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 Howard County, MD schools.

• Ink & Magic Mastermind (online, Sept 4–6, a few spots left) - https://inkandmagicretreat.com/

• Howard County Poetry & Literarture Society - https://hocopolitso.org/

• PEN/Faulkner Foundation - https://www.penfaulkner.org/

• Pre-order The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass (out Aug 11) + download the first three chapters free - https://lpen.co/zaharaexcerpt

• My Viral Instagram Post! https://www.instagram.com/p/DaEMBPPFBtp/

• Expand Summit (July 22–25, free) — My workshop Doubling Down on Being Human: Building a Distinctive and Authentic Writing Voice — https://expandsummit2026.heysummit.com/?ac=mBuQDzGT

• Writing From Your Why workshop with Jane Friedman (July 29) — https://janefriedman.com/writing-from-your-why-with-leslye-penelope/

• Fiction Makers Conference — live and in person in Baltimore, Aug 22, 2026 — https://lpen.co/fictionmakers

• Michaela Coel's Emmy speech quote: "Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that isn't comfortable, I dare you."

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.

Subscribe and view show notes at: https://lpenelope.com/podcast

Get the Footnotes newsletter and become an Imaginary Best Friend: https://myimaginaryfriends.net

Support the show - https://paypal.me/heartspell

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:

• 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.

Watch on Youtube

Mentioned in the podcast:

• 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/

• Landlord’s Lamentation (short interactive fiction): https://lpenelope.com/book/landlords-lamentation/

• Notion Social: https://notionsocial.app/

• Sunsama (timeboxing app): https://sunsama.com/

• Timeboxing article: https://lpenelope.com/2014/04/timeboxing/

• Substack post "Notes from Draft 2: Plotting from Character": https://myimaginaryfriends.substack.com/p/notes-from-draft-2-plotting-from

• One Stop for Writers: https://onestopforwriters.com/about-character-builder

• Ink & Magic Writing Retreat: https://inkandmagicretreat.com/

• InstaLove University - happening now: https://lpen.co/ilu26

• Fiction Makers Conference in Baltimore this August: https://lpen.co/fictionmakers

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:

• 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 Kucera - https://julekucera.com/
• My worldbuilding course - https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/courses/imaginary-worldbuilding
• My Father's Shadow film

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

• 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 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: - 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 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.