Wednesday, November 02, 2022

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, The Shark, and Events


It’s time for another edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Today’s question – November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

It has just never worked out that I had time in November to write that much. For that matter, I rarely have time in any month. I will be finishing the fourth novella in my In Darkness series, The Alien, this month, but I only need 6000 words or so to do that.

* * *

Dancing Lemur Press has two events this month:



November 12, 9-1 pm
Goldsboro Holiday Market
New Hope Friends Church, Goldsboro, NC

November 19, 10-5 pm
Havelock Comicon
Havelock Tourism and Event Center, Havelock, NC


If you are in the area, stop by and see us!


* * *

And I’m excited to show off the cover for my next novella:



In Darkness: The Shark

Souls shrouded in darkness…

Focused on her studies and duties at the aquarium, Jewels prefers her solitary life. Burned many times and short on trust, she has more in common with her aquatic friends than the people around her. But she never imagined coming face to face with a shark named Clarence…a shark who talks!

As their friendship grows, Jewels must overcome her deep set mistrust. There are dangers, both in the Australian ocean and on dry land. Can Jewels depend on the great white or will his animal nature betray her?

Release day – May 9, 2023
Fantasy – Romance / Fantasy – Paranormal / Paranormal – Romance
eBook ISBN 9781939844910

This is the second in the In Darkness novella series – The Werewolf will be next.

It’s available for pre-orders and for reviewers! So, if you are interested, please let me know.


Have you participated in NaNo?
And a paranormal romance story with a shark? You’ll have to read it to believe it!


34 comments:

Douglas Thomas Greening said...

November is a terrible month for me to focus on writing as well. Not sure if there is a perfect month, to be honest. While I should be able to commit the time, well, life and reasons.

Wishing you much success with your next novella.

Leigh Caron said...

Ooo! Love the cover! Very atmospheric. And very creative story. No NaNo for me. I don't need anymore pressure writing, but I admire those who can persevere and write something they can actually use.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Very cool cover!

Jemi Fraser said...

Good luck with the events and the novella!

Nick Wilford said...

Friends with a shark? What a premise and I love the cover. Hope the events go brilliantly.

H. R. Sinclair said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
H. R. Sinclair said...

I LOVE the premise of "The Shark." Clarence! Brilliant.

Bish Denham said...

Interesting premise! How you get any personal time to do any writing is a testament to your many abilities.

emaginette said...

A shark that talks. Now, that's an amazing idea. Congrats on the book. :-)

Anna from elements of emaginette

Rachna Chhabria said...

This year I had planned to do NaNo, even cleared my plate of all the other activities, but sadly life threw many obstacles that waylaid me and I couldn't even write my outline. Happy Thanksgiving!

Loni Townsend said...

Grats on the novella! Woot!

Sandra Cox said...

Have fun at the events.
The Shark sounds great. Love the cover. If you need a review just holler.

Elizabeth Seckman said...

I look forward to reading your story!! This is be the first shark I will ever like, presumably.

Melissa said...

I haven't written a novel this month, but I have wrapped about 75% of my Christmas gifts. LOL

Tyrean Martinson said...

November has become a fun month for me to up my word count goals with NaNo, as long as I don't overstress the process.
I get that it's not for everyone, but I usually enjoy it.

Congrats on your novella series!!!

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Love the new cover, Diane. Best of success with it~!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Nick, friends with a shark!

Holly, thank you.

Bish, I don't get much. Most of the stories have been written over several year's time.

Emaginette, I hope it works.

Sandra, thank you.

Elizabeth, Clarence is really likeable.

Melissa, that is a win!

Thank you to everyone who commented on the cover.

Olga Godim said...

Like the cover of your novella. It has the ambience and the mood.

Denise Covey said...

All the best for your events this month. Nah, I no longer NaNo but I write every day.

Liz A. said...

Interesting premise for a book. I've seen similar types of stories, just not with a shark. Nice twist.

Ben A. said...

Congrats on the book!! Love the cover.

Ben| Infinitely Posh.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Gorgeous cover! Hope the events go well. :)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Liz, you should've seen me picking genres and categories for it because there just aren't any shark books like it. At all!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Diane - your shark lurking forebodes some danger! Love the cover art too ... good luck to all who go with NaNo - not for me ... but I write enough anyway (me thinks!) ... cheers Hilary

Damyanti Biswas said...

Congratulations on your new book. Very cool cover :) Best of luck for November!

Steven Arellano Rose Jr. said...

I don't do NaNoWriMo. I'm not good at writing long form fiction such as novels in a month's time span or even longer. I prefer sticking with short stories and gathering into a collection.

Good luck with your current novel you're working on. For finishing up a novel, 6000 words sounds like you're almost there!

Tonja Drecker said...

Congrats on the upcoming release! November is an awful month for me. Now, January or February...those always seem a little calmer.

J Lenni Dorner said...

🦈 Shark! Cool idea to write about. Apparently, only a few aquariums are equipped with shark tanks. The Great White is said to be the most difficult to keep. Random stuff I know from someone I hooked up with ages ago. (Things may have changed in the last two decades. 😅 )

"I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I'm afraid of." —Joss Whedon

J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Reference& Speculative Fiction Author, OperationAwesome6 Debut Author Interviewer, and Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge

cleemckenzie said...

I'd say you have a full plate, so taking on something like NANO could bury you! Congrats on the book.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yeah, I dunno why they picked November as the month for intense writing.
Congrats on your new release! Love that it's set in Australia!

Tara Tyler said...

congrats on your darkness series!
and I wish I had time to go to the NC events and visit my son over there — let me know if you do any over the summer

and November is one of the worst months to find time to write, it’s short, there’s thanksgiving, and it’s the beginning of the most hectic time of year! i applaud all who can do NaNo

Tara Tyler Talks

Michael Di Gesu said...

Hi Diane,

I agree November is not the best month. Also, to write in such a pressured time frame is insane...at least for me. More power to the writers who can handle it!

LOVE your new cover! I am SURE you finished it by now and CONGRATS on the new series!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

J, that is true - great whites don't do well in tanks.

Lynda, your country is famous for its great whites, so it was the perfect setting.

Tara, we hope to do two events next August. I'll let you know when they are scheduled.

Thank you everyone for the compliments and encouragement.

Fundy Blue said...

Oh, gosh! I thought I had responded to your post on the last IWSG Day, Diane. Your cover looks great! I'll be back in the book-reviewing mode come next year. I am so looking forward to Hawaii where I'll catch up on my reading and start reviewing again. Enjoy this holiday season!