My Imaginary Friends with L. Penelope
Award-winning fantasy & paranormal romance author Leslye Penelope shares perspectives on the writing life, creativity, inspiration, and this week’s best thing.
Episodes
The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing. Join fantasy and paranormal romance author L. Penelope as she shares insights on the writing life, creativity, inspiration, and this week's best thing.
Subscribe and view show notes at: https://lpenelope.com/podcast | Get the Footnotes newsletter & becom...
An accidental Instagram post about The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass went viral (174K+ views and counting), and in this episode I share what happened, what it did for pre-orders, and the surprising "secret sauce" behind it.
I also open up about giving my Blitches WIP some space, getting back into dance after 30 years, and my upcoming writer in residence role for How...
Mentioned:
- Get first 3 chapters of The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass! - http://lpen.co/zaharaexcerpt
- Join the preorder giveaway - https://lpen.co/preorder
- My Books - https://lpenelope.com/books/
- Interview with Shyheim Williams - https://www.instagram.com/conjuringliteracy/
- Vintage & Black Book Club - https://www.instagram.com/vintageandblackbookclub/
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott - https://bookshop.o...
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/AedkGHaBsVI
Book News!- Zahara Preorder Campaign is live! - https://lpenelope.com/preorder
- made list of “Books That Feed an Elder Millennial’s 90s Nostalgia” from SheReads magazine - https://shereads.com/books-that-feed-an-elder-millennials-90s-nostalgia/
- Angelborn/Angelfall flip book is available! https://shop.lpenelope.com/
Mentioned:
-
lpenelope.com — My new website
-
inkandmagicretreat.com — Apply for the Ink and Magic Mastermind Retreat (Tihs September, outside Baltimore)
Mentioned in the podcast:
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My new book: The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass: https://lpenelope.com/book/the-inevitable-undoing-of-zahara-douglass/
-
My author Newsletter : https://lpenelope.com/newsletter/
...
Mentioned:
- The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass - coming August 11, 2026 - https://lpenelope.com/book/the-inevitable-undoing-of-zahara-douglass/
- Instalove University Virtual Conference - running now! - https://lpen.co/ilu26
- "Level Up Your Business with Mindset w/ Heather Hildenbrand" - all day workshop 4/11/26 - https://marylandromancewriters.com/mindset-workshop/
- Whimsical - https://whimsical.com/
- Jule K...
- Ink & Magic Retreat - https://inkandmagicretreat.com/
- The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass - coming August 11, 2026
- My interview with Beverly Jenkins
- VirtuousCon
The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing. Join fantasy and paranormal romance author L. Penelope as she shares insights on the writ...
Mentioned: - Build Your Author Funnel LIVE - Sat. Feb 7, 2026 - The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass - releases August 11, 2026 - Scene Study: Before & After - "The Eternal Library" - Aeon Timeline software - Locally Crafted in Gaithersburg, MD - HBCU grads, please take my survey: https://tally.so/r/zx7kJg - Read for Pixels Event
The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a behind the scenes look at the journey o...
Mentioned:
- Ink & Magic Writing Retreat Applications open until Jan 16, 2026 - https://inkandmagicretreat.com/
- EVENT: Me and Nicole Glover - January 15, 2026 - 7pm ET online + in-store at East City Bookshop in DC - Register
- Read The Starseekers by Nicole Glover
- Margie Lawson - https://www.margielawson.com/lawson-writers-academy/
- Ray Bradbury Challenge
- Writer Kaia Alderson - https://www.kaiaalderson.com/
- The...
Mentioned:
- Ink & Magic Writing Retreat - https://inkandmagicretreat.com/
- The Better Writer Podcast with Olivia Bedford
- Preorder my next book: The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass
The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing. Join fantasy and paranormal romance author L. Penelope as she shares ins...
Mentioned:
- My reader newsletter: http://lpenelope.com/newsletter
- Black Friday 2025 Writer Bundle Deal - https://lpen.co/vault25
- MYSTERY: FICTION'S FAVORITE FORCE by Junot Diaz - https://junot.substack.com/p/mystery
- AI scams for writers at Writer Beware
- Update on those Flattering AI Book Marketing Scams from Anne R. Allen
- The Case of the Disappearing Author and Why You Probably Don’t Want a Six or Seven F...
Mentioned:
- ProWriting Aid
- Novel November
- My brother's short film
- Writer Duet
- Ines Johnson
- Ink & Magic podcast
- How to Write a Movie in 21 Days by Viki King
The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing. Join fantasy and paranormal romance author L. Penelope as she shares insights on the writing life, creativity, inspiration, a...
Mentioned: - The Bliss Wars Special Edition Omnibus - The Obsidian Curse - releases June 12! - Author Website Audit - A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience by Stephanie Burgis
The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing. Join fantasy and paranormal romance author L. Penelope as she shares insights on the writing ...
Pre-order The Bliss Wars Special Limited Edition Hardcover Omnibus
https://myimaginaryfriends.substack.com/
The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing. Join fantasy and paranormal romance author Leslye Penelope as she shares insights on the writing life, creativity, inspiration, and this week's best thing.
S...
- Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
- Magic in the Melanin anthology (Hardcover preorder | Kindle: https://amzn.to/42bbxTZ)
- PENN/Faulkner - https://www.penfaulkner.org/
- My Craft Book club
- Johnny B Truant "We're Entering the Age of the Iconoclast Writer"
The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing. Join fantasy and par...
Mentioned:
- Novel Revision Workshop
- ClickUp - https://clickup.com/
- Todoist - https://todoist.com/
- Trello - https://trello.com/
- https://lpenelope.com/podcast | Get the Footnotes newsletter & become an Imaginary Best Friend: https://myimaginaryfriends.net
Support the show: Website | Instagram | Facebook
Music credit:
Say Good Night by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.co...
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVAYHjhD8hk
Mentioned:
- Freewrite writing machines
- My Freewrite reviews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33u95y8_hYY&list=PLPWpOldzxmoFtoJMjg6iSUuxU1kDichvn
- The device I couldn't remember in the podcast - BYOK (Bring Your Own Keyboard): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/byok/byok-the-ultimate-distraction-free-writing-tool. Now that I've watched the video, I've changed my ...
Mentioned:
- A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience by Stephanie Burgis - https://amzn.to/4dbeN3D
- Bookfly Design covers
- Ink & Magic podcast - https://www.inkandmagic.net/
- My Events - https://lpenelope.com/calendar/
The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing. Join fantasy and paranormal romance author L. Penelope as she sha...
Today, I speak with New York Times bestselling author Daniel José Older. Daniel has been nominated for the Kirkus Prize, The World Fantasy Award, the Locus, and the Mythopoeic Award among others and is a winner of the International Latino Book Award. He writes novels for teens and adults, as well a monthly comic book series, and is a lead story architect for Star Wars: The High Republic. He and his wife Brittany N. Williams also ha...
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