Author Highlight: Jana Petken

Jana Petken is an international award-winning and bestselling author whose name has become synonymous with immersive historical fiction, atmospheric suspense, and unforgettable characters shaped by the darkest and most defining moments of human history. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, and now living in Spain, Petken describes herself as an “eternal traveller”—a fitting self-portrait for a writer whose stories cross continents and centuries with the same confidence and authenticity that shaped her own life. Her extraordinary background includes military service, work as a bodyguard to members of the Saudi Arabian royal family, and years as long-haul cabin crew for British Airways. These experiences, rich in global perspective, danger, discipline, and human complexity, give her fiction the acute realism and emotional depth that have made her one of Cherry Hill Publishing’s most celebrated storytellers.

Petken’s novels are known for their vivid world-building and their ability to humanize history through raw, intimate portrayals of people tested by conflict. Her acclaimed Errant Flock trilogy plunges readers into the political and religious turmoil of 15th-century Spain, following David Sanz and Rafael Perato through webs of corruption, betrayal, and the deadly shadow of the Inquisition. Dense with intrigue and moral consequence, the series demonstrates Petken’s skill for depicting flawed heroes, monstrous villains, and the fragile boundaries between survival and sacrifice.

Her Mercy Carver series carries that same emotional intensity into the American Civil War, as Mercy—a fiercely passionate and determined young woman—navigates a fractured nation, forbidden loyalties, and the brutal realities of slavery and warfare. With a protagonist who loves and hates with equal fire, Petken captures both the intimate cost of conflict and the sweeping political forces that shape destinies.

In the sweeping Swearing Allegiance saga, Petken turns her powerful lens on the Great War and the Irish War of Independence, chronicling the Carmody family as they face impossible choices and devastating losses. The series blends global events with personal upheavals, revealing how ordinary lives are torn apart and remade by ideological struggle and national transformation.

Her critically acclaimed German Half-Bloods trilogy explores the rise and fall of Nazi Germany through the divergent fates of the Vogel family—industrialists, soldiers, spies, and civilians caught in the machinery of war, genocide, and moral disintegration. Petken’s portrayal of the era is unflinching, rich with espionage, resistance, and the psychological torment of divided loyalties. With each new installment, she deepens the historical scope while anchoring the narrative in heartbreakingly human dilemmas.

Petken expands her mastery of wartime intrigue in the Brinley Knight / MI5 Spy Thriller series, an electrifying exploration of espionage in the years preceding and during World War II. Through Brinley Knight—a brilliant but morally conflicted spy—readers are pulled into a world of double agents, fascist conspiracies, political coups, and international subterfuge. Full of razor-edged twists and explosive revelations, the series has been hailed for its cinematic pacing and meticulously researched historical foundations.

Her standalone novels are no less epic. Dawn of Ages brings to life the violent birth of Norman power and the early trials of William of Normandy, weaving an intricate tale of revenge, ambition, and the forging of empires. From the Ashes of Amiens presents a gripping account of the 1944 Amiens prison raid, fusing emotional intensity with pulse-pounding military suspense. And in The Guardian of Secrets, one of her most beloved works, Petken spans generations and continents—from pre–World War I England to the Spanish Civil War—exploring love, betrayal, survival, and the relentless pull of the past.

Despite the dramatic scale of her novels, Jana remains grounded in a simple love of storytelling and service. When she isn’t writing, she volunteers as a translator for British expatriates at her local hospital and enjoys long walks along Spain’s coastlines—quiet moments that contrast beautifully with the ferocity and grandeur of the worlds she creates.

Today, Jana Petken stands as one of the most distinctive voices in historical fiction. Her audiobooks at Cherry Hill Publishing have become modern classics, each one carrying her signature blend of meticulous research, gripping drama, and characters who linger in the heart long after the last chapter ends.