When the pandemic shut down television and film production in 2020, screenwriters Blake and Raven Penn faced a choice: wait it out or pivot entirely. They chose the latter, channeling their background in playwriting and screenwriting into novel writing. Three years later, their debut novel “Dragon Thief” won Best Book of the Year from Indie’s Today in 2023.
The husband-and-wife team behind the Skystone Chronicles fantasy series has since collected a Gold Medal in Epic Fantasy from Reader’s Favorite and earned a Kirkus Star, an honor bestowed on only about 10% of books reviewed by the prestigious publication. Their fourth book releases on November 20th, with a fifth and final installment scheduled for Spring 2026.
A Full-Service Creative Partnership
The Penns operate as a genuinely independent publishing team, handling nearly every aspect of production themselves. Raven illustrates the cover art and interior guides for their books, while both authors narrate their own audiobooks—a natural extension of their experience as actors. Blake and Raven co-write every book together, drawing on their screenwriting training to create what they describe as fast-paced, cinematic fantasy.
They do draw one firm line: editing. “We think that’s something you just can’t do for your own book,” they note on their approach to hiring professional editors while keeping the rest of the production in-house.
Targeting the Percy Jackson Generation
The YA epic fantasy novels aim squarely at readers who grew up with Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson” series but also love more complex stories like Brandon Sanderson’s “Stormlight Archives” or “Mistborn.” The couple also cites “Eragon,” Christopher Paolini’s dragon-rider saga, and “Avatar: The Last Airbender” as comparable works. And yes, there are dragons—lots of them.
To lower the barrier for potential readers, the Penns offer the first chapter of “Dragon Thief” free on their website, allowing anyone to sample their writing style before committing to a purchase. The strategy appears to be working: their books have hit bestseller status in multiple Amazon categories as Hot New Releases, though the authors themselves express good-natured skepticism about the metric’s significance.
Ambitious Plans Ahead
The Penns aren’t content to stop at five books. They’ve set their sights on ultimately becoming household names, with two additional series already in development. Their goals are specific: they want to reach the level of success enjoyed by Riordan, Paolini, and Sanderson—the very authors whose readers they’re currently courting.
For now, they’re focused on finishing the Skystone Chronicles and what they call “figuring out the book marketing game.” With their indie fantasy series gaining traction and a clear vision for the future, the former screenwriters are writing their own success story, one chapter at a time.
