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The cringe that was my first (unpublished) novel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 ● 1 of 9
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.
"The best book I've read in a long time." ★★★★★
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Cleopatra ● 1 of 5
Regent at seventeen. Queen at twenty-one. Legend forever. The saga of Cleopatra.
Regent
Some wells have poisoned waters.
"Outstanding... truly great read!" ★★★★★
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Spartacus ● 1 of 3
Soldier. Slave. Legend. The astonishing tale of the man who shook Rome.
Soldier
For Honor. For Vengeance. Or For Rome?
"Absolutely brilliant..." ★★★★★
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Hannibal ● 1 of 3
Vengeance, war, and impossible love forged in the fires of Hannibal's war on Rome.
The Mist of Trasimene
The deadliest spear is the one thrust from behind.
"Amazing author... amazing series!" ★★★★★
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Dark Shadows ● 1 of 2
Ancient ambition. Cutting-edge terror. A modern thriller series where conspiracy meets technology.
The Weave
Some conspiracies go deeper than politics.
"Scary how realistic some of this is! Fantastic book." ★★★★★
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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.