PETS IN SPACE® 5: Out on October 6th

I am SOOOO excited about the release of Pets in Space 5, which is on October 6th. This long-running science fiction romance anthology includes a new novella from my Class 5 series this year. DARK AMBITIONS is a 25,000 word novella featuring Rose, Sazo and Dav from the first Class 5 book, DARK HORSE.

ABOUT THE PETS IN SPACE® 5 ANTHOLOGY:

It’s time for an escape! Pets in Space® 5 is back for the fifth amazing year! Escape to new worlds with twelve of today’s top Science Fiction Romance authors. They have written 12 original, never-before-released stories filled with action, adventure, suspense, humor, and romance that will take you out of this world. The giving doesn’t stop there. For the fifth year, Pets in Space® will be donating a portion of the first month proceeds to Hero-Dogs.org, a non-profit charity that supports our veterans and First Responders. If you are ready to forget the world around you and make a difference while you are having fun, grab your copy before it’s gone!

OUR CHARITY: HERO-DOGS.ORG
Proud supporters of Hero-Dogs.org, Pets in Space® authors have donated over $15,300 in the past four years to help place specially trained dogs with veterans and first responders. 10% of all pre-orders and the first month’s royalties of Pets in Space® 5 will again go to Hero-Dogs.org. Open your hearts and grab your limited release copy of Pets in Space® 5 today so together we can continue to assist this worthy charity! https://www.hero-dogs.org/

THE PETS IN SPACE® 5 ANTHOLOGY INCLUDES:

DARK AMBITIONS
A Class 5 Novella
by Michelle Diener

It’s been months since Rose McKenzie was taken far from Earth. She’s trying to make a place for herself amongst the Grih, with help from her Grihan lover, Captain Dav Jallan, and the dangerous and loyal Sazo, a powerful artificial intelligence who’s integrated with an infamous Class 5 battleship.

When Rose gets the chance to join an exploration team going down to collect information from a planet in Grihan airspace, she jumps at the opportunity to stretch her legs and breathe some real air.

But someone is already on the planet—the Krik—and they don’t want anyone to know what they’re up to. The Krik are the chaos agents of the United Council, often riding the edge of the law or over it. They ambush the exploration team and take them prisoner, but they don’t realize they didn’t get everyone. They didn’t get Rose.

With Dav, and his spaceship the Barrist, lured away by a distress signal, Rose and Sazo, along with a furry friend Rose has made, are the exploration team’s only hope at rescue. And Rose never leaves a friend behind.

There are 11 other exciting, never-before-published SFR novellas in PETS IN SPACE® 5. You can learn more about all of them on the PETS IN SPACE® 5’s website.

Meet more of the authors in the Fantasy Realms Anthology

The Warlords, Witches and Wolves Anthology is only 2 months away! Be quick to pre-order your copy for only 99c!

This month, I’m introducing you to the wonderful MJ Scott, TJ Nichols, Cassie Laelyn and I’ll be answering some questions, too!

Why do you love fantasy romance?

TJ: I like reading fantasy because I can escape to another place, and explore a new world with the added bonus of romance.

MJ: I grew up reading fantasy and romance. So I guess it was fate that I grew up to write both and then sometimes both at once! I like the scope that a fantasy world brings to a romance, you can have big save-the-world stakes at play or more intimate ones. And, it’s just fun to make up whole new worlds for my characters to play in!

Michelle: I love fantasy romance because for me it’s true escapism. I have always loved fairy tales, and fantasy romance to me is fairy tales for grown-ups.

Cassie: I love intense and fiercely protective heroes who whisk me away to other worlds! I also love reading how these over-the-top flawed characters still face real-life issues and drama in a fantasy setting.

Favourite otherworldly being and why?

TJ: Shifters of all kinds 🙂

MJ: I’ve always had a very soft spot for werewolves. For a while, when I was a kid, I got into animal behavior and always found books about wolves and their packs really interesting. And I’d rather have a hero who turns furry once in a while than one who drinks blood…(sorry vamp fans)!

Michelle: This is a hard one! I think the fae, because there is so much room to move there, in terms of powers and problems.

Cassie: It changes depending on my mood, but wolf shifters will always have a special place in my heart. Their pack mentality, loyalty and devotion to their mate never fails to suck me in.

Why will readers fall in love with your anthology story?

TJ: The Soldier’s Familiar has reluctant criminal snow leopard shifter and an army sniper, so people who love military heroes and fated mates stories will like this standalone installment of my Familiar Mates series.

MJ: I’m a bit of a sucker for a heroine who has her eyes on the prize and then gets derailed by meeting the hero. A hero who is precisely what she doesn’t think she wants. Imogene Carvelle wants to be a diplomat and bond with a demon. She isn’t counting on a case of inconvenient heir to a duqdom proving to be too charming for his own good. It’s always fun to go back and see what a character is like before they first appeared and as soon as Imogene appeared in The Forbidden Heir and Jean-Paul in The Unbound Queen, I knew I wanted to know more about them and how they met. Now you can do. If you like magic, intrigue and a ball or two, this is the novella for you.

Michelle: If they love a strong heroine and a strong hero, warlords, cheeky spies and fantasy settings, they’ll love my novella, which is the start of a new fantasy romance series for me.

Cassie: Salvation is a twisty Red Riding Hood retelling with a wolf shifter, a touch of witchy-ness, death, betrayal and an ancient curse! And if that’s not enough to suck you in, it also has a small-town vibe, a second chance romance, and most importantly, a sexy bartender! This novella is the start of a new adventure, but still with the underlying themes of loyalty and redemption you’ve come to expect from me.

Where can readers stalk you?

TJ: www.tjnichols-author.com

MJ: www.mjscott.net


Michelle: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.diener.author/

Cassie: https://www.cassielaelyn.com

Meet the Authors in the Fantasy Realms Anthology

Over the next three months I’ll introduce you to the twelve awesome authors contributing to the Warlords, Witches and Wolves Anthology. First up are the wonderful Leisl Leighton, Daniel de Lorne, Claire Boston and SE Welsh!

You can still pre-order your copy for the special release price of only 99c! (It will be going up some time after release date!)

So let’s hear from Leisl, Dan, Claire and SE.

Why do you love fantasy romance?

Leisl: I love the idea of worlds that are not ours – either another planet or our planet but with a different version of our reality – and what goes on in them. I love mythology and history and blending them together with social structures to create a new whole (based in something from our reality) thrills me. I love to sink into those worlds and discover them – it feels like travelling. And of course, I love seeing characters I care about reaching their HEA.

Daniel: I love being able to create a world beyond the norm where the impossible is possible – and the chances for life-or-death romances is that much more ‘realistic’.

Claire: I’ve always been drawn to the fantastical – fairies, goblins, dragons and magic – and I adore love stories, so fantasy romance is the perfect mix of both of my passions.

SE: The biggest reason is because fantasy is so escapist. Also, I really love the ‘acceptance’ aspect of it. The heroines/heroes often find themselves falling for someone from a different race/species than themselves, and it doesn’t matter. I want our world to be like that.

Favorite otherworldly being and why?

Leisl: Dragons. I love the various mythology around them, especially where they can shift into human form and live among us. The idea of shifting into something so huge and terrifying, of flying far above the world and seeing it from a perspective shaped from the life a dragon must live – it sparks my imagination and makes my mind soar. I’m yet to write one – haven’t found the right story, but when I do, ‘there be dragons’.

Daniel: I’m partial to a dragon because they’re big and they can fly and (most) breathe fire – and yet I haven’t written a story with one yet. Maybe in the future.

Claire: Without doubt it has to be the dragon. There are so many different sizes from enormous, ride-them-through-the-air, down to hold it in the palm of your hand. They breathe fire, are majestic, and magical. You just can’t go wrong with them.

SE: I love shifters and Gods. And fae. And vampires. Ummm…I love them all, especially when they fall for a mortal heroine.

Why will readers fall in love with your anthology story?

Leisl: It is a friend’s kid-sister to lover story twined with prescience that indicates that a fated mate would be killed if they mated with you. There’s the desperation to change fate and then dealing with the consequences and coming to understand the depths of threads that join mates despite how a person might try to fight it. It’s emotional and fast-paced and romantic. And for those who love my Pack Bound books, it tells the story of Skye and River’s parents. And for those who haven’t read the series, it’s a great introduction into the Pack Bound world.

Daniel: It’s a captive romance with a warlord called Ragnar who thinks he’s all that. He’s forced to own up to the hurt he caused his former lover, Absolon, who’s now so much stronger than he was thanks to a mysterious new power. Will Ragnar repair the damage he’s caused to Absolon’s heart or just take Absolon’s new power for his own? Oh, and there’s a dog.

Claire: Shuree is a heroine who knows exactly what she wants—peace—but must risk her life to get it. She is required to stand up not only to her family, but also her family and her enemy. By her side is a man who was her enemy (and might still be), and who is unwavering in his confidence that she can change their whole world for the better. If you like reluctant heroes, high-stakes tension, and desperate, last-ditch efforts, then you’ll love The Daughter’s Duty.

SE: What’s not to love about a plucky single mum heroine who doesn’t need a man to take care of her, because she’s a badass witch herself? Still, might be she needs a growly wolf occasionally to back her up, particularly when the Inquisition come calling.

Next month I’ll be posting questions and answers from some of the other twelve authors contributing to the anthology.

High Flyer Up for Pre-order

I’m so happy to say that HIGH FLYER, the next book in my Verdant String series, is now available for pre-order on Amazon and due for a July 24th release.

About High Flyer

Flying the head-of-planet around isn’t a job for the faint of heart. Especially not on Faldine, the planet in the Verdant String whose magnetic fields actively fight against technology, bringing down the ships of the unwary or the incompetent.

Hana thrives on the challenge, though. Thrives on everything about her job. It keeps her from thinking too much about what happened to her during the war, and what she is becoming. A relationship with the head-of-planet himself, though, is more than she wants to deal with.

Iver Sugotti feels like he fell into the role of head-of-planet by default. He knows he’s good at the job, and he’s enjoying the challenge of making tech work on a planet that eats tech for breakfast, but the one thing he really wants–Hana–seems out of his reach.

His pilot has made it clear she’s not interested, and he can only respect the boundaries she’s set. But when someone wants him dead, he and Hana are plunged into an all-out race for their lives. Iver discovers those closest to him have betrayed him, but also, that his pilot is not as disinterested as she seems.

As they try to outwit their enemies, they discover they are far better together than they are apart, and that Hana really is at her best when she’s flying high.

HIGH FLYER is part of the Verdant String series, but can be read as a standalone novel.

Books in the series: Interference & Insurgency (Two Novellas of the Verdant String) | Breakaway | Breakeven | Trailblazer | High Flyer

The planets of the Verdant String, the green, fecund sources of life spanning five solar systems, comprise the Verdant String Coalition. This is the setting for a new science fiction romance series from award-winning science fiction romance novelist Michelle Diener. While the people of the Verdant String know they have a common ancestor, a group of explorers who colonised the planets at the same time a thousand or more years ago, the mysteries of who they were, and where they came from, persist.

Mistress of the Wind: Free for a short time

I’m happy to help those stuck at home during this truly unprecedented time by making my fantasy fairy-tale retelling, Mistress of the Wind, free for five days on Amazon, until March 29th. For those who are familiar with the fairy tale Mistress of the Wind is based on, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, read on for my thoughts on how I took the original tale and worked it into a retelling.

For those who don’t know anything about East of the Sun, West of the Moon, you might find some slight spoilers in my article below, but you can always read Mistress of the Wind and then come back and read it.

Writing Mistress of the Wind

I always loved fairy tales as a child, but when I was at university, doing research for a history paper on the witch hunts of the 17th Century, I came across a really interesting (but totally unrelated :)) journal full of articles on the meanings of fairy tales that reignited that love.

I suddenly saw the subversion in the tales. Even with the whitewashing that went on in the Victorian era to make fairy tales moral tales and warnings, especially to girls, to be good, and obedient and incurious, I realized one could read a subtext to the tale.

I then went on to read books on the interpretation of fairy tales by Jungian psychologist Marie-Louise Van Franz and others, and books like Clarissa Estes’s Women Who Run With the Wolves, and I found an even deeper love for the tales. Or rather, I finally understood why I loved them so much. I think I’d subconsciously understood the deeper layers, but now I could trace those layers better.

I started thinking about writing a book based on one of my favorite fairy tales, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, and ended up weaving some other myths through the tale, to create the story that is Mistress of the Wind. I worked hard to keep it as a tale on a number of levels, just like the original.

It can be about a woman who meets an enchanted prince, falls in love with him and then, when a combination of the circumstances of his enchantment and her actions cause him to be taken from her, she goes on a long search to find and rescue him, getting help from people along the way. Or it could be about a woman coming into her power, and mastering the facets of her personality and understanding her faults and her strengths so that she is able to take on anything that is thrown at her with a clear idea of her worth.

The challenge with Mistress of the Wind, given I wanted to remain true to the original fairy tale, was to give Astrid a good reason to go against Bjorn’s request to see him as a man, which is the catalyst for her having to go on her quest.

The consequences of her doing so are huge, to both her and Bjorn, and I really had to create a compelling situation for her to act against his wishes. If she doesn’t do it, however, the story is over, and the heroine and hero remain trapped in an unhealthy, untenable situation.

I used a number of motivations.

The first was genuine curiosity. Astrid wants to see Bjorn as a man. Of course she does. He is her lover and which of us wouldn’t want to know what the person we love looks like? Her mother’s fear of what he is also spurs that. She wants to be able to reassure her mother that the man she has chosen is not a monster.

Bjorn himself has some responsibility. He could have taken Astrid to his palace and left her alone. But by involving her, drawing her into the complexities of the curse and forming the strong bond that he does with her, he blunts the importance of her never seeing him as a man. Of course, we understand his loneliness and his love for her makes staying away almost impossible, but it is a choice he makes.

Astrid’s personality plays a roles as well. She knows she is worthy of respect, if not love, just for being who she is, and so she has fought against her father’s attempts to beat her down and break her. That makes it extremely hard for her to accept some of the conditions that are set on her behaviour by her lover.

While she fights against the literal, and figurative, burying of her personality and her need to be free–because that’s what her imprisonment in the heart of a mountain amounts to–she tries to accommodate Bjorn’s need for her to never see him as a man, to stay inside, to stay in the dark, but it is eating away at her.

Even though Bjorn tells Astrid that the conditions of his enchantment are the only reason he holds her back, she sees what he cannot, that his enchanter, the troll queen, is merely using the conditions she’s imposed as a way to manipulate Bjorn. She has no intention of letting Bjorn win, and if he does–despite the difficult rules and conditions of the curse–she will have nothing to lose by reneging on their agreement. As an outsider to the situation, Astrid is clearer-eyed than Bjorn. He is playing by the rules, but Astrid has seen evidence the troll queen is not.

Astrid only breaks the enchantment conditions out of concern for Bjorn’s life–what do the rules mean if he is dead, after all?–but she also realizes that continuing on as they are is a slow death. She is proactive, and she wants to act. To fight rather than wait at someone else’s pleasure, for something she is sure will never be granted, no matter if she and Bjorn follow the conditions or not. The consequences of that act drive the second part of the book, where Astrid has to confront her faults and her power, and decide how to control them.

It was a fine line to walk and one which continually challenged me.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Pets in Space® 5 Announcement

I’m happy to announce I’ll be contributing to the Pets in Space® 5 anthology this year, with a novella from my Class 5 series. Pets in Space® 5 will be available for preorder on May 8th and the release date is October 6th.

You can find more information on the website, sign up to the newsletter, or join the Pets in Space® Facebook Group

10% of pre-orders and the 1st month’s royalties from Pets in Space® 5 go to Hero-Dogs.org, who raise, train & place support dogs with U.S. veterans and first responders.