• Writing is Hard, Y'all
    Dec 15 2025

    Watch on YouTube

    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 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.

    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • Novel November: How it Went
    Dec 1 2025

    Watch on YouTube

    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 Figure Deal

    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.

    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
  • Writing My Novel's First Draft as a Script
    Nov 11 2025

    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, 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.

    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • When Inspiration Strikes
    May 12 2025

    Watch on Youtube

    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 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.

    Show More Show Less
    24 mins
  • 10 Lessons From 10 Years of Publishing
    Apr 18 2025

    Pre-order The Bliss Wars Special Limited Edition Hardcover Omnibus

    Pre-order The Obsidian Curse

    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.

    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.

    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
  • The New Year So Far
    Jan 20 2025
    • 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 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.

    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • Planning for 2025
    Dec 16 2024

    Watch on YouTube

    My decision matrix video

    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.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.

    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • Drafting Woes (Technology Edition)
    Oct 14 2024

    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 mind and I'm actually going to get one. LOL, I'm a mess.

    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.

    Show More Show Less
    20 mins