Welcome to my corner of the ancient world. I'm Jay Penner — bestselling author of historical fiction set in ancient Egypt, Rome, Mesopotamia, and India.
The cringe that was my first (unpublished) novel
Story time.
My first published novel, which many of you have read, was “The Atlantis Papyrus.” It came out in 2019 and took about 1.5 years to write. It continues to do well and most readers go on to read the rest of the series.
But was that my first attempt?
No.
In 2010, when I was living in London (which I love, by the way, and the weather didn’t bother me one bit, but I digress), I made my first attempt at novel writing. I shudder at that, but we all learn from our follies.
The name of the book was “14 Days.” It was about a serial killer in London, a very disgruntled man upset…
Further Reading
- ChatGPT Made Up a Book I've Never Written — ChatGPT confidently told me I wrote "The Gabriel Proxy"—a sci-fi novel that doesn't exist. A real encounter with AI hallucination, and what it revealed.
- My Book Cover Went Through 9 Versions: What I Learned — I was convinced I could design my own book cover. After nine embarrassing versions, I finally learned humility—and saw ad click-throughs jump 8x.
- Where's My Gold? A Babylonian King's Complaint to Pharaoh — Babylonian King Burnaburias wrote to Pharaoh Akhenaten around 1350 B.C.—complaining about missing gold, inadequate gifts, and a health check he never got.
- Wait, What? — Bust some wild social-media claims about the ancient world.
Whispers of Atlantis ● Book 1 of 7 ● Also in paperback
Lost cities. Buried armies. Ancient secrets. Seven thrilling tales where fact meets fiction.
The Atlantis Papyrus ★★★★★
A stolen scroll. A thousand-year-old secret. An impossible choice.
When Captain Deon accepts a forbidden quest to steal scrolls from Alexander the Great's sarcophagus and save his family from the mines, little does he know the mission is a lie—and a stunning ancient secret will force him to choose between his kin and a million lives.
About the Author
Jay Penner's highly-rated books regularly feature Amazon's category bestseller lists. Try his Spartacus, Cleopatra, Whispers of Atlantis, Hannibal or Dark Shadows books.
