Prophecy. An ARKANE thriller. (Book 2) (28 page)
The Devil’s Bible
The Codas Gigas is indeed the largest medieval manuscript in the world. It was at Sedlec for a period of time and is now kept in Sweden. It’s called the Devil’s Bible because of the rather comical illustrations of the Devil in the book and there really are 10 missing pages.
You can watch a documentary on it here:
http://jfpenn.com/devils-bible/
Art and architecture
The ossuaries and catacombs featured in the book are all real places. You can visit the Paris catacombs, Sedlec, Evora and Palermo and see the macabre arrangement of bones. Once I had discovered Sedlec I knew I had my final scene and it was synchronicity that the Devil’s Bible had been held there by the monks. The apocalyptic woodcuts of Albrecht Durer are real, as are the details about his life. It’s feasible to think he would have seen the Devil’s Bible, although the woodblocks haven’t actually been split open to see if they contain the missing pages. Or have they?
The painting in Marietti’s office by Dali is one of my own favorites and the images Morgan examines in the ARKANE database are all real paintings. William Blake and John Martin are renowned for their Biblical scenes. The Treasures of Heaven exhibition at the British Museum inspired the scene on religious relics.
Acknowledgements
As always, my love and thanks to Jonathan. You’re the stability from which I can experiment with this new writing life.
Thanks to my editor and official first reader, Jacqueline Penn, who did an incredibly detailed job on editing and who continues to bring a fresh perspective to my writing. Thanks for keeping me honest, Mum!
A huge thank you to my beta-readers: my husband Jonathan; my friend and mentor Orna Ross
http://www.OrnaRoss.com
who brought a much needed professional slant; action-adventure author David Wood
http://davidwoodonline.blogspot.com/
who brings a kick-ass perspective; and to Arthur Penn, my Dad, who is also an art history specialist and writer himself. I couldn’t have done it without you guys.
Thanks to my cover designer, the lovely Derek Murphy who did a brilliant job:
http://bookcovers.creativindie.com/
Thanks also to Liz Broomfield from
http://libroediting.com/
who did the final copyedit on the last draft over the Christmas period as I just had to get the book out in 2011. Thanks to Jane at
http://www.jdsmith-design.com/
who did the interior for the print edition.
Thank you to my fantastic tribe at
The Creative Penn
and also my writing and blogging friends on Twitter
@thecreativepenn
. In the last 3 years I’ve found my niche online and it has changed my life beyond imagining. Thank you for being part of the journey.
A final thanks to my friends from Rio in Australia who supported me through the beginning stages of being an author. To Heidi and Damian, Lizette, Hervais, Ian, Michael, Derek, Bruce and all the boys on the PTP team. I miss you guys, but this is the life for me!
About J.F. Penn
Joanna Penn has a Master’s degree in Theology from the University of Oxford, Mansfield College and a Graduate Diploma in Psychology from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
She lives in London, England but has spent 11 years in Australia and New Zealand. Joanna worked for 13 years as an international business consultant within the IT industry but is now a full-time author-entrepreneur. She is the author of the ARKANE series: Ancient Mystery, Modern Thrill as well as other stand-alone books.
Joanna is a PADI Divemaster and enjoys traveling as often as possible. She is obsessed with religion and psychology and loves to read, drink pinot noir and soak up European culture through art, architecture and food.
You can sign up for Joanna’s newsletter and find out more on the ARKANE world here:
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For writers:
Joanna’s business
http://www.TheCreativePenn.com
helps people write, publish and market their books through articles, audio, video and online products as well as live workshops. Joanna is available internationally for speaking events aimed at writers, authors and entrepreneurs.
Connect with Joanna on Twitter
@thecreativepenn
Joanna also has a popular podcast for writers,
The Creative Penn