Welcome to the new home of Author & Professional Speaker, L. Diane Wolfe (AKA "Spunk on a Stick") and The Circle of Friends!

The Circle of Friends series follows a group of young adults as they face different challenges and learn to overcome. The emotionally gripping stories focus on love, friendships and the pursuit of dreams. Aimed at adults/young adults, these books defy the growing trend of salacious titles, especially for teenagers. Positive and uplifting, this series will leave readers determined to overcome their obstacles and achieve their goals.

This blog is now the home of the original The Circle of Friends website.


Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Back-to-School Book Special!



Buy one print book direct, get two eBooks free.
Buy two print books direct, get two eBooks and an audio book free.
All orders come with swag – bookmarks, postcards, etc.

Conditions:
Orders must be placed through the Dancing Lemur Press website.
USA delivery only – but please inquire into shipping costs as we can ship to some countries outside the USA.
EBooks over $2.99 not eligible for free eBook selections.
Audio boxed sets not eligible for free audio book selection.
Dancing Lemur Press author discounts do not apply.
Offer good through September 30, 2021.

Take advantage of this great offer – support your favorite author and a publisher whose live events are cancelled for the rest of the year.

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Come See Dancing Lemur Press at GalaxyCon Raleigh!

It’s been a long two years since the last one, but we are finally back at GalaxyCon at the Raleigh Convention Center downtown.

We’ve got a lot of new books to feature from the last two years. Plus we have new art prints and a ton of new stickers, both anime and Baby Yoda.

Watch our Instagram feed for fun cosplay photos of characters holding our books.

At least one of our authors will be there – Steph Wolmarans from Dark Matter: Artificial!

The con has also widened the passageways between booths, added sanitation stations, limited ticket sales, and instilled a no-touchy policy. Everyone at our booth will wear masks and have sanitary wipes and hand sanitizer available. Plus we’ll have a disinfectant spray to get those pesky germs that are in the air. (I guarantee we’ll have the cleanest booth there!)

Exhibition areas are open July 29 2-8pm, July 30-31 10-8pm, and Aug. 1 10-6pm. Event hours go until midnight most nights! Headliner guest is William Shatner and there are a ton more.

For more information, go to GalaxyCon Raleigh

Hope to see you there!
Just remember – irradiated lemurs will bite.



Tuesday, July 6, 2021

New Release - Blood Red Sand by Damien Larkin!



Blood Red Sand
By Damien Larkin


Mars will run red with Nazi blood…


After World War Two, Sergeant McCabe knew the British army could send him anywhere. He never imagined facing down another Nazi threat on Mars.

In New Berlin colony, rivalry between Generalfeldmarschall Seidel’s Wehrmacht and Reichsführer Wagner’s SS threatens bloodshed. The Reichsführer will sacrifice everything to initiate the secretive Hollow Programme and realise his nightmarish future for humanity.

McCabe, Private Jenkins, and the Mars Expeditionary Force must overcome bullet, bomb, and bayonet to destroy the Third Reich. While Jenkins fights to stay alive, McCabe forms an uneasy alliance with MAJESTIC-12 operatives known as the Black Visors. Will this be the final battle of World War Two or the first confrontation in an interstellar war?

$17.95, 6x9 trade paperback, 252 pages
Science Fiction - Military/Alternative History/War & Military
Print ISBN 9781939844781 / EBook ISBN 9781939844798
$4.99 EBook available in all formats

Damien Larkin is an Irish science fiction author and co-founder of the British and Irish Writing Community. His debut novel Big Red was longlisted for the BSFA award for Best Novel. He currently lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Links: Amazon US / Amazon UK / iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Goodreads



Tuesday, May 4, 2021

The Anthology Experience and Dark Matter: Artificial Release


T
HE ANTHOLOGY EXPERIENCE


Several of the authors in this month’s anthology release, Dark Matter: Artificial, have been in previous anthologies with Dancing Lemur Press. I asked them to share their experience and offer tips.


To get your story into an anthology, you must comply with three conditions. The first condition: your story must fit the word count and the theme of the anthology. The theme fit could be literal or oblique, but it should be there. The second condition: your writing must be clean, edited to the best of your abilities. These two conditions are mandatory if you want the editor even to consider your submission. And they’re objective, while the third condition is subjective. To get into an anthology, your writing style must match the editor’s vision and personal taste. For example, if I assign human actions or human qualifiers to an inanimate object and say: “The quirky moon smiled,” some editors might find it charming. Other editors might reject my story based on my ‘flowery’ writing or request me to change the verb and/or the adjective because the moon doesn’t really smile, quirky or not. It is a metaphoric smile, and not every editor approves such writing. - Olga Godim


The best part of being in an anthology is the camaraderie that forms from it. There is definitely a sort of bond between the authors as we read one another's stories and see how they all fall into place, becoming a part of something spectacular! When we look across the "room" of the cyber world, we see each other and think, "Hey, there's my buddy!". Quite the feeling! - Elizabeth Mueller


The biggest difference I've noticed with the IWSG anthologies from other books and magazines in which I've taken part? Diane and Dancing Lemur Press put a lot more work and effort into marketing and spreading the word about the book. While some other publishers just print the anthology and quickly move on to the next one, Diane puts tremendous effort into getting the work out to the widest audience possible, and she makes all the contributing authors part of the process. It's actually a great learning experience for new writers (especially self-published and small-press authors) to see what goes into marketing and promotion, tools and skills which are just as important as writing and editing. - C.D. Gallant-King


When I was asked about anthologies, I realize I've done more than I thought. The first one I did hosted authors writing a letter to our younger selves. I don't even know if that one is still out there. Then I did one for my old publisher, so it's not in print anymore, but of course I have a few copies left. It was CHRONOLOGY - speculative fiction short stories, and it was very exciting because I was in it with one of my favorite authors, Piers Anthony! I also really liked my story "The Comeback" - a zombie love story. I am always thrilled any time I am accepted into an anthology, it's like winning a prize! So I was very honored to be selected for TICK TOCK: A Stitch in Crime. And now, DARK MATTER, so awesome! Since these were done through a publisher, they made the process smooth and easy--I like guidance and deadlines, keeps me organized. Plus with so many other authors to help promote, we sell more. I highly recommend submitting your work to an anthology, it's great for exercising your writing muscles, and you can get your foot into the industry (or keep it in!) - Tara Tyler


This is the second IWSG anthology I've contributed to, and both of them were exactly the right theme at the right time for me. Last year, I had just released a middle-grade novel about a 17th-century English boy, with a gift of seeing ghosts, who sails to Japan as a cabin boy, but ends up stranded and needs the help of yokai spirits to find his way home (Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts). The theme of the anthology was "VOYAGERS: Middle-grade historical fiction with an element of the fantastical." How perfect was that? The story I submitted was an "intraquel" to my novel, one that fit into the action without significantly changing the plot.
Shortly after that anthology came out, a question occurred to me in the wake of George Floyd's death and the ensuing demonstrations: "Can a white person imagine life as a displaced, formerly enslaved people, living in a hostile environment that's still the only home we ever knew?" The most suitable vehicle I could think of to explore this question was science fiction, and once again, IWSG gave me a perfect opening with a science-fiction theme for the 2021 anthology, "Dark Matter." I'm excited for the release of this one, and I can't wait to see what the next theme will be! - Charles Kowalski


NEW RELEASE


Dark Matter: Artificial
An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology


Discover dark matter’s secrets…

What is an AI’s true role? Will bumbling siblings find their way home from deep space? Dark matter is judging us—are we worthy of existence? Would you step through a portal into another reality? Can the discoverer of dark matter uncover its secrets?

Ten authors explore dark matter, unraveling its secrets and revealing its mysterious nature. Featuring the talents of Stephanie Espinoza Villamor, C.D. Gallant-King, Tara Tyler, Mark Alpert, Olga Godim, Steph Wolmarans, Charles Kowalski, Kim Mannix, Elizabeth Mueller, and Deniz Bevan.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents, authors, and editors, these ten tales will take readers on a journey across time and space. Prepare for ignition!


Release date: May 4, 2021
Print ISBN 9781939844828 $14.95
EBook ISBN 9781939844835 $4.99
Science Fiction: Collections & Anthologies / Space Exploration / Genetic Engineering

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database; articles; monthly blog posting; Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram groups; #IWSGPit, and a newsletter. A Writer’s Digest 101 Best Website for Writers and The Write Life’s Best 100 Website for Writers.

Links: Dancing Lemur Press / Amazon / iTunes / Kobo / B&N / Goodreads


“Dark Matter is a stimulating and eclectic trip through AI minds, disturbing futures and alien worlds. This collection is a box of delights for fans of good sci-fi.” – Max Gorlov, author

“Dark Matter: Artificial offers an impressive assortment of style, substance and emotion in its varied tales, with much darkness and heartbreak but also knowledge, connection and hope.” – Kenneth Silber, Splice Today



Do you have experience working on an anthology?

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

The Window Reveals the Future But at a Price

The latest from Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C. a spooky YA paranormal that’s perfect for teen boys:



The Window
By Dave Cole


A dark window to the future…

Everything changed the day Brian Bingham looked out the attic window and saw something that wouldn't happen for another week. Through a mysterious window no one else can see, Brian gains a portal into the future. But the future is not always something he wants to see.

Brian has enough troubles in the present without worrying about the future. His parents are constantly fighting, his grades are plummeting, and his new relationship with Charlotte, a girl way out of his league, is in jeopardy.

When the window reveals his best friend's brutal death, Brian’s world is turned upside down. He must find a way to change the future…or die trying.

Release date – February 2, 2021
$13.95, 6x9 trade paperback, 170 pages
Print ISBN 9781939844767 / EBook ISBN 9781939844774
Young Adult – Paranormal / Contemporary Fantasy / Horror

Dave is from St. Louis and has a degree in Computer Science. He is the author of The Math Kids series for middle grade readers. When he is not designing data center management software, he is usually reading, writing, or coaching elementary school math teams. He loves writing and his wife loves that he has found a hobby that doesn't cost money!

Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo /Goodreads / Dancing Lemur Press



Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Upcoming Book - Dark Matter: Artificial

Presenting the Insecure Writer’s Support Group anthology contest winners and upcoming book from Dancing Lemur Press LLC imprint, Freedom Fox Press:


Dark Matter: Artificial
An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology

Discover dark matter’s secrets…

What is an AI’s true role? Will bumbling siblings find their way home from deep space? Dark matter is judging us—are we worthy of existence? Would you step through a portal into another reality? Can the discoverer of dark matter uncover its secrets?

Ten authors explore dark matter, unraveling its secrets and revealing its mysterious nature. Featuring the talents of Stephanie Espinoza Villamor, C.D. Gallant-King, Tara Tyler, Mark Alpert, Olga Godim, Steph Wolmarans, Charles Kowalski, Kim Mannix, Elizabeth Mueller, and Deniz Bevan.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents, authors, and editors, these ten tales will take readers on a journey across time and space. Prepare for ignition!

Release date: May 4, 2021
Print ISBN 9781939844828 $14.95
EBook ISBN 9781939844835 $4.99
Science Fiction: Collections & Anthologies (FIC028040) / Space Exploration (FIC028130) / Genetic Engineering (FIC028110)
186 pages

Featuring:
Artificial by Stephanie Espinoza Villamor
Space Folds and Broomsticks by CD Gallant-King
Rift by Kim Mannix
The Utten Mission by Steph Wolmarans
Sentient by Tara Tyler
One to Another by Deniz Bevan
Resident Alien by Charles Kowalski
Nano Pursuit by Olga Godim
Resurgence by Elizabeth Mueller
Vera’s Last Voyage by Mark Alpert