Guest Post - L. Diane Wolfe: How to Tie Together a Series

L. Diane Wolfe is stopping by today to discuss her new book with a guest post about tying series together.

How to Tie Together a Series 

Sometimes writers plan out a series. Sometimes one book turns into more. And sometimes a writer conceives of multiple, seemingly unrelated stories. How can one tie it all together? 

Here are some ways you can groups stories into a coherent series: 

Continuation of the characters: 

Take the main character and continue his/her adventures. Each story can stand on its own or each one can progress forward in time. There are a lot of examples in the literary world: Sherlock Holmes, Jack Reacher, Nancy Drew, etc. Readers who fall in love with the main character will enjoy more stories surrounding that person. 

It doesn’t have to be the same character, though. The main character’s best friend could become the main character in the next book, and so on and so on. Many of the secondary characters will cycle in and out of the stories, keeping readers grounded in the cast. I did this with my new adult series, The Circle of Friends. 

Set in the same universe: 

Think DC or Marvel comics. Many superheroes across one large universe. Sometimes they cross over, sometimes they are merely referenced in another story. The stories can also be set many years apart. The Imager series by L.E. Modessit is an example of a single universe series, as is Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series. 

Using a theme: 

If the characters don’t overlap and neither does the setting, then stories can be tied together by theme. The theme can be simple or complex. It can tie specifically to the stories’ genre. But some key element binds the stories to a series, a theme that readers will enjoy regardless of the exact setting or characters. Theme is what I used to tie my In Darkness series together—each main character(s) deal with a darkness in their lives, whether it’s due to their supernatural nature (vampire, shark, werewolf, alien) or human flaws and baggage dragging them down. 

If you have some stories written and would like to tie them together, consider one of those three options. If you’d like to plan a series or turn a single book into one, now you have some ideas. Series do well, so if you can get one going and it’s successful, you’ll gain dedicated readers for years. 

In Darkness: The Vampire 

By L. Diane Wolfe 

Souls shrouded in darkness… 

Stuck working as a barmaid for her demanding father, Anna dreams of adventure. When mysterious strangers enter the bar, she overhears they seek Zancrela, an ancient fortress filled with treasure and a magical library. Taking her chance, she offers to guide them. The conditions: deliver Zancrela or die. 

As they journey through the wilderness, she discovers their secret: they are vampires. And most view her as food. One takes interest in her and her heart dares to hope, but it might not be enough to change her fate. Will Anna find Zancrela or become a vampire morsel? 

Release date – February 7, 2023 

Romance / Paranormal / Vampires (FIC027320), Fantasy / Paranormal (FIC009050), Fantasy / Romance (FIC009090) 

eBook ISBN 9781939844903 

$3.99 eBook available in all formats 

Buy Links: 

Amazon | iTunes | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Scribd | Goodreads 

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. 

Spunk On A Stick 

Spunk On A Stick’s Tips 

Insecure Writer’s Support Group 

Submission Stats & Open Calls for March

Since I didn't have time last week to add the usual onto my IWSG post, I'm doing it this week. 

First, my submission stats for January. They're awful, BUT that's because I'm busy working on Happy Ghoulidays II, so I don't even feel bad about it. HGII releases March 17!! (I'm looking for folks interested in helping spread the word about HGII in March. You can sign up here. Thank you!)

In January:

3 submissions

3 rejections

12 currently on submission

So. many. needing. submission.

Okay, now for publications taking submissions with deadlines in March. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Hexagon Magazine is seeking speculative fiction short stories. Up to 10,000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline March 7. (Note they are only open for submissions from the 1st to the 7th.)

Solarpunk Magazine is seeking stories by BIPOC authors only for a special themed issue. 1500 to 7500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline March 14. (Note they are only open for submissions from the 1st to the 14th.)

Eye to the Telescope is seeking speculative poetry with the theme of Fungi. 1-3 poems. Pays $.04/word. Deadline March 15. 

EvOke is seeking speculative fiction stories with the theme Gods and Goddesses of Witchcraft. Pays $5. Deadline March 15.

Nunum is seeking flash fiction. Up to 500 words. Pays $20CAD. Deadline March 15.

The Ex-Puritan is seeking a variety of works, including short fiction, poetry, and essays. Pay is between $35 and $200, depending upon type of submission. Deadline March 25, but deadlines roll, so they are continuously open for submissions. Deadline merely determines which issue you're being considered for.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking stories featuring East Asian warriors for the anthology Honor. 3000 to 20,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline March 25.

Munster Literature Center is seeking short fiction for Southword. Up to 5000 words. Pays 250 euros. Deadline March 31.

Cohesion Press is seeking military horror short stories for Snafu: Punk'd. 2000 to 7500 words. Pays $.05AUD/word. Deadline March 31.

The Woodward Review is seeking poetry and prose. Up to 5000 words. Pays $50. Deadline March 31.

Be sure to stop by on February 22 when L. Diane Wolfe stops by!

Have you been submitting? How's it going? Any of these of interest?

May you find your Muse.

IWSG - Book Covers & Book Launch Help

Ack! I almost forgot to put together this post! Note: I will have to either post this month's submission calls in a separate post or add them to this one later. It's been a crazy (albeit good) day, and I just didn't have time to get it together.

It's the first Wednesday of February (I am never, ever ready for a new month, it seems), which means it's time for another round of the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG serves to create an environment for writers to share their insecurities and support their fellow creatives. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and put your blog on the linky list.

The co-hosts this month are: Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner!

The optional question is: If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what goes on your cover?

I'm Indie, and my husband makes the covers for me. I find it amazing that I can tell him some events/items to focus on, and he comes up with these great covers. 

And he puts together marketing images. This question is oddly timely, because I should be sending my newsletter out within the next week featuring the cover reveal of Happy Ghoulidays II! My newsletter subscribers get to see it first. If you're curious, you can sign up for the newsletter over to the right. He's putting the finishing touches on it as we speak. Getting the official cover is one of my absolute favorite parts.

If you're willing to help with the book launch in March, between Monday, March 6 and Friday, March 17 (release day is the 17th), you can sign up by clicking HERE.

I will have to do my submission recap in a separate post with the submission links, because I have to get up really early for a work meeting, and it is way past when I should have gone to bed for it (not that I can sleep when I go to bed earlier than usual, anyway, but I can at least be in bed reading until sleep is a possibility.)

What are your insecurities? Who does your covers? How much say do you get? Which of your books has your favorite cover?

May you find your Muse.

IWSG - Book Release News & 2022 Submission Stats

Yep, it's that time again. First Wednesday of 2023 means it's Insecure Writer's Support Group time.

Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG creates an environment where writers can share about their insecurities and lend support to their fellow insecure writers. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and add your blog to the list.

This month's co-hosts are: Jemima Pett, Debs Carey, Kim Lajevardi, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, T. Powell Coltrin.

This month's optional question is: Do you have a word of the year? Is there a word that sums up what you need to work on or change in the coming year? What's your word for 2023 and why?

I don't usually do a word, but I might as well! This year's word is Productivity. I started a new job in May and another around July or August, and very little time has gone to writing as I learned the jobs and worked to improve at them. This year is the year of writing and publication.

I'm planning on releasing Happy Ghoulidays II March 17 (St. Patrick's Day), with stories for St. Patrick's, 4th of July, Easter, Halloween, and more. So I'm hard at work on that. I didn't release anything in 2022, and that's unacceptable. I also have at least one other release (preferably with much longer pre-order period than HG II will have) planned in 2023, but have ideas for more, so it will all come down to what I can manage along with the job. I have a novel I've decided to self-pub, but I want to get the second in the series written before I start planning the release. There's another (unrelated) novel I need to be editing.

In other words, this is the year of GETTING SH*T DONE. Because I did not last year. I've been terrible about short story submissions, and that needs to improve, too. If I hadn't taken the class with Storied Imaginarium, I wouldn't have written any stories for several months. I'm so glad I took that class. It got me inspired and ready to move ahead full tilt.

Submission Stats for December:

1 submission

2 rejections

0 acceptances

12 currently on submission

Submission stats for 2022:

103 submissions

6 acceptances

85 rejections

15 other (publications went under)

My acceptance percentage was more than double this before, so I need to work on that, too. I will say, though, that I also branched out into other genres and did a lot of fiddling around with that, and a chunk of those submissions are from me playing with new stuff. There was also experimentation in my horror. So this may have influenced the stats.

These markets are open for submissions. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Neon Hemlock is seeking queer gothic horror for The Crawling Moon: Queer Tales of Inescapable Dread. Up to 6000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 15.

World Publishing Company is seeking stories about the gods for Avitus: Humans, Gods, Demons. 2400 to 4200 words. Pays $10. Deadline January 15.

Fulcrum Publishing is seeking essays on women's productive health. Up to 2000 words. Pays $150. Deadline January 20.

Dark Matter Presents is seeking horror involving monsters and their lairs for Monster Lairs. 2000 to 4000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 30.

Air and Nothingness Press is seeking "stories of massive engineering megastructures that reshape stellar systems" for Gargantua. Should be EXACTLY 1000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 31.

The Bureau Dispatch is seeking fiction and creative nonfiction with the theme "Wayfinding." Up to 1000 words. Pays $50. Deadline January 31.

Brink is seeking short fiction, poetry, and art with the theme "Gravity." Up to 1500 words. Pays $25 to $100, depending upon submission type. Deadline January 31.

Brigids Gate Press is seeking stories about seers and sibyls. 1500 to 5000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 31.

The Last Girls Club is seeking horror stories with the theme "Panic." Up to 2500 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline February 1.

The First Line is seeking stories with the opening line "I am the second Mrs. Roberts." 300 to 5000 words. Pays $10 to $50, depending upon submission type. Deadline February1.

Medusa Tales Magazine is seeking stories of transformation and immobilization. Up to 5000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline February 15.

EvOke is seeking stories stories, poetry, and artwork about paganism in the African diaspora. Pays $5. Deadline February 15.

Ghoulish Books is seeking short, fun horror for Ghoulish Times. Up to 5000 words. Pays $.07.word. Deadline February 15. (Note: the editors used to run Dark Moon Digest.)

Other Worlds Ink is seeking hopeful near future stories for Transform the World. 2500 to 15,000 words. $50 to $100, depending upon length. Deadline February 28.

Gwyllion Magazine is seeking speculative fiction. Up to 10,000 words. Pays 10 pounds. Deadline February 28.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking trickster stories. 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline February 28.

Any of these of interest? What's your word for the year? Do you set goals? What's something you want to change for the year? Do you review your submission stats for the year?

May you find your Muse.

*Blue Swoosh - md - OCAL - clker.com

IWSG, Slasher Sports Cinema Podcast, & Open Submission Calls for January

It's the first Wednesday of December and the last first Wednesday of 2022. Can you believe it? That means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. 

Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG provides a venue for authors to air their insecurities and support their fellow in theirs. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and put your blog on the linky list.

The co-hosts this month are Joylene Nowell Butler, Chemist Ken, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine.

The optional question this month is: Are the holidays a time to catch up or fall behind on writing goals?

This time of year always ends up being busy, but not solely because of the holidays. It's finals time for the kids, and I've got two high schoolers. There's my birthday (I turned 45 Thanksgiving week!), my mom's birthday, and countless other things that fall into line between October 1 and the second week of January. So writing? Eeeeeeeehhhh....not so much.

I *am* excited that I no longer have a ton of deadlines on the 7th and 8th of each month at the day job, though! They're now all on the 15th. That means I will finally be able to get back to making blog visits for IWSG on Wednesday instead of a week later! But because all those deadlines are now doubled up on the 15th, I'm going to return to putting open market calls on the IWSG posts and probably only posting on first Wednesdays. I'm simply not able to visit people the way I'd like to. That may change in the future.

For right now, my writing is going to be focused on getting Happy Ghoulidays II out on St. Patrick's Day, March 17. Wish me luck!

For anyone who missed it, I was a guest on Slasher Sports Cinema last month, where we discussed the original Nightmare on Elm Street (and about a billion other things, of course, because it's fun to talk horror with someone who gets it.) It's available on: Anchor | Spotify | Apple | iHeart | YouTube

Before I jump into open markets, it's time for my monthly submission stats. It's been a lackluster month, but reporting on this keeps me accountable.

November stats:

4 submissions

0 acceptances

7 rejections

1 short listing

13 stories on submission

Meh.

Okay, markets open for submissions. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence when submitting.

Amazing Stories is seeking flash fiction with the theme "Sol System." Up to 1500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 2.

The Fairy Tale Magazine is seeking fairy tale short stories and poetry following the theme "Love." 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $50. Deadline January 2.

Kenyon Review is seeking poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction for "Luminous Gender Vessel" about gender and being in your body. Up to 6000 words. Paying market, but pay is not specified. Deadline January 5.

The Fantastic Other is seeking short stories, poetry, and flash fiction with the theme of "Mirrors." Up to 3500 words. Pays $5. Deadline January 7.

Cosmic Horror Monthly is seeking...cosmic horror. 3000 to 5000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline January 7.

DBS Press is seeking short stories with the theme of "Renfield." 1500 to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline January 15.

Neon Literary Magazine is seeking dark short pieces with the theme "Machines." Up to 5000 words. Pays 2p/word. Deadline January 15.

ev0ke is seeking poetry, short fiction, essays, and other forms with the theme "Tarot and Oracle Decks." Pays $5. Deadline January 15.

The Saltbush Review is seeking short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Up to 3000 words. Pays AUD$150. Deadline January 20.

Alienhead Press is seeking stories about the paranormal around the holidays. 2000 to 4000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline January 20. 

Improbable Press is seeking stories of literary women given a second chance to really live for "Anna Karenina Isn't Dead." Up to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline January 31.

Zoetic Press is seeking prose, poetry, and art with the theme of "Food." Up to 3000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline January 31.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking short stories with the theme of "Sirens." 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline January 31.

What are your insecurities? Are you getting any writing done? Are any of these calls of interest? Anything to share? Have you been submitting?

May you find your Muse.

Slasher Sports Cinema Podcast & December Submission Roundup

Hi there! I'm actually posting on time for maybe the first time in a few months. I feel so accomplished. :D

Before I jump into links for December submissions, I was a guest on Slasher Sports Cinema, where I got to chat with Billy, the host, about Nightmare on Elm Street, my first and favorite slasher film, and one of the first horror films I saw and remembered (after Jaws and Cat People). As someone whose had insomnia since the age of twelve and who has also suffered sleep paralysis that involved a figure standing over my bed (pretty common in sleep paralysis), Freddy always stood out to me as different than the other slashers. And far scarier. 

You can listen to it (and view it, in the case of the YouTube link) in several places: 

ANCHOR - https://anchor.fm/slashersportscinema

SPOTIFY - https://open.spotify.com/show/4FabrHyO4FpbvTHeuG8Ksd

APPLE - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slasher-sports-show/id1633502252

IHEART - https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-slasher-sports-cinema-102543354/

YOUTUBE - https://youtu.be/_h0_3rmI8Fg

Now onto markets open for submissions in December. As we ease our way into winter, the numbers dwindle slightly, but there are still plenty of short story/flash fiction/poetry markets looking!

Please bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

December

Outcast Press is seeking noir-style stories where diners (or similar) are an integral part of the story. 2000 to 7000 words. Pays $25-$100. Deadline December 1.

R. Saint Claire is seeking horror short stories for a new magazine: Book Worms. 500 to 3000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline December 1.

Parabola is seeking stories and articles with the theme "Transformation." Up to 3000 words. Paying market, but I'm not finding the pay. Deadline December 1.

Lost Boys Press is seeking stories involving societies of anthropomorphized animals for Empire of Beasts. 3000 to 9000 words. Pays $40. Deadline December 1.

The Other Stories is seeking short horror stories with the theme "Tunnels." Must be 2000 words, give or take 10%. Pays 15 GBP. Deadline for this theme (other themes are also open right now) December 1.

Crystal Lake Publishing is seeking dreamy, psychedelic or related horror for their Never Wake anthology. 2500 to 4500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline December 4. 

Eye to the Telescope is seeking speculative poetry about Frankenstein and what it means to you. Can submit 1-3 poems. Pays $.04/word. Deadline 15. 

The Showbear Family Circus is seeking stories that involve deities connected to constellations for Of Gods and Globes. Prefer stories under 7500 words. Pays in a royalty split. Deadline December 15.

Freeze Frame Fiction is seeking flash fiction in any genre. Up to 1000 words. Pays $10 per piece. Deadline December 31.

Manawaker Studio is seeking sci-fi retellings of Briar Rose (aka Sleeping Beauty) for Project Briar Rose. 1500 to 5000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline December 31.

Arc Poetry Magazine is seeking poetry. Up to 3 poems or 360 lines. Pays $50/page. Deadline December 31.

Dead Fish Books is seeking speculative stories about alien first contacts that start well, but go terribly wrong for Yay! They're Here! 2000 to 6000 words. Pays $5 + royalties. Deadline December 31.

Eerie River Publishing is seeking horror stories involving wind and its various forms. 1500 to 7000 words. Pays $.01CAD/word. Deadline December 31.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking stories for two anthologies: Carried Away (Romantic Comedy) and Liberty (LGBTQ+ Fantasy). 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline December 31.

Any of these of interest? Are you submitting? Anything to share? Know of any open calls? Do you enjoy slashers?

May you find your Muse.

IWSG - Saying Nope to NaNo & October News

It's November! My birthday month! But first it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG provides a place where writers can air their insecurities and both get and give support to fellow writers. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and put your blog on the linky list.

This month's co-hosts are Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford, and Diane Burton.

The optional question: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why?

I've never fully participated. While running local events for a writer's group, I had several unpleasant experiences with whatever the "official" local folks are who run things under the guise of the overarching group. Ever since then, I've had zero interest in being a part of anything they have to do. 

However, I've long done my own version where I set my own rules, especially as I'm primarily a short story author. It started as ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo (Shannon's Novel and Short Story Writing, Editing, and Submitting Month). I set my own realistic goals for what I needed to achieve to further my own specific career. This month I'm in a class and I also have novel editing to work on, plus I'll be attending the 20 Books to 50k writing conference in Vegas, so I likely won't be setting any ShaNo goals, but I encourage others to use the energy of NaNo to set their own goals if they don't want to or can't participate in the bigger group. That gathered energy of writers can promote a lot of progress and provide support.

I have some news before I jump in with my October submission stats. October is always a busy month for me (gee, I wonder why), but the below are some things you can enjoy for free!

I had a story come out on Halloween in a special double issue, and it's free to read! You can check out "A Few of His Favorites" at Indecent Magazine.

I was also a guest on two podcasts, both of which went live in the last week:

The Bookshelf Odyssey is an author podcast. You can listen to my conversation with Art at Buzzsprout or search your favorite podcast platform. The video version can be viewed on YouTube.

Paranormal: The New Normal is a paranormal podcast (clearly, haha), so I talked about some experiences from my life. I did previously post the video of this, but it is now out on podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple.

I also did a reading of one of my unpublished stories, "The Pitter Patter of Little Feet" for Stories Live! The theme was: The future is dark. You can view it on YouTube. (If you're interested in reading on one of the monthly episodes, let me know on here and I'll connect you with Amy Armstrong, who puts these together and hosts them.

Okay, time for my submission stats for October. I do this each month with my IWSG post in order to keep myself accountable. 

2 acceptances

1 request to send a new story

1 publication release

7 rejections

11 submissions

20 stories currently on submission

8 stories in limbo until I have time to sit down, research, and submit

Are you submitting? Any submission news? What are your insecurities? Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?

May you find your Muse.