Watch on YouTube

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.org/a/582/9780385480017
• The Compass of Character by David Corbett - https://bookshop.org/a/582/9781440300868
• Filmmaker Hal Hartley - https://www.halhartley.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 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 & become an Imaginary Best Friend: https://myimaginaryfriends.net

Support the show: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Music credit:

Say Good Night by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SZkVShypKgM

Affiliate Disclosure: I may receive compensation for links to products on this site either directly or indirectly via affiliate links. Heartspell Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/AedkGHaBsVI

• 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/

• Mastermind Retreat - September 4-6, near Baltimore, MD - https://inkandmagicretreat.com/
• Storybeast - Build Your Author Empire Conference - June 27, online - https://www.storybeastpodcast.com/buildyourauthorempire
• Mahogany Books Texture Book Club - June 28, National Harbor, MD
• Jane Friedman - Writing from Your Why workshop - July 29, online - https://janefriedman.com/writing-from-your-why-with-leslye-penelope/ - $25 early registration
• Fiction Makers Conference - August 22, in-person, Baltimore, MD - https://lpen.co/fictionmakers
• From SF to Gaza Book Raffle fundraiser - bit.ly/sfgzraffle

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 & become an Imaginary Best Friend: https://myimaginaryfriends.net

Support the show: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Music credit:

Say Good Night by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SZkVShypKgM

Affiliate Disclosure: I may receive compensation for links to products on this site either directly or indirectly via affiliate links. Heartspell Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Watch on Youtube

Mentioned:

• lpenelope.com — My new website

• inkandmagicretreat.com — Apply for the Ink and Magic Mastermind Retreat (Tihs September, outside Baltimore)

• Angelborn and Angelfall by Leslye Penelope — now with new covers, PREORDER THE FLIP BOOK NOW FROM MY STORE

• Femforce — brand photo shoots in cities around the country (find them on Instagram)

• The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik

• The Monsters We Defy and Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope — my previous books with magic rooted in African traditions

• Gaithersburg Book Festival — May 16, 2026 in Gaithersburg, Maryland

• Vellum — Mac app for laying out print books

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 & become an Imaginary Best Friend: https://myimaginaryfriends.net

Support the show: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Music credit:

Say Good Night by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SZkVShypKgM

Affiliate Disclosure: I may receive compensation for links to products on this site either directly or indirectly via affiliate links. Heartspell Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.