Bestselling author Sarah Penner returns to ‘onerous’ technique for ‘a hell of a story’
Sarah Penner is back to burying secrets.
In “The Amalfi Curse,” her new book released in late April, Penner weaves a tale of magic and sunken treasure using a writing technique known as the dual timeline.
The book tour for Penner’s third novel is bringing her back to Wichita, where she wrote her first novel several years ago, for a ticketed author event at Watermark Books at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 4.
The chapters in “The Amalfi Coast” alternate between the past — the 1800s when a group of women led by Mari DeLuca used witchcraft to control the seas around the fishing village of Positano, Italy, on the Amalfi Coast — and the present — as marine archaeologist Haven Ambrose conducts research on area shipwrecks while secretly trying to find the jewel-laden shipwreck her late father supposedly spotted in the waters off Positano’s coastline.
Penner is hoping to replicate the success of her debut book, “The Lost Apothecary,” which also used the dual timeline. That novel, written when Penner was working in corporate finance at Koch Industries in Wichita, reached No. 7 on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list in 2021, was translated into more than 40 languages and was optioned by Fox Entertainment.
“It’s an absolutely onerous task,” Penner said about using the dual timeline technique. “But when it’s done, it’s an effective way to bury a secret or secrets that occurred 200 years ago, and it allows the present-day character to uncover those hidden truths while discovering herself at the same time.
“If you can accomplish that, it makes for a hell of a story, and readers really seem to like it.”
Penner didn’t use the dual timeline technique in her second book, “The London Séance Society,” and while it topped some charts, it didn’t have quite the success of her debut novel.
All her novels involve historical settings, strong women characters and elements of secrets and the supernatural. She’s also known for meticulous research.
The early rave reviews of “The Amalfi Coast” seem to indicate that the dual timeline might indeed be Penner’s secret to success.
“Immersive and lush. The Amalfi Coast is Sarah Penner at the top of her game. This book will have you swooning, gasping, tearing up, and if you’re anything like me, Googling flights to Positano immediately,” said New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins.
Another bestselling author, Katy Hays, called it Penner’s “best yet” work, while another reviewer said, “The novel’s dual narratives … are woven together with flawless precision.”
A 2022 vacation Penner and her husband took to the Amalfi Coast unexpectedly inspired the book’s setting. Positano’s bright, pastel-colored buildings look as if they are cascading down a cliff into the sea, and its beaches are composed of silvery gray pebbles.
“It’s a feast for the senses,” Penner said of Positano. “You can literally smell olive oil in the air. There are beautiful bougainvillea vines everywhere.”
Some of Italy’s best limoncello is made in the Amalfi Coast from the lush, omnipresent lemons. Penner includes a recipe for a limoncello cocktail in the book.
The book’s dive scenes, which provide readers with another dramatic environment, were also inspired by Penner’s experiences. Penner and her husband, Mark, became certified scuba divers more than 10 years ago while they were living in Wichita.
“We’ve been diving all over the world and we’ve done a lot of wreck diving in the Florida Keys,” said Penner, who now lives in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Keys, which are littered with hundreds of shipwrecks, is Penner’s favorite diving location. The couple dived around Positano, as well.
Other experiences from that Positano trip also ended up in the book, including visiting a nightclub in a cave and seeing cats throughout the town, a common sight at coastal fishing villages. Penner took a second, research-focused trip to Italy in 2023 to visit archives and museums in Naples.
Penner is currently working on her fourth novel, which she called both a prequel and a sequel to “The Lost Apothecary.” The only other spoiler Penner shared during an interview with The Eagle was that the dual timeline will include everyone’s favorite character, a likely reference to the protagonist Eliza.
Author event: Sarah Penner
When: 3 p.m. Sunday, May 4
Where: Watermark Books, 4701 E. Douglas Ave.
Admission: RSVP online; $33 plus Eventbrite fees; ticket includes a copy of Penner’s latest book, “The Amalfi Curse”
More info: 316-682-1181 or watermarkbooks.com/event/2025-05-04/store-author-event-sarah-penner
This story was originally published May 3, 2025 at 6:18 AM.