My Imaginary Friends with L. Penelope

Work Life Balance vs. the Reality of a Finite Existence

Watch on Youtube [https://youtube.com/live/bOS0zkQ6oc8] Mentioned in the podcast: * My new book: The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass: https://lpenelope.com/book/the-inevitable-undoing-of-zahara-douglass/ [https://lpenelope.com/book/the-inevitable-undoing-of-zahara-douglass/] * My author Newsletter : https://lpenelope.com/newsletter/ [https://lpenelope.com/newsletter/] * Landlord’s Lamentation (short interactive fiction): https://lpenelope.com/book/landlords-lamentation/ [https://lpenelope.com/book/landlords-lamentation/] * Notion Social: https://notionsocial.app/ [https://notionsocial.app/] * Sunsama (timeboxing app): https://sunsama.com/ [https://sunsama.com/] * Timeboxing article: https://lpenelope.com/2014/04/timeboxing/ [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 [https://myimaginaryfriends.substack.com/p/notes-from-draft-2-plotting-from] * One Stop for Writers: https://onestopforwriters.com/about-character-builder [https://onestopforwriters.com/about-character-builder] * Ink & Magic Writing Retreat: https://inkandmagicretreat.com/ [https://inkandmagicretreat.com/] * InstaLove University - happening now: https://lpen.co/ilu26 [https://lpen.co/ilu26] * Fiction Makers Conference in Baltimore this August: https://lpen.co/fictionmakers [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 [https://lpenelope.com/podcast] | Get the Footnotes newsletter & become an Imaginary Best Friend: https://myimaginaryfriends.net [https://myimaginaryfriends.net] Support the show: Website [https://www.lpenelope.com] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/leslyepenelope] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/authorlpenelope] Music credit: Say Good Night by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud [https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud] Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SZkVShypKgM [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 [http://Amazon.com].

What Happens After Agent Feedback (My Revision Process)

Watch on YouTube [https://youtube.com/live/1F2RxvViluY] Mentioned: * The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass - coming August 11, 2026 - https://lpenelope.com/book/the-inevitable-undoing-of-zahara-douglass/ [https://lpenelope.com/book/the-inevitable-undoing-of-zahara-douglass/] * Instalove University Virtual Conference - running now! - https://lpen.co/ilu26 [https://lpen.co/ilu26] * "Level Up Your Business with Mindset w/ Heather Hildenbrand" - all day workshop 4/11/26 - https://marylandromancewriters.com/mindset-workshop/ [https://marylandromancewriters.com/mindset-workshop/] * Whimsical - https://whimsical.com/ [https://whimsical.com/] * Jule Kucera - https://julekucera.com/ [https://julekucera.com/] * My worldbuilding course - https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/courses/imaginary-worldbuilding [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 [https://lpenelope.com/podcast] | Get the Footnotes newsletter & become an Imaginary Best Friend: https://myimaginaryfriends.net [https://myimaginaryfriends.net] Support the show: Website [https://www.lpenelope.com] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/leslyepenelope] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/authorlpenelope] Music credit: Say Good Night by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud [https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud] Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SZkVShypKgM [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 [http://Amazon.com].

Live From VirtuousCon

Watch on YouTube [https://youtu.be/6nl55vSqtC4] *  Ink & Magic Retreat - https://inkandmagicretreat.com/ [https://inkandmagicretreat.com/] * The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass [https://lpenelope.com/book/the-inevitable-undoing-of-zahara-douglass/] - coming August 11, 2026 * My interview with Beverly Jenkins [https://youtu.be/gdziqvdZYjc?si=L-l-S4QmZBUMfKHx] * VirtuousCon [https://virtuouscon.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 [https://lpenelope.com/podcast] | Get the Footnotes newsletter & become an Imaginary Best Friend: https://myimaginaryfriends.net [https://myimaginaryfriends.net] Support the show: Website [https://www.lpenelope.com] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/leslyepenelope] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/authorlpenelope] Music credit: Say Good Night by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud [https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud] Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SZkVShypKgM [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 [http://Amazon.com].

Preparing for Draft 2

Watch on Youtube [https://youtube.com/live/VxSd2BNa7KM] Mentioned: - Build Your Author Funnel LIVE [https://theauthor.digital/funnel-live/] - Sat. Feb 7, 2026 - The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass [https://books2read.com/zahara] - releases August 11, 2026 - Scene Study: Before & After - "The Eternal Library" [https://myimaginaryfriends.substack.com/p/scene-study-before-and-after-the] - Aeon Timeline software [https://www.aeontimeline.com/] - Locally Crafted [https://locallycraftedshop.com/] in Gaithersburg, MD - HBCU grads, please take my survey: https://tally.so/r/zx7kJg [https://tally.so/r/zx7kJg] - Read for Pixels Event [https://tinyurl.com/R4PIWD2026Announcement] 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 [https://lpenelope.com/podcast] | Get the Footnotes newsletter & become an Imaginary Best Friend: https://myimaginaryfriends.net [https://myimaginaryfriends.net] Support the show: Website [https://www.lpenelope.com] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/leslyepenelope] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/authorlpenelope] Music credit: Say Good Night by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud [https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud] Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SZkVShypKgM [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 [http://Amazon.com].

New Year, New Challenges

Watch on YouTube [https://youtube.com/live/4NGFZo-NCh0] Mentioned: * Ink & Magic Writing Retreat Applications open until Jan 16, 2026 - https://inkandmagicretreat.com/ [https://inkandmagicretreat.com/] * EVENT: Me and Nicole Glover - January 15, 2026 - 7pm ET online + in-store at East City Bookshop in DC - Register [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hybrid-event-the-starseekers-nicole-glover-tickets-1976920604746?aff=ECBwebsite] * Read The Starseekers by Nicole Glover [https://www.eastcitybookshop.com/item/Vus7kAU5V3U8M9PJdF-XKA] * Margie Lawson - https://www.margielawson.com/lawson-writers-academy/ [https://www.margielawson.com/lawson-writers-academy/] * Ray Bradbury Challenge * Writer Kaia Alderson - https://www.kaiaalderson.com/ [https://www.kaiaalderson.com/] * The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton - https://bookshop.org/a/582/9781934414903 [https://bookshop.org/a/582/9781934414903] * Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson - https://amzn.to/452HDSC [https://amzn.to/452HDSC] * A Black Women's History of the United States - https://bookshop.org/a/582/9780807001998 [https://bookshop.org/a/582/9780807001998] * Story Engine deck - https://storyenginedeck.com/ [https://storyenginedeck.com/] * Plur1bus TV * Better Call Saul * Playing Big by Tara Mohr - https://bookshop.org/a/582/9781592409600 [https://bookshop.org/a/582/9781592409600] * Freedom app - https://freedom.to/ [https://freedom.to/] * Erykah Badu New Year's Invocation [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DS9cMm7jvHT/]   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 [https://lpenelope.com/podcast] | Get the Footnotes newsletter & become an Imaginary Best Friend: https://myimaginaryfriends.net [https://myimaginaryfriends.net] Support the show: Website [https://www.lpenelope.com] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/leslyepenelope] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/authorlpenelope] Music credit: Say Good Night by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud [https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud] Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SZkVShypKgM [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 [http://Amazon.com].