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Dark Minds Release Book Blitz: Day 3

Dark Minds Tour Banner

On tour with Prism Book Tours

Welcome to the Release Celebration for Dark Minds by Michelle Diener

Dark Minds is book three in the Class 5 Series. Michelle is sharing about the Class 5 world today. If you missed Michelle’s release-day message, go read it HERE, if you missed about the rise of the genre, go check that out HERE, and don’t forget to check out the entire series and enter the giveaway below!

Dark MindsDark Deeds
(Class 5 #3)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
ebook, 331 Pages
July 22nd 2016

The mind is the most powerful weapon of all . . .

Imogen Peters knows she’s a pawn. She’s been abducted from Earth, held prisoner, and abducted again. So when she gets a chance at freedom, she takes it with both hands, not realizing that doing so will turn her from pawn to kingmaker.

Captain Camlar Kalor expected to meet an Earth woman on his current mission, he just thought he’d be meeting her on Larga Ways, under the protection of his Battle Center colleague. Instead, he and Imogen are thrown together as prisoners in the hold of a Class 5 battleship. When he works out she’s not the woman who sparked his mission, but another abductee, Cam realizes his investigation just got a lot more complicated, and the nations of the United Council just took a step closer to war.

Imogen’s out of her depth in this crazy mind game playing out all around her, and she begins to understand her actions will have a massive impact on all the players. But she’s good at mind games. She’s been playing them since she was abducted. Guess they should have left her minding her own business back on Earth…

Goodreads | Amazon

Creating the World of the Class 5 Series

A few days ago, DARK MINDS, the third and final book in my Class 5 series was released. I have had a lot of readers express disappointment that this is the final book. They love the world and they want to keep exploring it.

Nothing is sweeter to me than hearing that the world I’ve created in my head is a place people want to linger. I am working on a new series, though, and hope everyone loves the new one just as much.

When I started the Class 5 series, it wasn’t really with a series in mind. The main character in DARK HORSE, the first book in the series, Rose, came to me so strongly, with such a compelling story, I set aside the historical I was working on and jumped right in to write it. It was only near the end of DARK HORSE that I realized there was still a lot of the story left to tell, and the Class 5 series was born.

I know the fact that Rose and the world she found herself in was so clear in my head and so vivid in my imagination helped me create such a strong world for the series as a whole. I had invented way more in my head than ended up on the page in DARK HORSE, and that gave me scope to include the greater world of the Class 5 series or explore things I only touched on in DARK HORSE in the other two novels.

The part of the universe where my heroines Rose, Fiona and Imogen find themselves is run by a coalition of five races. I only go into detail about the culture of the Grih, the race my human heroines have the most affinity for, but I do lightly touch on aspects of the other four’s cultures. It was fun creating the worlds and customs, the look and feel of the places my heroines are forced to go, and I like to think that while they’re there unwillingly at first, I’ve made the places interesting enough, sometimes even magical, so that they can see good in their new part of the universe, as well as bad.

If you are already a fan of the world of the Class 5 series, I hope you love DARK MINDS, and if you haven’t tried the series yet, I hope you’ll consider giving it a go. If action, adventure, and romance appeal, you won’t be sorry you did.

— Michelle Diener

Other Books in the Series

Dark DeedsDark Deeds
(Class 5 #2)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
ebook, 340 Pages
January 4th 2016

Far from home . . .

Fiona Russell has been snatched from Earth, imprisoned and used as slave labor, but nothing about her abduction makes sense. When she’s rescued by the Grih, she realizes there’s a much bigger game in play than she could ever have imagined, and she’s right in the middle of it.

Far from safe . . .

Battleship captain Hal Vakeri is chasing down pirates when he stumbles across a woman abducted from Earth. She’s the second one the Grih have found in two months, and her presence is potentially explosive in the Grih’s ongoing negotiations with their enemies, the Tecran. The Tecran and the Grih are on the cusp of war, and Fiona might just tip the balance.

Far from done . . .

Fiona has had to bide her time while she’s been a prisoner, pretending to be less than she is, but when the chance comes for her to forge her own destiny in this new world she grabs it with both hands. After all, actions speak louder than words.

Goodreads | Amazon

Dark Horse 300pxDark Horse
(Class 5 #1)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
ebook, 381 Pages
June 15th 2015

Some secrets carry the weight of the world.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she’s made a powerful ally–a fellow prisoner with whom she’s formed a strong bond. Sazo’s an artificial intelligence. He’s saved her from captivity and torture, but he’s also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn’t know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he’s not going to complain. The only problem is, all its crew are dead, all except for one strange, new alien being.

She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5’s owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn’t the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he’s going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.

GoodreadsAmazon

Copyright Veronika Kahrmadji

Copyright Veronika Kahrmadji

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.

Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings. or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.

GoodreadsFacebookTwitter

Release Celebration Giveaway

$25 Amazon eGift Card
Four ebook sets of Dark Horse, Dark Deeds, and Dark Minds
Open internationally
Ends July 31st

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dark Minds Release Book Blitz: Day 2

Dark Minds Tour Banner

On tour with Prism Book Tours

Welcome to the Release Celebration for Dark Minds by Michelle Diener

Dark Minds is book three in the Class 5 Series. Today Michelle is sharing about the rise of the genre. If you missed Michelle’s release-day message, go read it HERE, and come back on Tuesday, July 26th, HERE to read about the Class 5 world. Feel free to enter the fabulous Amazon/book giveaway as well. So check those all out below!

Dark MindsDark Deeds
(Class 5 #3)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
ebook, 331 Pages
July 22nd 2016

The mind is the most powerful weapon of all . . .

Imogen Peters knows she’s a pawn. She’s been abducted from Earth, held prisoner, and abducted again. So when she gets a chance at freedom, she takes it with both hands, not realizing that doing so will turn her from pawn to kingmaker.

Captain Camlar Kalor expected to meet an Earth woman on his current mission, he just thought he’d be meeting her on Larga Ways, under the protection of his Battle Center colleague. Instead, he and Imogen are thrown together as prisoners in the hold of a Class 5 battleship. When he works out she’s not the woman who sparked his mission, but another abductee, Cam realizes his investigation just got a lot more complicated, and the nations of the United Council just took a step closer to war.

Imogen’s out of her depth in this crazy mind game playing out all around her, and she begins to understand her actions will have a massive impact on all the players. But she’s good at mind games. She’s been playing them since she was abducted. Guess they should have left her minding her own business back on Earth…

Goodreads | Amazon

The Rise of Science Fiction Romance and Space Opera

It started in 1977. 🙂

I was too young to watch the first Star Wars movie, but classic space opera is epitomized by the Star Wars franchise. It became a cultural phenomenon because it was fresh, it was exciting, and it explored other galaxies and worlds.

Nearly forty years later, I don’t think the interest in any of these things has waned. We’ve had another six Star Wars movies since then, each as commercially successful as the last, and we’ve had a plethora of other space operas, from Star Trek, to Battlestar Galactica, Guardians of the Galaxy and the darker Serenity. We can’t get enough of them.

Space opera is about exploring new worlds and finding adventure, love, and action. It is just such fun. Even when exploring serious topics or when it incorporates bittersweet threads, there is a wonder and excitement to the genre that I absolutely adore.

Amazing strides in space exploration, like Juno’s successful trip to Jupiter, only fuel the fire of our imaginations and our wonder at the amazing universe we live in. Who wouldn’t want to explore what’s out there from the safe and comfortable seat of our armchair?

And the great news is that more and more readers are finding space opera and science fiction romance novels that give them the same thrill ride as the movies.

Just over a year ago, when I released my space opera novel, DARK HORSE, I didn’t really know what to expect. My previous books had been historicals and fantasy novels, but as a hard-core science fiction fan, and a massive fan of the space opera movies mentioned above, I had worked for eight months on DARK HORSE, even though I knew the sensible thing was to stick to the genres I was already established in.

Taking that risk paid off for me. Because people, as I’ve said above, love space opera, and science fiction romance. DARK HORSE became my most successful book, and has won me awards and bestseller status. It is the first book in my Class 5 series, and I’ve since published a second book, DARK DEEDS, which has done just as well. On July 22nd, the third and final book in the series, DARK MINDS, was released, and I hope readers love it just as much as they did the first two. I certainly loved writing it.

— Michelle Diener

Other Books in the Series

Dark DeedsDark Deeds
(Class 5 #2)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
ebook, 340 Pages
January 4th 2016

Far from home . . .

Fiona Russell has been snatched from Earth, imprisoned and used as slave labor, but nothing about her abduction makes sense. When she’s rescued by the Grih, she realizes there’s a much bigger game in play than she could ever have imagined, and she’s right in the middle of it.

Far from safe . . .

Battleship captain Hal Vakeri is chasing down pirates when he stumbles across a woman abducted from Earth. She’s the second one the Grih have found in two months, and her presence is potentially explosive in the Grih’s ongoing negotiations with their enemies, the Tecran. The Tecran and the Grih are on the cusp of war, and Fiona might just tip the balance.

Far from done . . .

Fiona has had to bide her time while she’s been a prisoner, pretending to be less than she is, but when the chance comes for her to forge her own destiny in this new world she grabs it with both hands. After all, actions speak louder than words.

Goodreads | Amazon

Dark Horse 300pxDark Horse
(Class 5 #1)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
ebook, 381 Pages
June 15th 2015

Some secrets carry the weight of the world.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she’s made a powerful ally–a fellow prisoner with whom she’s formed a strong bond. Sazo’s an artificial intelligence. He’s saved her from captivity and torture, but he’s also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn’t know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he’s not going to complain. The only problem is, all its crew are dead, all except for one strange, new alien being.

She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5’s owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn’t the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he’s going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.

GoodreadsAmazon

Copyright Veronika Kahrmadji

Copyright Veronika Kahrmadji

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.

Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings. or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.

GoodreadsFacebookTwitter

Release Celebration Giveaway

$25 Amazon eGift Card
Four ebook sets of Dark Horse, Dark Deeds, and Dark Minds
Open internationally
Ends July 31st

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dark Deeds: The release celebration continues

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Welcome to the Release Celebration for
Dark Deeds
By Michelle Diener

Dark Deeds is book two in the Class 5 Series. If you missed Michelle’s release-day message, go read it HERE and don’t forget to grab your copy of Dark Horse, book one, while it’s on SALE for 99¢! Come back on Friday, January 8th, HERE to read an excerpt. There’s a fabulous Amazon eGift Card giveaway as well. Enjoy!

Inspiring Characters

A while ago, I was interviewed on whether I was more character focused or plot focused in my novels, and I said fifty-fifty, because while my books do tend to have big plots, the characters are always my inspiration for my stories.

In Dark Horse, which is the first book in my Class 5 series, Rose McKenzie, the heroine, jumped into my imagination and started the whole ball rolling. I couldn’t get her or her adventures out of my head.

I think the idea of alien abduction fascinates us because we would be thrown into a completely new paradigm. While that would obviously not be easy, it also holds the promise of exploring an unknown world, and as humans, curiosity and a thirst for knowledge is what makes us tick, and the idea of every day being a new adventure is seductive.

Both Rose and Fiona, the heroine of the second book in the Class 5 series, which has just been released, are curious, intelligent and resilient, and those characteristics serve them well in the imaginary trouble I land them in. It wouldn’t have worked if the characters had come to me a little whiny or too rigid in their ideas of the world.

However ambitious my plot, the characters have to be realistic and their reactions and emotions honest.

Sometimes that’s a challenge, but one that I love.

To celebrate the release of Fiona’s story, Dark Deeds, on January 4th, Dark Horse is on sale for 99c until January 9th, so you can get to know Rose McKenzie at a bargain price 🙂

— Michelle Diener

Dark Deeds (Class 5, #2)Dark Deeds
(Class 5 #2)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
Paperback & ebook, 340 Pages
June 4th 2016

Far from home . . .

Fiona Russell has been snatched from Earth, imprisoned and used as slave labor, but nothing about her abduction makes sense. When she’s rescued by the Grih, she realizes there’s a much bigger game in play than she could ever have imagined, and she’s right in the middle of it.

Far from safe . . .

Battleship captain Hal Vakeri is chasing down pirates when he stumbles across a woman abducted from Earth. She’s the second one the Grih have found in two months, and her presence is potentially explosive in the Grih’s ongoing negotiations with their enemies, the Tecran. The Tecran and the Grih are on the cusp of war, and Fiona might just tip the balance.

Far from done . . .

Fiona has had to bide her time while she’s been a prisoner, pretending to be less than she is, but when the chance comes for her to forge her own destiny in this new world she grabs it with both hands. After all, actions speak louder than words.

Dark HorseDark Horse
(Class 5 #1)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
Paperback & ebook, 381 Pages
June 15th 2015

Some secrets carry the weight of the world.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she’s made a powerful ally–a fellow prisoner with whom she’s formed a strong bond. Sazo’s an artificial intelligence. He’s saved her from captivity and torture, but he’s also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn’t know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he’s not going to complain. The only problem is, all its crew are dead, all except for one strange, new alien being.

She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5’s owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn’t the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he’s going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.

Image of Michelle Diener

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.

Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings. or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.

Release Celebration Giveaway

$50 Amazon eGift Card
Open internationally
Ends January 10th

Release day for Dark Deeds!

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Welcome to the Release Celebration for
Dark Deeds
By Michelle Diener

Dark Deeds is book two in the Class 5 Series. Michelle has a message below and you can come back on Wednesday, January 6th, HERE to learn more about the characters and on Friday, January 8th, HERE to read an excerpt. There’s a fabulous Amazon eGift Card giveaway as well. Enjoy!

Journey in a New Direction

In June 2015, I released my first science fiction romance novel, Dark Horse. The story had gripped me for nearly a year and I spent well over eight months working on it. And yet, I really didn’t know if it would be a success or not. I’m published in historical fiction and fantasy, and while it wasn’t a big leap for my fantasy fans, my historical fans were surely unlikely to be interested in Dark Horse, and yet, I couldn’t let the story go.

As it happens, Dark Horse found its own fan base. One I’ve delighted in interacting with. It has been my most successful book to date, and I get emails daily from readers wanting to know when the next book in the series will be out.

I’m thrilled to be able to say that day is today! Dark Deeds, book two in the Class 5 series. has been released.

To celebrate, I’ve priced Dark Horse for 99c (down from $4.99) for a week, from 3 January to 9 January, so those who haven’t heard about it yet can quickly jump in and get the first book for a bargain before they move on to Dark Deeds.

I’ve had some wonderful reviews for Dark Horse since it was released. The All About Romance reviewer called it “one of my top reads of 2015”, and Smart Girls Love Science Fiction Romance called it “awesome new Sci Fi from a very talented writer”.

I’m proud of Dark Horse and so happy to have the sequel finished and ready to share with everyone who loved Dark Horse.

— Michelle Diener

Dark Deeds (Class 5, #2)Dark Deeds
(Class 5 #2)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
Paperback & ebook, 340 Pages
June 4th 2016

Far from home . . .

Fiona Russell has been snatched from Earth, imprisoned and used as slave labor, but nothing about her abduction makes sense. When she’s rescued by the Grih, she realizes there’s a much bigger game in play than she could ever have imagined, and she’s right in the middle of it.

Far from safe . . .

Battleship captain Hal Vakeri is chasing down pirates when he stumbles across a woman abducted from Earth. She’s the second one the Grih have found in two months, and her presence is potentially explosive in the Grih’s ongoing negotiations with their enemies, the Tecran. The Tecran and the Grih are on the cusp of war, and Fiona might just tip the balance.

Far from done . . .

Fiona has had to bide her time while she’s been a prisoner, pretending to be less than she is, but when the chance comes for her to forge her own destiny in this new world she grabs it with both hands. After all, actions speak louder than words.

Dark HorseDark Horse
(Class 5 #1)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
Paperback & ebook, 381 Pages
June 15th 2015

Some secrets carry the weight of the world.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she’s made a powerful ally–a fellow prisoner with whom she’s formed a strong bond. Sazo’s an artificial intelligence. He’s saved her from captivity and torture, but he’s also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn’t know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he’s not going to complain. The only problem is, all its crew are dead, all except for one strange, new alien being.

She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5’s owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn’t the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he’s going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.

Image of Michelle Diener

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.

Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings. or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.

Release Celebration Giveaway

$50 Amazon eGift Card
Open internationally
Ends January 10th

Giveaway: 20 books to be won

425 The Golden AppleTo say thank you to readers for posting reviews on The Golden Apple, or any of my books, I’ve set up a Rafflecopter draw. All you have to do to enter is post your link to a review on Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook or any venue of your choice of any one of my books, and each review counts as a new entry. There are twenty copies of any one of my novels to be won, winners’ choice.

The contest ends on April 24th.

Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodreads Giveaway of The Emperor’s Conspiracy

Hop on over to Goodreads to enter your name in the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway for The Emperor’s Conspiracy. There are ten copies up for grabs, but only for people with US addresses, unfortunately. The giveaway ends on November 21st, so there are only just over 2 days left.

Keeper of the King’s Secrets: Pre-release giveaway with a LOT of sparkle

I’ve having a huge giveaway on my group blog, Magical Musings, in celebration of the release of Keeper of the King’s Secrets. There are two copies of Keeper of the King’s Secrets up for grabs, as well as some really lovely earrings, so hop on over and comment to be included in the draw. The blog post is open to entries until next Friday, so spread the word.

Where I’ll Be on the Web

Here is the schedule of where I’ll be over the next few weeks, as I count down to the release of IN A TREACHEROUS COURT. There is a giveaway with every single interview or guest post, so if you’d like to win a copy of IN A TREACHEROUS COURT, or even if you just want to learn more about the book, please stop by:

Monday, July 25th, I’ll be answering some fun questions over at the great book blog The Book Pushers.

Tuesday, July 26th, I’ll be guest blogging at YA author Gabi Steven’s blog.

Wednesday, July 27th, I’m over at romantic suspense and paranormal romance author Cynthia Eden’s blog.

Thursday, July 28th, women’s fiction author Marilyn Brant asks me some questions about IN A TREACHEROUS COURT over at her blog.

Friday, July 29th, I’m over at historical romance author Eliza Knight’s blog, History Undressed, where I reveal some interesting history behind my series.

The next Friday, August 5th, thanks to an invitation from Karin Tabke, I’m guest blogging with the amazing queens of romantic suspense over at Murder She Writes. On the same day, the first part of a two part interview with Therese Walsh focusing on IN A TREACHEROUS COURT goes up on the wonderful, informative Writer Unboxed, and I’m guest blogging over at Writers in the Storm. You have three chances to win a copy of IN A TREACHEROUS COURT on August 5th if you post a comment on all three blogs!

Wednesday, August 10th, the lovely Donnell Bell has invited me to guest blog at her group blog, Five Scribes.

Friday, August 12th, the second part of Therese Walsh‘s interview with me on IN A TREACHEROUS COURT goes up on Writers Unboxed.

And Sunday, August 14th, I am guest blogging over at Australian Romance Readers Association.