Fictional Werewolves: Guest Post by L. Diane Wolfe, Author of In Darkness: A Werewolf

Welcome L. Diane Wolfe! Today I'm celebrating my friend L. Diane Wolfe's newest book release, In Darkness: A Werewolf as part of her book blog tour. L. Diane Wolfe is the CEO of Dancing Lemur Press, a professional speaker, a multi-book published author, a Christian who writes and works in the secular side of publishing, and someone I consider both a mentor and a friend via the IWSG, an online group. We've never met in person, but I hope to, someday.

For today's post, I asked L. Diane to share some insights into Fictional Werewolves in celebration of her latest release In Darkness: A Werewolf.

Well, technically, there aren’t any non-fiction werewolves. Not in the truest sense, although the legend of a man who could become a beast goes back centuries.

There are many famous werewolves, both in books and movies. I thought I’d touch upon a few of them.

The Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King / Silver Bullet

This began as an engaging and unique book by King and eventually became a movie.

The book is a month-by-month account of a werewolf terrorizing a small New England town and the boy who tries to solve the mystery of the killings. The movie compacted the events into half the time but it’s no less effective. While scary and sometimes gruesome, the movie is a story about redemption.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Also made into a film, this book introduced readers to Remus Lupin, a werewolf bitten by Fenrir Greyback who serves under Lord Voldemort. Remus taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts. He is a sympathetic character who ultimately dies defending what is right.

The Wolf Man staring Lon Chaney Jr.

This was the first of five movies with Chaney playing the werewolf. While not the first cinematic werewolf, it was the film that launched the creature into stardom. It was part of the Universal Monsters line of movies and Chaney endured 5-6 hours of makeup time to prepare for his scenes.

 The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer

First a series of four books and then five movies, it featured Jacob Black, a werewolf and Native American of the Quielute tribe in La Push. Love them or hate them, this series established a sympathetic and vulnerable side to the werewolf legend.

 Hotel Transylvania

An animated series of four movies, it features many famous monsters and creatures. One of the most amusing it Wayne the werewolf, voiced by Steve Buscemi. Wayne is Dracula’s best friend and has dozens upon dozens of kids with his ever-pregnant wife. Beaten down by his huge brood, he is one tired but funny werewolf.

Yes, the last one was thrown in for fun, but kids will know Wayne for sure! (And those of us grownups who are suckers for such movies.)

In Darkness: The Werewolf

By L. Diane Wolfe

Souls shrouded in darkness…

On her own in England, Vicki trains at a prestigious fencing school. Face marred by a birthmark, she’s suspicious of Nicholas’ attention. A dinner date reveals his genuine interest and they begin to connect. Nicholas is attractive and she wonders why he’s so shy and reclusive.

Then one evening she happens upon him changing into a lycan. Every werewolf legend is challenged by the gentle, fearful creature before her. Vickie accepts his secret, but Nicholas knows he’s an unpredictable beast. Can they trust love enough to overcome their physical challenges?

Release date – Sept. 5, 2023

Romance/Paranormal/Shifter, Romance/Paranormal, Fantasy/Paranormal

$3.99 eBook ISBN 9781939844927

A professional speaker and author, L. Diane Wolfe conducts seminars, offers book formatting, and author consultation. She’s the senior editor at Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C. and contributes to the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

http://www.spunkonastick.net/ - Spunk On A Stick
http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com - Spunk On A Stick’s Tips
http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/ - Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Links for In Darkness: A Werewolf:

Amazon -  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRR4VLN7/
iTunes - https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id6445310855
Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940165994548
Kobo - https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search?Query=9781939844927
Scribed - https://www.scribd.com/search?query=9781939844927&language=0
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75711711-in-darkness

A to Z Reflection

I'm a reflective mood these days, not just from A to Z, although I'll focus mainly on that.
Today, I feel like that last word on the badge "SURVIVOR" - I came into A to Z this year, excited, sure, and ready to go. By the end, due to personal life stuff and the nature of the challenge, I felt like I barely survived.

I wanted to visit more, comment more, be a better blogger buddy. It was tough.

And yet, I still feel blessed to have been a part of the challenge. Not only did this amazing, talented blogger Michael Di Gesu honor me with a guest post on J - Joker's Wild Day, but I also found a whole batch of new-to-me, talented bloggers to follow and befriend.

I enjoyed so many of the posts, but I'm going to highlight a few of my favorite themes here: Michael Di Gesu creatively introduced us to 26 books and authors, Alex J. Cavanaugh intertwined favorite movie characters with talented bloggers and his favorite music, Michelle-in-Transit had us guessing definitions of words, Mark Means unearthed a variety of lesser known comic book heroes, Misha Gericke's writing and faith posts at her two blogs made me think and laugh, and Father Dragon had me laughing every day, and I needed that laughter. I also love the eclectic posts that were slices of life, the travel blogs that expanded my horizons, and the faith based blogs that helped me gain a little more perspective in the midst of a tough April. I also appreciated Diane's tips on marketing in little slices throughout the month.

For all the challengers, and for all the hosts, and for all the minions, I just want to say:

THANK YOU!!!!

 

 

In the homeschool part of my life, I'm doing some reflecting over the end of the year, the changing of seasons in my oldest daughter's life, and I captured some of my muddling about that in this post: 8th Grade Graduation.

BTW - it's Sunday, but this is my Monday post . . . I decided not to wait, but just put it up.

Oh, and scarily enough, I have some ideas for next year's challenge . . .

Celebrate the Small Things (and a few big ones)

Celebrate the Small Things is an awesome weekly blog post exercise in positivity hosted by Vikki at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author. Think of anything, like: getting the laundry folded, writing a sentence or two every day, surviving a tough day, spending time on the treadmill - and then celebrate them.

I feel like I'm cheating on this celebration this week. I have huge things to celebrate - gigantic, big, enormous, exciting things.

1. I formatted my novel in three different ways, and successfully uploaded it to two different sites. I had help from my husband with two of them, but we worked together too, and I did the third on my own.

2. I learned how to use author central at amazon, learned more about smashwords, createspace, and kindle, and finally wrote four guest posts!!! (I conquered that guest post fear, and realized that I was trying too hard to be "cool" like all the "coolio" bloggers I know and decided I should just write in my comfort zone instead)

3. I have a cover. It's cool looking. There might be a few changes made to it before Monday, but I do have one!

4. My kids survived a homeschooling week while I spent too much time with my book release prep. I did remember to tear myself away from my stuff to give feedback on writing, go through some math equations, and find out that my oldest daughter wants to re-evaluate her history curriculum. She feels she isn't retaining enough of the information. So, somehow tomorrow or early next week, I'll be figuring out how to make history more meaningful.

5. Went to a high school informational night for homeschool families that included looking at different school options, including running start. I knew 95% of the info (partly because I used to be a certified public high school teacher), but my oldest daughter learned a great deal and came away enthusiastic about running start. Plus, I reconnected with some "old" homeschool buddies and "current" homeschool buddies.

6. I didn't get any decent cardio exercise this week, but I did stretch out for quite a while on Thursday and today I will ski.

7. Had an awesome guest post yesterday by L. Diane Wolf. If you haven't read it, check it out. Her new book, How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now, sounds like a treasure trove of information. I purchased a copy, and so far, well, I really wish I had read it six months ago. I highly recommend it.


What are you celebrating today?

News
Julie Flanders' Polar Night is out today on Kindle!!!













If you haven't yet, please sign up for the Champion in the Darkness book release party for Monday. To join the party, just sign up on the linky list and give me a simple shout out. You don't have to use all the information I'll send you if you are signed up. Quick shout outs are perfect! I'm just using a blog hop link so I know who to send information to this weekend. Plus, on Monday the rafflecopter giveaway will start.
Charity Bradford'sCharity Bradford's book The Magic Wakes is coming soon on February 19th!

Welcome L. Diane Wolf: Writing Articles to Promote Our Books

Today I'm thrilled to host L. Diane Wolf!!!

 

 

Writing Articles to Promote Our Books

 

 

Marketing is all about putting ourselves and our product in front of potential buyers. An excellent way for authors do this is through articles. Articles posted online also add to our search engine fodder and increase our website’s traffic and ranking. And we have the advantage—we’re already a writer.

 

What should we write about? What are some of the key topics in our book? What research did we conduct? We are a wealth of information on at least one subject if not more. If our book is about gardening, we can write articles on the best time to plant, controlling pests, or selecting the proper soil. If our fiction book is a love story set in Savannah, GA, we can write about the history of that town.

 

The purpose of an article is to inform or solve problems. It is not to feature our book. We can mention our book if it's relevant, but our article should not be a 1,000 word commercial. We’re selling ideas, experience, tips, and knowledge. We’re selling us, as an expert. If we can sell US to the reader—presenting ourselves as an expert able to help others—people will make a connection with us.

 

Articles carry another purpose; to move the reader from the article to our website or blog. Our name and website should be listed at the bottom of every article we write. (This is called the byline.) Once the reader reaches our site, he will then be exposed to our books.

 

Where should our articles appear? Where does our audience go? Sites such as:

 

·         Websites

·         Blogs

·         Online magazines

·         News sites

·         Article banks

 

The real world holds possibilities, too. Look for magazines both big and small, newspapers, small circulars or flyers, etc. Some of these venues require articles six or more months in advance, so check the submission guidelines and query what subjects they currently seek.

 

Articles should begin to appear a few months before our book's release, and continue a month or two past that date. (Longer if possible.) Aim for one to three articles a week. That may seem like a lot, but one a week is only four a month. We can even recycle older articles and use them for newsletters or blog posts.

 

Once the ball is rolling, it will become easier to produce more articles. We just need to get our name and website out in front of potential readers as often as possible. Brainstorm some article topics today!

 

 

 

 

L. Diane Wolfe

Professional Speaker & Author

 

Known as “Spunk On A Stick,” Wolfe is a member of the National Speakers Association and the author of numerous books. Her latest title, “How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now,” covers her publishing seminars in depth and provides an overview of the entire process from idea to market. “Overcoming Obstacles With SPUNK! The Keys to Leadership & Goal-Setting”, ties her goal-setting and leadership seminars together into one complete, enthusiastic package. Her YA series, The Circle of Friends, features morally grounded, positive stories. Wolfe travels extensively for media interviews and speaking engagements, maintains a dozen websites & blogs, and assists writers through her author services..

 

www.spunkonastick.net

http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com

www.thecircleoffriends.net

 

 

 

 

HOW TO PUBLISH AND PROMOTE YOUR BOOK NOW!

BY L. DIANE WOLFE

 

Publishing and promoting made simple!

 

Have you always dreamed of publishing a book but didn’t know where to begin? This book walks you through the steps of identifying markets, budgeting, building an online presence, and generating publicity. Get the whole story on:

 

·           Traditional publishing

·           Self-publishing

·           Print and e-book setup, formatting, and distribution

·           Finding your target audience

·           Generating reviews and media interest

·           Networking and developing an online presence

·           Promotional materials and appearances

 

Uncover your ideal publishing path and numerous marketing options before you begin. Writing is your dream. Give it the best chance for success!

 

Available February 5, 2012

Publishing/Marketing, 214 pages

$14.95 Trade paperback ISBN 978-0-9827139-5-2

$4.95 Ebook ISBN 978-0-9827139-9-0

Available in all Ebook formats

 

“She gives an unbiased take on the advantages and disadvantages of traditional publishing and self-publishing and publishing paths that combine the two… It's the perfect book for those who want an overview to begin the decision-making process.”

- Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning series of how-to books for writers http://howtodoitfrugally.com/

 

“A must-read for writers planning on self-publishing or any writer who wants the ultimate how-to on promoting. Tons of links, advice, and how-to, whether you're going for print or e-publication.”

- Helen Ginger, author of Angel Sometimes http://helenginger.com/

 

Available February 5, 2012

Publishing/Marketing, 214 pages, Dancing Lemur Press LLC

$14.95 Trade paperback ISBN 978-0-9827139-5-2

$4.99 Ebook ISBN 978-0-9827139-9-0

 

Available at the following links/sites:

 

Barnes and Noble

Amazon -

Amazon Kindle -