On the winter solstice, an ancient evil demands its due in the heart of Bath.When down-on-his-luck busker Evan takes to the streets of Bath during the Christmas market, he hopes his music will earn him enough for a warm meal and bed for the night. But after a violent robbery leaves him broken and destitute, Evan unwittingly awakens an ancient evil that demands blood sacrifice in return for vengeance.
Lured into the dark depths beneath the city by a mysterious woman who is far more than she seems, Evan discovers the long-dormant spring of the Celtic goddess Sulis.
Will he escape the ravenous deity or become her latest victim, a midwinter sacrifice to revive her cursed waters?
USA Today bestselling author J.F. Penn masterfully blends folklore and the supernatural in this chilling short story set amidst the history and shadows of the ancient city of Bath.
Do you enjoy travel memoirs with a combination of personal reflection and practical tips? Are you interested in solo walking, or are you considering walking the Camino de Santiago or other multi-day walks?In this book, I share my lessons learned and insights from walking three ancient ways — the Pilgrims' Way and the St Cuthberts Way in England, and the Camino de Santiago Portuguese Coastal route.
It also includes historical, religious, and cultural aspects, and plenty of tips and questions for you to consider around your own journey.
- Part 1 goes into practical and spiritual preparation before pilgrimage, including how to make decisions about the route and whether to walk solo, as well as what to take with you, and how to face the fears that might hold you back.
- Part 2 covers the journey itself with the practicalities of the pilgrim’s day, as well as how walking the path of history and facing the challenge of the way can give you much-needed perspective on life — and perhaps even a glimpse of the divine.
- Part 3 addresses the arrival at your destination, and how to leave room for the gifts of pilgrimage to emerge after your return home, as well as how my three walks impacted my experience of mid-life.
- Plus, appendices with practical tips, a gear list and bibliography
How far would you go to see again?Conflict photographer, Sara Miles, loves being embedded with the military out in the desert. Her pictures pay tribute to those who fight, suffer, and die for freedom and the images she captures can turn public perception in the never-ending war.
Her photography matters.
But when Sara is caught in an explosion out on patrol, her eyes are damaged by a face full of shrapnel. She may never be able to see through a lens again.
The military offers her a cutting-edge operation to restore her sight, but it comes with a price …
A short story with a supernatural edge from award-nominated, USA Today bestselling thriller author, J.F. Penn.
An ancient staff of power that can summon Ragnarok, the Viking apocalypse.When Neo-Viking terrorists invade the British Museum in London to reclaim the staff of Skara Brae, ARKANE agent Morgan Sierra is trapped in the building along with hostages under mortal threat.
As the slaughter begins, Morgan helps museum researcher and reluctant psychic, Blake Daniel, to discern the past of the staff through the mists of time to the Viking invasion generations ago.
Can Morgan and Blake uncover the truth before Ragnarok is unleashed, consuming all in its wake?Day of the Vikings is a fast-paced, action-adventure thriller set in the British Museum, the British Library and the islands of Orkney, Lindisfarne and Iona. Set in the present day, it resonates with the history and myth of the Vikings.
The story features Morgan Sierra from the ARKANE thrillers, and Blake Daniel from the London Crime Thrillers, but it is also a stand-alone novella that can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone.
When ARKANE Archivist Martin Klein joins the Vatican digital archiving project, he finds an ancient letter mistakenly scanned along with the medieval papal decree Militia Dei, Soldiers of God.
It points to a dark secret the Knights Templar once tried to erase from existence, hidden in a medieval fortress under the heart of Paris for almost a thousand years.
As Martin follows the trail to the hidden Templar crypt, aided by biblical scholar Camara Mbaye, they discover something unspeakable in the vaults below Paris.
Who are the Soldiers of God and why must they rest until needed?
This is a short story featuring Martin Klein and Dr Camara Mbaye from my ARKANE world. It fits after Tomb of Relics, book 12 of the ARKANE action-adventure thriller series, but can be read as a stand-alone story.
This recording has been digitally produced by DeepZen Limited, using a synthesized version of an audiobook narrator’s voice under license. DeepZen uses Emotive Speech Technology to create digital narrations that offer a similar listening experience to human narration.
Three dark short stories inspired by Dante's Inferno, linked by a book of human skin passed down through generations.
Sins of the Flesh: When the mutilated corpse of a wealthy author is discovered, the police officer sent to investigate finds a curious diary amongst the occult objects at the scene. Will he uncover the author's secret at the ruined chapel, and is he willing to pay the price that it demands?
Sins of Treachery: 30 years later. On the death of their grandfather, twin brothers Simon and Gestas are left a map covered in alchemical symbols that could lead them to great wealth and power. But they find more than they expected in the frozen wastes of the Arctic north...
Sins of Violence: 30 years later. In a brutal post-apocalyptic world, a young girl is about to be taken to The Minotaur for a Blessing that will end her innocence. Can her sister gain access to the fortified city of Dis in time to stop the ritual and avenge her own lost youth?
If you love dark short stories, download a sample or buy A THOUSAND FIENDISH ANGELS now.
Is victory worth blood, sweat, and flame?Cass blows glass for a living — but when she’s not cranking out tourist pieces to pay the bills, she creates unique glass art with the dream of winning a prestigious award that might just change her life.
But Cass has a problem.
The heat and intensity of the glassblowing hot shop have damaged her eyesight — and time is running out.
She only has one chance left to win and a rival artisan stands in her way, the trophies on his shelf testament to his enduring popularity.
When his son comes to work alongside Cass, she must make a choice that will change their lives.
A choice that will cost Blood, Sweat, and Flame.
A supernatural relic. A thousand-year-old conspiracy. A madman who turns death into art. It's all in a day's work for the agents of ARKANE.When a priceless relic disappears from Canterbury Cathedral, ARKANE - the agency tasked with protecting the world from supernatural adversaries - fears the worst... and sends its best.
Now, ARKANE agents Morgan Sierra and Jake Timber are on the job. Across Europe, through historical cities and into spectral forests forgotten by time, Morgan and Jake will follow the bloody trail of hidden relics wherever it leads, whatever the cost.
But even they aren't ready for what's coming.
Their hunt will lead them beyond danger, beyond darkness to the shadowed heart of a hidden citadel where lives an evil unlike any they've ever seen... and to a dark choice that will change them both forever.
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author J.F. Penn invites you to brave her most thrilling adventure yet. A world of the strange. A world of the supernatural. A world... of the ARKANE.
A place written out of history. A world off the edge of the map.In this fantasy adventure trilogy, Sienna and the Mapwalker team must defend Earthside from the invasion of the Borderlanders and face their darkest challenge against the Shadow.
Map of ShadowsWhen her Grandfather is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Sienna Farren inherits his map shop in the ancient city of Bath, England. She discovers that her family is bound up with the Ministry of Maps, a mysterious agency that maintains the borders between this world and the Uncharted.
With help from her friends, 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.
Map of PlaguesWhen a fragment of a deadly map is recovered from a medieval plague pit in London, the Mapwalker team must cross over into the Borderlands once more.
In a race against time, they must find the remaining pieces of the map in a journey across long-lost cities before the Shadow Cartographers wield it against Earthside in a devastating attack.
Map of the ImpossibleAs natural disasters sweep Earthside, a mutant army rises in the Borderlands, driven by the dark force behind the Shadow Cartographers. Sienna and the Mapwalker team must use the Map of the Impossible to journey through the realm of the dead and face the nightmare at its heart.
But when one of their number is taken and the team begins to break apart, each Mapwalker must face their greatest challenge.
Can the Mapwalkers reach the Tower of the Winds before the Shadow claims Earthside?
Will Sienna choose Finn — or turn away from the Borderlands forever?
Contains the complete series of portal fantasy novels.
An ancient manuscript that leads to the Garden of Eden. A seed that can restore the world to nature… but only by destroying humanity in its wake.When a fragment of an ancient manuscript is stolen from a Jewish library in Amsterdam, ARKANE agents Morgan Sierra and Jake Timber discover a conspiracy that stretches back to the days of the Portuguese Empire, and a hidden Order of monks who have protected Eden for generations.
Meanwhile, a radical ecological group seeks the powerful Seed at the heart of the Garden intending to restore the world to its natural state with no thought of the consequences for humankind.
From Lisbon to Macau, the Caribbean and on to Brazil, Morgan and Jake must hunt for the fragments of the manuscript and find their way to the Garden of Eden before those who wish to turn its secret into blood.
A city threatened by an ancient plague. A love across borders.A desperate choice that could break their worlds apart forever.
When a fragment of a deadly map is recovered from a medieval plague pit in London, the Mapwalker team must cross over into the Borderlands once more. In a race against time, they must find the remaining pieces of the map in a journey across long-lost cities before the Shadow Cartographers wield it against Earthside in a devastating attack.
Can Sienna resist the call of the Shadow as she struggles to save her home? Will Finn take a risk on love across borders or leave the Earthsiders to their fate?
The Mapwalker Fantasy Adventure trilogy:
- Map of Shadows #1
- Map of Plagues #2
- Map of the Impossible #3
A journey through the realm of the dead.A threat that will change the world.A choice that might save everything—or end it all.As natural disasters sweep Earthside, a mutant army rises in the Borderlands, driven by the dark force behind the Shadow Cartographers. Sienna and the Mapwalker team must use the Map of the Impossible to journey through the realm of the dead and face the nightmare at its heart.
But when one of their number is taken and the team begins to break apart, each Mapwalker must face their greatest challenge.
Can the Mapwalker team reach the Tower of the Winds before the Shadow claims Earthside? Will Sienna choose Finn — or turn away from the Borderlands forever?
The Mapwalker Fantasy Adventure trilogy:
- Map of Shadows #1
- Map of Plagues #2
- Map of the Impossible #3
