomy and death culture

Chronological displays in the Museum of the History of Medicine lead you forwards through time as surgical devices evolve around you. From trepanning to anaesthesia, it makes you appreciate the advances of modern medicine. You can even see the autopsy equipment used on Napoleon.

12. Berlin Museum of Medical History at the Charité, Germany

This museum hosts a permanent exhibition that traces the past 300 years of medical history.

A specimen hall lies at the heart of the museum. Visitors can see 750 wet-and-dry examples on display. Like the Hamburg museum, the museum features displays that explore the ways in which the Nazis used science for their own ends. Elsewhere, temporary exhibitions shine a light on other aspects of contemporary medicine, such as forensics.

Any, or all, of these museums preserve knowledge that has been hard-won by ingenious–and diabolical–scientists. One thing is for certain–you’ll leave with a greater appreciation of modern medicine.

10 Beautiful And Unusual Places To Visit In Venice

August 12, 2017 By J.F. Penn

Venice is naturally a strange place to visit. Rising out of the Adriatic Sea, the city comprises 118 islands, connected by over 400 bridges and walkways. Getting lost is all part of the fun though you're never lost for long.

The Doge's Palace and St Mark's Campanile are obvious tourist attractions, along with the famous Rialto Bridge, spanning the Grand Canal with its souvenir shops, stalls, and selfie seekers.

But turning away from the main thoroughfares helps you avoid the tourist crowds. You’ll find more of the real city by navigating the narrow alleys and crossing the spectacular squares.

On a recent trip, we stayed on Lido island, only a short ferry ride to San Marco. Absolutely recommended for avoiding the tourist throng! Click here for my photo album.

Get more out of your stay by exploring these unusual places to visit in Venice.

1. Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable

This stunning show by British artist Damien Hirst spans two palazzos at the Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana, and if you miss Hirst, then these venues have exhibitions throughout the year.

The entire exhibition is a single body of work, devoted to the story that frames the show. The sculptures are treasures apparently salvaged from a shipwreck 2000 years ago. According to Hirst's legend, the collection belonged to a freed slave, Cif Amotan II, who was sending his art to a temple on board the ‘Unbelievable’.

The exhibition runs until December 3, 2017. You can buy tickets online here.

I also wrote about Hirst's art, money and ambition on my writing blog and you can see more of the pictures there too.

2. St Mark's Basilica

The basilica marks the site of the Pentecost mosaic that appears in the first ARKANE book, Stone of Fire. Look up and you will see the tongues of fire coming down onto the apostles.

The basilica also houses the treasury where you'll find a collection of reliquaries. They contain the bones of various saints. We've already looked at bizarre religious relics but these reliquaries are something else. The reliquaries themselves are beautiful, made of gold and crystal.

It costs a little extra to see, but it's one of the more unusual places to visit in Venice.

3. Libreria Acqua Alta

If you're anything like me, you can't resist a visit to a bookshop. But how would you cope as a bookstore owner in a city built on water that regularly floods?

This particular Venetian store hit on an elegant if eccentric solution. They store books, maps, and magazines in bathtubs or waterproof bins. One room even boasts a gondola as a makeshift shelf.

In English, its name means ‘Library of High Water'. So every time the local canals flood, the contents rise with the waterline. Its stacks have even been known to house the occasional stray cat, keen to avoid the flooding.

4. The Flooded Crypt of San Zaccaria

Speaking of flooding, the San Zaccaria church has used the surrounding canals to its advantage. A church has occupied the site since the 9th century though the current incarnation was established in the 15th century. Its architecture blends Gothic and Renaissance, capturing the changing styles of the day.

That said, the undercroft mostly contains the bodies of local leaders (or doges) from the earlier period. The crypt is a beautiful space of columns and vaults, but the permanent level of water adds to its otherworldly charm.

The main church is breathtaking too, but this quiet crypt is one of the more unusual places to visit in Venice. If you'd like to visit, use the entrance in the Campo San Zaccaria, and turn right. A docent sits at the desk and will admit you through a mundane-looking door that belies the beauty beyond.

5. San Servolo Insane Asylum Museum

A network of small islands makes up Venice City. But a collection of other islands in the lagoon stands testament to both its darker past and its craft heritage. While Murano and Burano might attract the tourists keen to learn about glass or lace making, the other islands offer far more unusual places to visit in Venice.

San Servolo is known as the “Island of the Mad”. Opening in 1725, it acted as the city's official mental asylum for 250 years.

During its years of operation, it admitted over 200,000 patients. It closed in 1978 though the Venetian government decided it wanted to preserve the history and the documents of the hospital. They created the Institute for the Study of Social and Cultural Marginalization and reopened in its current form in 2006.

The museum is divided into nine sections, including the Laboratory, Straightjackets, and the Anatomical Theatre. As well as housing disused equipment, the archives also hold photo albums and library collections. You can see rare trees and plants in the park which originally provided ingredients for the pharmacy.

San Servolo puts a public face on the history of mental illness in Venice. Another abandoned asylum quietly rots on Poveglia Island, which is currently closed to visitors.

6. Lazzaretto Nuovo

The Venetian authorities didn't just use the islands as industrial outposts or mental hospitals. They also used them as quarantine spaces for plague victims.

The Lazzaretto Vecchio (Old Quarantine) opened in 1423 as a plague hospital, as well as a quarantine zone. In 1468, the Lazzaretto Nuovo (or New Quarantine) opened as a way station for incoming ships. Thousands of people were sent to the islands during plague outbreaks in 1576 and 1630, which explains the mass graves on both islands.

The Lazzaretto Nuovo is perhaps the better known of the two, and it’s also famous as the home of the Vampire of Venice.

It gained its supernatural reputation after a skull was discovered in a mass plague grave in 2005. The woman's skull had a brick jammed in her mouth, which ties in with old superstitions around killing vampires. This method of dispatch relates to the ‘Shroud Eater' vampires, which allegedly cause destruction while still in their grave. The brick apparently gave them something else to chew on.

The Lazzaretto Nuovo later became a defensive fort under Napoleon and it was abandoned in the 1970s. Recent restoration allowed the island to be reopened to the public. Visitors can now see maritime artefacts, as well as museums that explain the strange history of the island.

The number 13 ferry runs nearby but you'll need to make a request to stop at the island, one of the eeriest places to visit in Venice.

7. Torcello

While we're on the subject of islands, you can learn more about Venice's history on Torcello.

The city was first established here in the 7th century and some think it was occupied by the Romans. In the 12th century, a malaria outbreak on Torcello saw the nearby Rialto settlement eclipse the island as the heart of Venice. Its cathedral harks back to the Byzantine style of the era while museums on the island tell its story.

You can reach it by taking a ferry to Burano, switching to another boat once you're there. The museum and churches lie a 10-minute walk from the ferry stop. So you'll have plenty of time to admire its crumbling beauty. It's not abandoned, but it's definitely off the beaten track. Hemingway certainly loved its quiet tranquillity.

8. Arsenale

With all of these islands and canals, it's no surprise that Venice was proud of its naval power. You can visit its former shipyard in the Castello district.

The Arsenale gave birth to the galleys of the Venetian Republic during its heydey during the Renaissance period.

The site boasts exhibitions during the Biennale, but it's still worth a visit during the rest of the year. Restoration work is underway in many of the buildings and workshops of the vast walled area. The Naval History Museum is a must-see for fans of warships, but it also holds maps, weapons and gondolas.

They even hold a Bucintoro, a replica of the doges’ ceremonial barge.

9. The Jewish Ghetto

It can be easy to get swept along by the quirky charm and magical atmosphere of Venice. But the city's dark past isn't restricted to the islands of the lagoon.

The Jewish Ghetto stands as a testament to the segregation that once characterised the jewel of the Adriatic.

The Ghetto Vecchio and Ghetto Nuovo campos in Cannaregio comprise the Jewish Ghetto. It's separated from the medieval heart of the city as it was originally a foundry. The authorities could minimise the risk of damage if fires broke out.

But in 1516 the authorities decided to use this remote area to house the Venetian Jews. Rules and laws regulated their lives in the district. The bridges were even guarded at night to keep the Jews in their ghetto. There was no room for expansion so the Jews built upwards, which explains the lofty heights of many of the buildings.

Yet they hold remarkable secrets. Some of the buildings boast beautiful synagogues on their top floors, hidden from prying eyes behind simple facades. You can take a tour of these spaces, or visit the museum. As with any area characterised by persecution and cruelty, be respectful to the surrounding history.

10. Strange architecture

Venice is famous for its Byzantine architecture, often mixed with Gothic or Renaissance styles. The city is also synonymous with bridges; 72 of its 417 bridges are even privately owned. Two of the bridges (one public and one private) have no guardrail – something which would be unheard of in England!

The Devil's Bridge is accessible, so you can try crossing without falling in the canal.

If that's not enough strange architecture for you, then pay a visit to the Bovolo Staircase. You'll find it in a cul-de-sac near Campo Manin, clinging to the walls of the 15th century Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo. According to legend, the owners asked for an extra staircase, and when the architect could find no space for one inside, he simply added it to the outside of the building.

The tower is off limits due to renovation work, but you can still see it from the outside. Its spiral of arches is great for the photographers among you and the courtyard garden provides a breather from the bustle of the city. It's definitely one of the more unusual places to visit in Venice.

I love Venice and will definitely be heading back there.

Once you have ticked off the main sites, you can spend more time in the back streets and more curious places. Perhaps I might see you there …

13 Of The Most Mysterious Places In India

July 28, 2017 By J.F. Penn

India is the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, as well as having a deep cultural history with Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It is a country of ancient faith, with a rich mythology that mingles with marvellous architecture and incredible food!

I've been to India twice now – on a cultural tour of the ‘golden triangle' in the north, from Delhi to Varanasi and back through Agra; and then cycling through the south west through Karnataka and Kerala. Both times I have longed to return and it's one of those countries I feel at home in.

The burning ghats of Varanasi feature in the opening scene of Stone of Fire, but I returned to India for Destroyer of Worlds, a story that centers around the Brahmastra, a Hindu relic with the power of a nuclear weapon. The thriller was a finalist for the 2017 International Thriller Writers Awards for Best Ebook Original, so clearly the story resonates.

With so many religions rubbing shoulders, India is both a mystical and an unusual place to visit, so I’ve compiled a list of 13 of the most mysterious places in India.

1. Tower of Silence, Mumbai

The tower of silence stands as a complete contrast to the familiar Western cemetery. Favoured by the Zoroastrians, use of towers to dispose of the dead appears in records as early as the 9th century. In Zoroastrian doctrine, both earth and fire are sacred but the body is unclean. The sun and carrion birds such as vultures remove the need for traditional burial or cremation. Yes, they eat the flesh of the dead …

Three concentric rings make up the roof of the tower. Men occupy the outer ring, with women in the middle, and children at the centre. The bones are left until they're sun-bleached when they're moved to a pit in the middle of the tower. Lime helps them to disintegrate.

The 300-year-old tower in Mumbai stands on Malabar Hill, within a 54-acre forest. Locals noticed a drop in the vulture population in 2015, delaying the natural process of exposure. Unless conservation efforts can boost the number of carrion birds, the process remains under threat. Reading about the plight of the vultures prompted the use of the tower in Destroyer of Worlds.

2. Funeral Pyres, Varanasi

sunrise varanasi — J.F.Penn, Sunrise, Varanasi, India, Dec 2006

The immense cremation ghat formed the backdrop for the opening scenes of Stone of Fire. The pyres, which burn 24/7, force visitors into close contact with the dead. This is not the clean, clinical cremation we’re used to in the West. Seeing the burning ghats for myself gave me the idea for the opening scene and I used them again in Destroyer. Varanasi is crazy busy and overflowing with pilgrims, but it's a place I want to return to. It feels like Jerusalem in its combination of spirituality and mass tourism, and it resonates with energy.

The popularity of the pyres derives from the Hindu belief that laying ashes in the Ganges at Varanasi allows the soul to escape the reincarnation cycle and reach heaven. Since Varanasi is one of the world’s oldest cities, it is the most sacred site along the Ganges.

Despite the introduction of gas and electric-powered crematoria, many still opt for traditional cremation on the ghat. Around 50-60 million trees fuel the ghats every year.

As a result, the funeral pyres are expensive for those wishing to be cremated there. Access to heaven doesn’t come cheap.

3. Bhangarh Fort, Bhangarh

This sprawling complex is less of a fort and more of a city. Boasting vast gates, palaces, and temples, it looks like a picturesque, fairy tale spot. Or is it?

Local legends claim supernatural unrest in the area. The Archaeological Survey of India even posted a sign prohibiting entry after sunset. The city remains accessible during daylight hours.

One story claims a wizard attempted to cast a spell on a woman, who crushed him with a boulder. As he lay dying, he cursed the city with complete destruction. Attackers soon sacked the fort, massacring the inhabitants.

That’s one legend among many. While we may scoff at such tales in the 21st century, the fact remains that the locals abandoned the city and established Bhangarh nearby.

You wonder what may lie among the quiet ruins, festering after dark…

4. South Park Street Cemetery, Kolkata

It wouldn’t be my blog without at least one cemetery. In the 19th century, this eight-acre necropolis was perhaps the largest Christian cemetery outside Europe or America. Almost 1900 graves jostle for space inside the brick walls.

Like a Kolkata version of Highgate (although older than the famous London graveyard), you'll find a range of monument designs. Obelisks and urns rub shoulders with Saracen graves and even cairns.

Who knows what you might find among the prehistoric ferns and moss that quietly reclaim the cemetery?

5. Kalighat Temple, Kolkata

The current Kalighat temple dates to the early 19th century, which explains its Victorian aesthetic. It's home to a unique image of Kali made from black stone with a long tongue made of gold. Some believe the name ‘Calcutta' comes from ‘Kalighat'.

The temple is also one of the Shakti Peeths of India. A princess married Lord Shiva and killed herself after her father disrespected her husband. Lord Shiva began the dance of destruction, and Lord Vishnu dismembered Sati's corpse to stop him. The Shakti Peeths are the sites where Sati's parts fell to earth. According to the story, Sati's right toe fell where the Kalighat now stands.

Attendants behead goats daily in Kali's honour. Since the temple is one of Kolkata's most holy spots, it gets very busy. They even offer queue-jumping services to reach the main shrine. I haven't visited but it's the setting for one of the pivotal scenes in Destroyer of Worlds.

6. Kumbh Mela pilgrimage

The Kumbh Mela is a Hindu pilgrimage rather than a place to visit. Four different festivals carry the name, and they occur at four different locations on rotation. The Mela always takes place on the banks of a sacred river. Organisers calculate the dates using the zodiac positions of Jupiter, the sun, and the moon. Millions of Hindus gather to bathe in the river to cleanse themselves of sin, led into the water at the most auspicious time by the sadhus, the holy men.

No one knows how old the festivals are, but medieval Hindu tales explain that Lord Vishnu left drops of Amrita, the Hindu drink of immortality, at the four sites of the modern-day Kumbh Mela.

While the pilgrimage is largely peaceful, stampedes have led to a loss of life, even as recently as 2013 in Allahabad. In Destroyer of Worlds, the Kumbh Mela is the site for an apocalyptic display of ancient power.

7. Jal Mahal, Jaipur

The ‘Water Palace’ looks like one of the most mysterious places in India, but the local Raja built it as a hunting lodge. A drought in the 16th century prompted locals to build a dam. The resulting lake flooded the lower floors of the lodge, creating the stunning spectacle seen today.

The roof still supports plant life, and some years ago visitors reached the lodge by gondola. Tourists can’t visit the building at the moment though tentative plans want to turn it into a restaurant. If you’d like to see the Jal Mahal at its finest, wait until evening. Illumination within the building gives the appearance of a secret meeting across the water.

8. Taj Mahal, Agra

Despite its name, ‘Crown of the Palace’, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum. Commissioned in 1632, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan wanted the building as a tomb for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, the tomb acts as the central focus of the site. Its design is Persian and a mosque and gardens occupy the rest of the site.

Inside the mausoleum, the sarcophagi in the main chamber are ‘decoys’. The actual graves lie on a lower level in a plain crypt to suit the Muslim traditions against elaborate graves. The faces of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal turn right towards Mecca.

According to the legend, even the lower graves are empty. Doors in the basement level have been blocked, leading to the myth that the real graves lie far underground so they're not disturbed until Judgment Day.

Another long-running myth claims Shah Jahan intended to build a black marble mausoleum across the river from the Taj Mahal, a testament to his love of symmetry. Experts discovered blackened marble ruins on the site, lending credibility to the myth. But an excavation in the 1990s proved the marble stones were originally white, overturning the myth.

Other tales abound, including contracts for construction workers, forbidding them to work on similar designs elsewhere. It may be a popular tourist destination but it’s also one of the more mysterious places in India if you look beyond the souvenirs. In Destroyer of Worlds, there's an even more ancient temple underneath …

9. Mahabat Maqbara, Junagadh

While not as famous as the Taj Mahal, this impressive mausoleum is worth a visit. The building mixes Indian, Islamic, Gothic, and European architecture to create one of the more fantastical places in India.

Built between 1878 and 1892, the mix of styles reflects the changing rule of the area. Junagadh was founded in 1748 and became a British Protectorate in 1807. Despite British rule, the region was part of a princely state until 1947. The area joined Pakistan when the British left India but rejoined India three months later.

The Mahabat Maqbara is a silent monument to the political turmoil that accompanied its construction. Its mixture of influences reflects the changing times. Access to the grounds is free, but you can only see the outside of the mausoleum.

10. Ellora Caves, Maharashtra

The Ellora Caves stand testament to both the mingling of faith and the high level of workmanship in medieval India. Craftsmen carved 34 temples, dedicated to Buddhism, Jainism and Brahmanism, out of the mountainside itself. Many believe it was the faiths working together that allowed builders to excavate solid rock using the rudimentary tools of the 5th century.

Like the mingling of Egyptian religion and Greek beliefs at Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus in Egypt, the Ellora Caves are a monument to religious tolerance and the peaceful sharing of spiritual space. Could a piece of an ancient weapon hide in one of the most mysterious places in India?

11. San Thome Basilica, Chennai

In Stone of Fire, the stone of the title refers to the Pentecostal stones spread around the world by Christ’s disciples.

According to Catholic traditions, St. Thomas reached India in 52 CE, where he preached for a further twenty years. He preached in Chennai until he was martyred nearby.

No evidence exists to confirm this legend, and accounts of Thomas’s time in India weren’t written until centuries later. That said, South Indian Christians still hold the story dear.

The San Thome Basilica stands on the site where Thomas was buried. Followers scattered his remains across the Near East and Europe, some parts even reaching Italy. But a chapel in the basement apparently contains a bone from his hand. The basilica is also one of only three churches in the world built on an apostle’s tomb.

12. Baba Kinaram Ashram, Varanasi

Founded by Baba Kinaram, this ashram is the main headquarters of the Aghori sect. These ascetics are devotees of Shiva, and they deviate from traditional Hindu beliefs since they see opposites as identical. As a result, they see no distinction between purity and pollution.

Some of them live in or near cremation grounds. They smear themselves with human ashes and use skulls as begging bowls. According to some, they also eat human flesh and meditate among corpses. An Aghori sadhu features as one of the important characters in Destroyer of Worlds.

While that sounds extreme, sites of cremation are the final resting place of the body, giving them associations with peace. All cremation grounds are considered holy so they live across the country. But if you're in Varanasi, visit their ashram, truly one of the mysterious places in India. You'll spot it by the skulls either side of the entrance.

13. Great Wall of India

We’ve all heard of the Great Wall of China – but the Great Wall of India? Built 500 years ago, it guards the ancient fort of Kumbhalgarh. The fort is home to over 300 ancient temples.

The wall runs over 36km, and it’s the second longest continuous wall in the world. It resembles its Chinese cousin in both its scope and the terrain it crosses. In places, the wall reaches 15m thick. Despite its use as a defensive measure, decorative work makes the wall a beautiful destination for more adventurous tourists.

But take note. The wall boasts many traps and defence mechanisms. Many of them have been deactivated, but others may potentially lie in wait for the unwary traveller. Given the remote nature of the ruins, who knows what else hides in the mountains?

Any, or all, of these places are stunning and inspirational in equal measure. I look forward to going back to India to explore more!

Action Adventure, Demons, And Traveling For Research. Meet the Thriller Author with J.F. Penn

July 6, 2017 By J.F. Penn

I was recently interviewed on Meet The Thriller Author with Alan Petersen about the ideas behind my thrillers and my writing process.

Click here to listen to the show, or subscribe on iTunes.

Transcript of interview with J.F. Penn

Alan: Hey everybody, this is Alan Petersen with Meet the Thriller Author. And in this episode of the podcast we're gonna be meeting with J.F. Penn who is a a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Thriller Author. So we're really excited to have her on the podcast. How are you doing today, Joanna?

Joanna: I'm great. Thanks for having me on the show, Alan.

Alan: First, I want to thank you so much for agreeing to be on it, I really appreciate it. I'm excited to talk to you.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background for our listeners, please?

Joanna: First of all, I'm English, as you can probably tell from my accent, and I live in Bath, which is in the south-west of England. And it has 2,000-year-old Roman baths in the center of town, so very interesting place.

I have a degree in theology from Oxford, and that sort of religious aspect does come through in my books. I love walking, reading, and traveling, and I travel a lot. And that obviously comes through into my thrillers. I'm a cat person, and I like nice gin and tonic. So there you go, there's a few things.

Alan: Good stuff, yeah. Cats and gin and tonic, can't go wrong with that.

Joanna: Very relaxing.

Alan: Yeah it's very relaxing, yeah. I can just see the cat on your lap as you're having a gin and tonic.

Joanna: Exactly. I should say also, I am a full-time writer now, but I spent 13 years implementing accounts payable into large corporates. So I was a cubicle slave, in the corporate world, if people are wondering what I did before. I was a bit more creative with my life.

Alan: That's an interesting coincidence. I used to be IT support for the Accounts Payable department for a big corporation.

Joanna: There you go.

Alan: Wow, small world. So I know how exciting that was.

Joanna: I was probably phoning you all the time!

Alan: Yeah, exactly. So, can you tell us a little bit about your books? You have several series out.

The ARKANE thrillers are probably your best-known thrillers. Can you tell us a little bit about those books?

Joanna: Yeah sure. The ARKANE series has nine books now, and I say they're Dan Brown meets Lara Croft. The religious thriller with an edge of the supernatural and adventure around the world, stopping global conspiracies and always lots of thrilling stuff. But also a good dose of history, and interesting religious stuff, and myth, and I love all that. So that's cool.

And then I have the London Psychic Crime thrillers, which I describe as Stephen King meets Tess Gerritsen. They have a British detective but a supernatural edge and she works with a psychic researcher at the British Museum. So that's set in London, obviously, because London's in the title. But ARKANE is set all around the world.

And then I have a couple of standalone's. Risen Gods is set in New Zealand, with the ancient gods rising as the earthquakes shake the land and very much based in living in New Zealand and what actually happens there. So those are my main series and I'm working on something else now, but you know how it goes. You start writing and you get more and more ideas.

Alan: Oh yeah, probably can't keep them from coming in sometimes.

What's your latest book that you have out now?

Joanna: My most recent book was actually co-written with three other authors. We got on the train in Chicago and took the Amtrak down to New Orleans, and the four of us wrote a book called, American Demon Hunters: Sacrifice.

Alan: Oh wow.

Joanna: It's totally fun. It's a dark fantasy thriller and it's set on the train. The book opens when the characters get on the train and the book ends when the train arrives in New Orleans. A lot of bad things happen along the way, and the four characters meet and have to stop the demons destroying America.

That's the latest book, but I didn't entirely write that one. Obviously, that was co-written.

My latest ARKANE book is End of Days which is based around the various snake mythologies in history and religion.

The serpent in the Pit of Revelation and the serpent in Eden and the demon Lilith, and when an ancient sarcophagus is found in the deepest part of the ocean, there's a hunt for the seven seals of revelation that can open it. And Morgan and Jake from the ARKANE Agency must stop the apocalypse before the blood moon rises over Jerusalem. Very exciting stuff. All my stories are a little bit dark fantasy, end of the world type stuff, but good triumphs. That's my important thing.

Alan: Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun.

You had mentioned that you studied theology, so that must really come in handy then when you're writing your thrillers.

Joanna: Yeah, it is really interesting because I am fascinated by the supernatural. When people say, “Oh what are the themes of your book?” and I think at the end of the day it comes down to the question of good versus evil, which I see Stephen King tackling.

mansfield college oxford — Mansfield College, University of Oxford, where I read Theology 1994 – 1997

The fact that there's good versus evil in the world. Bad things happen but hopefully, good people stop them, and there is something more than the things that we see.

It's not like I've fought demons on a train or, stopped the snake of Revelation destroying the world, but it's so fascinating when we take mythology and religious sort of text. And what I tend to do is, in the ARKANE books, the beginning of most of my books there's a quote from the Bible or from some kind of scripture, and then I take that and turn that into a story.

The books are 95% based on truth and real places, like in End of Days there's a cistern under the western wall between the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim side and the western wall, the Jewish side. And if you put something down there, there's gonna be trouble.

So, you know, things like that. I actually went down and visited the cistern and thought that this would be a very cool location for something in my thrillers. The theological aspect comes through but they're not Christian books. I want to state that. I'm not actually a Christian, but I'm very respectful of all religions. In fact, my Destroyer of Worlds, which is set in India, is based in Hindu religion. I'm so fascinated by something more than the physical world, I guess.

Alan: What's the background of your main characters? Are they soldiers or cops or theologians?

Joanna: Morgan Sierra, who is my main character of the ARKANE series, she's actually an Oxford University psychologist, but she's ex-Israeli Defense Force, so ex-military.

But her mother was Christian and her father was Jewish. So I bring in that religious aspect. Yes, she has some special skills from the military. She has Krav Maga and things like that. And she works alongside Jake Timber, who is also ex-military.

Like many thrillers, you have to have some kind of special skills that your characters have, or they can't fight. I'm definitely heavier on the myth and the places and the setting and the character than I am on guns and fighting. There are some guns and fighting but don't expect Clive Cussler or Dirk Pitt thrillers.

In the London Psychic Crime Thrillers, Jamie Brooke is a policewoman. So, again, some special skills there. But you know, I love researching this stuff, and I did try and go to a Krav Maga class, but I got kicked a lot and came home and cried and went, “You know what, I think I'll stay in the books.”

Alan: I was just gonna say, wow, that's pretty hardcore doing those courses. Preparing for the interview, I was looking at your website, and you had an article of when you were visiting Israel, and I remember seeing also a video where you were in a firing range testing different weapons.

You put a lot of research into this. You took that class and then you got kicked all over the place.

Joanna: Well, I think part of this is, 10 years ago I looked at my life when I was in Accounts Payable, and I was so miserable. I had a great job and everything, according to society, but I was really miserable. I thought, “What do I want to really do with my life?” and I really love reading, and I like writing, and I like being on my own a lot.

But I also love to travel and learn new things. So being a writer is a fantastic job and living and life for me because I basically go around doing things and then writing books that are set in those places or bringing those things into my stories. It is really cool.

That shooting range was in Budapest. I've got a book called One Day in Budapest which is based around the rise of the right-wing in Hungary, which is true, it's kind of awful. And we visited the mass grave. And my husband's family are Jewish so we went there and saw the grave of his ancestors and things. So it was really pretty amazing. And then we went down to the Soviet Bunker and shot a load of guns.

[You can watch a video about the Budapest research here.]

Now, obviously I'm British, we don't have guns generally, in our society. I mean, obviously in the criminal end, but not really in the law enforcement even. So guns are just not normal around Britain. So you have to go to Budapest to shoot some, but I figured I should.

Alan: What was that experience like?

Joanna: I enjoyed it for many reasons. I enjoyed it because I think it's good to understand how these things work and to have a healthy respect. Obviously, guns are a difficult topic, but I think handling guns with respect.

And as a thriller writer, I think it's very hard to avoid guns. I mean, it's something that is pretty fundamental in a thriller, to have some kind of fighting some point and it would be disingenuous not to have any weapons. Although often Morgan does fight with her hands, and Krav Maga is much more of a martial art.

But, yeah, I think it was really interesting. I haven't shot a gun since, to be honest, but it was fascinating from that point of view and good for research purposes. And a lot of Americans do this more regularly.

Alan: Probably a little more than in England.

Joanna: Exactly.

Alan: Or most parts of the world.

When you decided to start writing or try to write in fiction, did you choose thrillers and action? Was that a genre that you enjoyed as a reader before you tried to write a book in it?

Joanna: Yes. And I think that's so important. I don't know how you could write a book in a genre you don't love because if you want to do this for a living you have to write a lot of books and so you have to really enjoy it.

When I used to work that day job, and you'll know this, I would be there at my desk and then I would be just hanging out for a break, and when I went on lunch break I would be reading, and I would always be reading thrillers. And for me, it was escapism from my day job, my miserable day job. And then I'd spend my lunch hour in a thriller somewhere else in the world.

And so when I write now, obviously from a selfish reason I write for me because I look at all the cool places I get to travel to, but then I also am writing that book for the person who was trapped in that job and any readers who want to escape their life just for a few hours.

What we offer with our stories is a chance to escape and experience the world without leaving the armchair.

And also, I like to think I bring more than just the stories, so like I said, the question of good versus evil or whether there really is a supernatural. Because I always try and keep, obviously apart from demon hunters on the train, but my ARKANE series is very much…you could see this as scientific, you could see this as supernatural.

So I try to stay on that knife edge of is this real or is this something else, which is what I'm really interested in. I definitely write from my own love of thrillers and I read a lot of thrillers still but I also write for those people who need to escape.

Alan: And were you always writing when you were younger? Or did it just start when you decided to write these books?

Joanna: I always wrote journals, the angsty journals you wrote when you're a teenager. And I would write pen friend letters and, of course, I did English exams, A-levels they're called over here. I always read, but I never thought that I could be a writer, really, until the world changed with the advent of the Kindle, 10 years ago now, amazingly.

Alan: Incredible.

Joanna: I know, as we talk now, so 2007, 2008 as the ebook revolution started, I really saw that that could revolutionize what being a writer could be and it made it possible to make a living as a writer, and that's kind of when I made that decision. And also, I guess the other thing, I should be grateful for Dan Brown, because before Dan Brown my favorite book was really Umberto Eco's, “The Name of the Rose”. And actually that book is, I read it again recently, and it's really hard. It's a hard book to read.

bloodlinerollins — I love James Rollins' books!

The film is awesome but the book is not that fun to read. And then Dan Brown took that kind of religious thriller genre and revolutionized it in The Da Vinci Code, and then, of course, Steve Barry, James Rollins, and a whole load more authors sprung up in his wake. And I see myself as part of that group who sort of… If you can write a story about things that you're really interested in and that you're curious about, then there will be readers who are curious about the same stuff you are.

Alan: That's a good point, yeah, it's not like you're alone.

If you're interested in it somebody else is gonna be interested in it too. Never thought about it that way.

Joanna: And what's lovely about the international markets now and being on Kindle and Kobo and iBooks and all these places, is that even if, in your country, there aren't people who like that stuff, there are probably people in the world who like that stuff. You can actually reach readers all over the world, which is super exciting. And as a reader, you can read books by authors from all around the world which is also cool.

Alan: That is really cool. I've read books from British authors, but I really didn't know anything about the British police or anything like that until I started reading Indie books about British cops. Before that, nobody was really writing those. So it's really cool to see that happening in the last five, six, ten years.

What is your writing process? Do you like outline everything before you start writing or do you go by the seat of your pants?

Joanna: I tend to get an idea and then think about it for quite a long time. At the moment, I'm thinking about a new series I'm going to write which is based on maps and cartography and some really interesting ideas around immigration and stuff like that, but within the realm of a sort of fantasy world. If people have read Laini Taylor, who wrote Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and she's amazing. I want to write something that flips between two different worlds.

So I'm thinking about this, and I have the idea, and I've started to think about some of the characters, but I'm more of a pantser when it comes to writing. And a lot changes when I actually start writing. So I'm a bit of both, but certainly nowhere near someone like Jeffery Deaver, who writes a 200-page outline for a 400-page book.

Alan: Yeah, that's crazy.

Joanna: You know what I mean. And someone like James Patterson, I think, does outline a lot and works with co-authors. But then someone like Stephen King or Lee Child write just from the seat of their pants and I'd say I'm nearer the pantsers than the plotters but I have a dash of plotting.

Alan: I know this is kind of a hard question because it can vary so much.

When you're in the zone and you're writing a book, what's your writing day like?

Joanna: When I am ready to write that book…so I'm writing a non-fiction at the moment, but with fiction, as soon as I say, “Right, I'm starting the book on this day,” it's usually a Monday, because that's a good day to start.

I go to a cafe. So I have, and I totally recommend this if people want to write, I wear noise cancelling headphones and I go to somewhere away from my desk because at my desk I do things like this, and my admin, and things like that.

So I go to a cafe, I block out time in my diary, and I'm a morning person, so I write in the morning. I'll do a two-hour block at one cafe…and you really only need to buy one black coffee an hour to sit in a cafe. So I do my two coffees in one cafe and then, depending on how it's going, I'll have a walk, and then walk to another cafe and do a second session.

By lunchtime, I'm pretty much dead. So probably four hours of actual writing and I try and get that first draft done as fast as possible. So, you know, try and get it done within a month basically. So a month to six weeks to do the first draft.

And then, obviously, there's the editing phase, which can take awhile as well. But really that first draft is the only time when I will go to the cafe every single day and write. And then, obviously, then it's the editing and other things. And I do that at the cafe as well, but I listen to rain and thunderstorms through my noise-canceling headphones and that's what keeps me in the zone and it definitely helps.

Alan: That's interesting.

I've had a hard time with music because I get distracted, but that's interesting to try out nature sounds.

Joanna: Yeah, it's enough of a noise and also with the noise-cancelling, you basically shut out all the external noise and it just really helps you concentrate and get into that first draft writing phrase which can be, obviously, hard.

Alan: And what do you use? Are you a Scrivener user or do you just use Word?

Joanna: Absolutely Scrivener. I wrote my first novel, Stone of Fire in Word and I would never, ever go back. I love Scrivener. I don't know many writers who don't use Scrivener, at this point, because it's so useful. And I don't write in order as well which is why Scrivener makes it even better because I can write different scenes and then move them around later. So yeah, I totally love Scrivener.

Alan: Yeah, it's a great product. I'm the same way too, I love to be able to drag the folders around.

I really like your covers, and I remember noticing that a lot of authors like yourself and Russell Blake, you change your covers every now and then. Is that just because you noticed changes in the market and you decide, “Oh, I'm gonna change it.”

I was curious about that when I see an author's changing covers.

Joanna: First of all, changing covers is completely normal. All traditional publishers will change covers on older books. If you look at something like “To Kill A Mockingbird” there will have been myriad covers on a book like that because they re-release it every now and then with a new cover.

But in terms of my covers, some of it has been re-branding. I think when you first start to write you don't really know what you're writing.

For example, Stone of Fire the original title was “Pentecost” and I wrote Pentecost, Prophecy and Exodus, which to me, because I'm a theologian, the words had a lot of meaning. But people thought they were Christian novels, but they're not Christian novels, they're just based around Christian myth and history. And so I re-branded as Stone of Fire, Crypt of Bone, Ark of Blood, and that's, you know, End of Days, and these are my ARKANE titles now.

So I did different covers when I re-branded…sort of re-branding to more of mainstream thriller look and feel which, you know, the couple running away from certain things. There are genre conventions.

And then my London Psychic series is a lot darker, so the covers are dark. But again I tried, like, three different covers on that first one, “Desecration”, because I hadn't really worked out where that book fit in the market. And this is one of the pros and cons of being an indie author, is that you might not really know exactly where your book fits. But one of the amazing things is, of course, all you need to do is upload a new cover and move it.

“Risen Gods” is another good example. I put a cover on that and we thought it was a horror novel. It does have demons in but it's not horror, there's no gore, well, there's a bit of gore but not very much.

So we've changed it to sort of a dark fantasy, urban fantasy, with a male character on the front with a sort of the look of volcanoes and magic around it. And it's almost not even magic, it's that kind of mythology of the Mauri people. So, changing that cover actually has made a huge difference and more people have picked up that book when it has a different cover.

I think it's very important to write your book from your heart. I mean, some people do write to market, but I write from my heart. Which means I might not know exactly where it fits, but over time we find our market.

Alan: Yeah. Well, your covers are beautiful. I'm looking at them right now. They look great.

Joanna: Thank you.

Alan: I saw on your website Destroyer of Worlds has been nominated, it's a finalist for the ITW award for Best E-Book Original, that's so exciting.

Can you tell us a little bit about that and that award?

Joanna: The ITW is the International Thriller Writers and it has some really big names in, so people like Stephen King and Lee Child, and Clive Cussler. I do love Clive Cussler, and I met him the other year and I was just so thrilled. Authors of any age can submit their work or the publishers will submit work to these awards every year.

They are judged, not on sales but on the quality of writing, so they're judged by other thriller authors. And so, yes, I'm a finalist in the final five for “Destroyer of Worlds” which is set in India and is a fun romp through India and Hindu myth.

That will be announced in July. And even if I don't win, which I hope I will obviously, but if I don't win it's still validation from my peers that my writing fits into that thriller genre. And I think, for a lot of writers, having other writers judge their work it's very scary but it can also be the most rewarding thing.

Alan: Yeah, especially making it as a finalist. All the big name thriller writers are a part of ITW.

Joanna: Well, hopefully, I'll win 🙂 Fingers crossed.

Alan: Yeah, exactly. Fingers crossed. It's an honor to be a finalist though.

Joanna: Yes, exactly. That's what I think.

What are you working on now? What's your current work-in-progress?

Joanna: Well, two things mainly. One is this new series around maps and cartography but I think when you're thinking about a new series, you do have to think about more than one book. I'm waiting until I have the full sort of ideas in my head before I write it down. I know the first scene. So I keep.. I'm like, aha, gotta write that scene down, but I'm almost waiting until I can't wait any longer on that.

Because we traveled on the train from Chicago to New Orleans, and then we spent a week in New Orleans writing, but that demon hunters book is set on the train, so I have all this stuff around New Orleans that I want to write. I'm actually going to start a spin-off series which will be, United States of ARKANE. The first book is going to be set in New Orleans and probably Haiti and will be around Voodoo.

Because I learned a lot about Voodoo and, you know, what they call Voodoo versus Hoodoo, and Hoodoo is all the occult stuff and Voodoo is the actual religion. So it's really fascinating.

I want to write another ARKANE book set in America. I have one already, One Day in New York, but this will be the start of a new spin-off and then the maps book. I'm hoping to have lots of that out this year, and also short stories and… you know how it goes, there's always more to write.

Alan: Oh yes, absolutely.

Do you have a set goal that you try to publish every year?

Joanna: Well, not so much. I mean, last year I only published one novel, “Destroyer of Worlds”. This year I put out “End of Days” in January and then “American Demon Hunter: Sacrifice” and I'll definitely have one… maybe even two more by the end of the year.

I feel like this is a good year for me in terms of writing. So, no, I don't have a set number per year. Because I'm quite a pantser, I don't necessarily say, “Right, I have to have everything done at this time,” and that type of thing. Because I write non-fiction as well.

Alan: Okay. All right. Well, Joanna, I'm not gonna take up too much more of your time, it's been so awesome talking to you.

Before I let you go, is there anything that you would like to tell our listeners?

Joanna: Yeah, sure. So if you would like to try one of my books “Stone of Fire” is a free ebook on all platforms. So you can always check out “Stone of Fire” by J.F. Penn. And also you can get a free book on my website jfpenn.com/free and that's “Day of the Vikings” which opens in the British Museum and is sort of a combination of both of my series, it has characters from both of my series. So that's a pretty fun valet if you like Vikings set in the modern era. Lots of fun.

Alan: All right. Awesome. Well, thank you very much for being on the podcast. It was nice talking to you.

Joanna: Thanks so much, Alan.

Alan: Thanks, bye. Okay…

J.F. Penn

1) The Sea of Galilee ‘Mound’

2) The Stonehenge in Lake Michigan

3) An Underwater City near Cuba

4) Port Royal, Jamaica

5) The Yonaguni Monument, Japan

6) Shi Cheng, China

7) Cleopatra's Palace, Egypt

8) Neptune Memorial Reef, Miami

9) Dwarka, India

10) Ginnie Cavern, Florida

11) Museo Subacuatico de Arte (MUSA), Mexico

12) Rummu Underwater Prison, Estonia

13) Christ of the Abyss, Portofino

14) The Underwater Sculpture Park, Molinere

15) Shipwreck of the Sweepstakes, Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada

A sunken city. A lost goddess … and the woman who longs to find her.

Purchase now in ebook format

(1) Ancient curses in the Roman Baths

(2) Druids, The Circus, and the Freemasons

(3) A pagan god in the Botanic Gardens

(4) Literary inspiration and Gothic horror

(5) Angels and the dead at Bath Abbey

(6) Ghost signs preserve Bath’s literary heritage

(7) Kennet and Avon Canal

So, if you visit Bath, be sure to look beneath the tourist facade to the dark side beneath …

A map of skin etched in blood. A world under threat from the Borderlands. A young woman who must risk the shadows to save her family.

Available now in ebook or print format!

1) Sagrada Família, Barcelona

2) Museo de las Brujas, Zugarramurdi

3) Cave of the Moon, Titulcia

4) The Temple of Debod, Madrid

5) Gernika (or Guernica)

6) Montjuïc Cemetery, Barcelona

7) Casa Batlló, Barcelona

8) Museo Lara, Ronda

9) Monumento del Angel Caido, Madrid

10) Capilla Real de Granada

12) Mezquita, Córdoba

13) The Alhambra, Granada

14) Monastery of St Geronimo, Granada

1. Anatomy Museum, The Hunterian, Glasgow, UK

2. Hunterian Museum, London, UK

3. Mütter Museum, Philadelphia, USA

4. Old Operating Theatre, London, UK

5. International Museum of Surgical Science, Chicago, USA

6. Museum Vrolik, Amsterdam, Netherlands

7. Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard Medical School, USA

8. Museum of Human Anatomy, Pisa, Italy

9. Medical History Museum of the Hamburg University Teaching Hospital, Hamburg, Germany

10. Paul Stradin's History of Medicine Museum, Riga, Latvia

11. The Museum of the History of Medicine, Paris, France

12. Berlin Museum of Medical History at the Charité, Germany

1. Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable

2. St Mark's Basilica

3. Libreria Acqua Alta

4. The Flooded Crypt of San Zaccaria

5. San Servolo Insane Asylum Museum

6. Lazzaretto Nuovo

7. Torcello

8. Arsenale

9. The Jewish Ghetto

10. Strange architecture

1. Tower of Silence, Mumbai

2. Funeral Pyres, Varanasi

3. Bhangarh Fort, Bhangarh

4. South Park Street Cemetery, Kolkata

5. Kalighat Temple, Kolkata

6. Kumbh Mela pilgrimage

7. Jal Mahal, Jaipur

8. Taj Mahal, Agra

9. Mahabat Maqbara, Junagadh

10. Ellora Caves, Maharashtra

11. San Thome Basilica, Chennai

12. Baba Kinaram Ashram, Varanasi

13. Great Wall of India

Transcript of interview with J.F. Penn

Can you tell us a little bit about your background for our listeners, please?

What's your latest book that you have out now?

You had mentioned that you studied theology, so that must really come in handy then when you're writing your thrillers.

A map of skin etched in blood.
A world under threat from the Borderlands.
A young woman who must risk the shadows to save her family.