Jana Petken
Jana Petken is a historical fiction author and screenwriter.
She is critically acclaimed as a bestselling, gritty author who produces bold, colourful characters and riveting storylines. She is the recipient of numerous major international awards for her works of historical fiction. Before life as an author, she served in the British Royal Navy. During her service, she studied Naval Law and history. After the Navy, she worked for British Airways and turned to writing after an accident on board an aircraft forced her to retire prematurely. |
The German Half-Bloods
Historical Fiction
Germany, September 1939. At the outbreak of War, Dieter Vogel and his family face catastrophic events and separation as each member embarks on their deadly paths towards survival, love, and freedom. Dieter Vogel, a German industrialist, believes in protecting his family at all costs, but in a bid to keep his English wife and children safe, he is plunged into a well of deceit that tears the family apart. Doctor Paul Vogel is coerced into working in the Nazi eugenics programme and soon discovers that sterilising handicapped and mentally-ill Germans is just a prelude to a more lethal plan against those the Reich deem unworthy of life. Paul, trapped by the SS, seeks help from the unlikeliest of people and is plunged into a world of espionage and murder. British Army Major, Max Vogel, is attached to The British Intelligence Services and Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive. His missions in occupied Europe are fraught with danger, and his adulterous affair with a woman he cannot give up leads him deeper into the quagmire of treachery and lies. Wilmot Vogel dreams of winning the Iron Cross, but when he confronts a mass killing of Jews in Poland, his idolatry of Hitler is shaken to its roots, and he finds himself imprisoned in the infamous Dachau concentration camp with no release date in sight. Hannah Vogel has no ambition other than to marry her English fiancé, Frank, before the lines of war are drawn. Against her father’s wishes, she leaves Berlin on the eve of the German invasion of Poland, but when she arrives in England, she learns that Frank is not the civilian engineer he claims to be. |
The Errant Flock: The Flock Trilogy, Book 1
Historical Fiction
The Multi-Award-Winning Bestseller, The Errant Flock, a historical epic of greed, betrayal, and murder, set during the Spanish Inquisition. Finalist in Mystery Genre at the 2019 international IAN Awards Silver Medalist, Readers' Favorite International Awards 2016 Silver Medalist, Outstanding Book of The Year, Europe, Across All Genres, 2016 IPPY Awards A top 100 Book, 2015, Shelf Unbound Valencia, Spain, 1491 The ambitions of four men collide in a deadly game of intrigue. David Sanz, a young militiaman, is forced to carry out a heinous crime, and he becomes an unwitting pawn in a tense battle for power. Luis Peráto, the duke of Sagrat, sacrifices his own people to cover up dark secrets that could see him burnt at the stake for treason. Sergio Garcia, Sagrat’s lord treasurer, is a cruel and unscrupulous man, willing to eliminate anyone who opposes his rise to power. The inquisitor, Gaspar de Amo, zealously punishes heretics for their sins against Rome and her Holy Office. But bringing the Inquisition to the town of Sagrat proves more challenging than he or the church could ever have envisaged. In the midst of chaos, the people of Sagrat, terrorized by a series of murders, face an even greater danger with the arrival of the Inquisition and the unimaginable horrors it brings. |
Dark Shadows: The Mercy Carver Series, Book 1
Historical Fiction/Romance
When unimaginable calamities strike, Mercy Carver, a poor London woman, wonders what she has done to deserve such immeasurable suffering. It is only when she faces imminent death in the snow and ice-encrusted Virginia wilderness that she finally understands the power of destiny. Mercy is passionate. She loves and hates in equal measure. Can love and hatred give her the strength she needs now to reach a Northern State, and free a runaway slave wanted for murders she committed? America and her people are strangled in an uncompromising political stalemate. Southern states have seceded from the Union, and a civil war is imminent. Mercy Carver: her journey is just beginning. |
The Guardian of Secrets
Historical Fiction
"This is a must-read for historical fiction fans." BlueInk Reviews "A suspenseful, Compelling Historical Fiction." Kirkus Reviews After fleeing from an abusive husband accused of murder, Celia Merrill becomes embroiled in a Spanish Civil War. Celia’s two sons march under opposing banners, whilst her twin daughters take different paths; one to the Catholic Church and the other to the battlefields. And in the shadow of war, a sinister villain from the past resurfaces. "Three generations struggle in this suspenseful and compelling saga, which begins in 1912, Kent, England, and ends during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War." 2015 Readers' Favorite Award Winner, Silver Medalist 2016 Outstanding Book of the Year, Historical, The IAN Awards |
Blood Moon
Historical Fiction/romance
The unthinkable has happened. America is embroiled in a Civil War and Virginia has been invaded by a Union army. Mercy Carver ignores the dangers that surround her and treads a precarious road, using only her youthful passion and guile to guide her, and the runaway slaves she continues to aid. Jacob, now an officer in the Confederate Cavalry, fights his demons and his growing mistrust of Mercy, whilst his old friend, Isaac Bernstein, a surgeon in the Union Army, refuses to give up on his pursuit of Mercy’s affections. Where will Mercy meet her destiny? Will it be in the Confederate camp or will her journey take her to the Union cause. |
The Scattered Flock
Historical Fiction
Jana Petken presents The Scattered Flock, a suspenseful, compelling sequel to the multi- award-winning, The Errant Flock. David Sanz’s journey south is halted abruptly after a devastating turn of events. In a tense battle for survival against thieves and the militia he has been fleeing from, he finds himself shackled and incarcerated in the prison he once guarded. The Duke of Sagrat’s brother, Rafael Perato, has survived the war, and the royal court’s treacherous intrigues, but when news of his brother’s death reaches their Most Catholic Majesties his life is thrown into turmoil. Banished by the king, and tasked with carrying out insurmountable missions, he becomes entangled in a web of deadly plots and subterfuge, which threaten not only Sagrat but his very life. In this fast paced epic, David Sanz and Rafael Perato face adversaries more devious and powerful than themselves, and it is only faith, courage, and unlikely alliances, that may save them both from the Inquisitor and the deadly marauder, Alejandro. |
Swearing Allegiance: The Carmody Saga Book 1
Historical Fiction
Swearing Allegiance: Part 1 of The Carmody Saga, about love, war, and betrayal, set during the First World War. April 1916 An Irish Easter uprising lays waste to Dublin and fractures a British Empire struggling to supply men and arms to defeat Germany. In Dublin’s ruins, the affluent and celebrated Carmody family are not only forced to confront the rebellion’s devastating effects on their personal lives but also the terrible secrets and lies uncovered in the midst of grief. Forced to abandon their home in the Irish capital for London, each family member must strive to survive poverty, the horrors of war, and personal bouts with excessive pride and passion – but loyalty to family proves to be the most difficult cross to bear. Danny, the youngest, is a republican rebel who risks everything to fight for an independent Ireland. Patrick, a surgeon, swears allegiance to Britain and joins His Majesty’s Royal Navy, which is engaged in tense battles to control the seas. Jenny, self-entitled and strong willed, sees her wedding plans and grand ambitions disintegrate. With a fiancé incarcerated in a rebel prison camp and no prospects of her own, she faces the unimaginable challenge of working in one of London’s munitions factories. |