Showing posts with label Michelle Diener. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michelle Diener. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Dark Deeds by Michelle Diener -- Release Celebration

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

Friday, January 17, 2014

Mistress of the Wind by Michelle Diener -- Grand Finale

To post this Grand Finale and add your Social Media to the Rafflecopter, email Tressa at wishfulendings(at)outlook.com with "Mistress of the Wind Grand Finale" in the subject line!

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

The Tour!

Did you miss any of the tour stops for this beautiful New Adult retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon? Catch what you missed now!

12/29: Launch  
  
Saeit Yahalomi - Review


"The descriptions are superb, told in a way that is unique, fantastical, and yet, as crazy as this will sound, believable (a world filled with strange magical creatures and trolls)."

12/30: My Seryniti - Review

"Super easy to read and once I melted into the story, really easy to follow and enjoy! Lovely story which makes me want to check out the original myth!"

Tome Tender - Guest Post


Because Mistress of the Wind is a retelling of the Scandinavian fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon, I used Norse mythology throughout the story.

Trolls are an intergral part of Scandinavian myth and folklore, and there are plenty of trolls in Mistress of the Wind. But I also introduced two other folklore creatures which came from my imagination or which were a tweak of existing folklore.

The first of these is the yggren. . .


2/31: Kelly P's Blog - Guest Post


Mistress of the Wind is based on the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon, and as I researched it, I was enchanted by the number of unusual and interesting elements in the original tale. Thinking about how to deal with them in Mistress of the Wind, and de-constructing them for a better and deeper understanding of the original, inspired some of the storyline I wove into Mistress of the Wind.

Giveaway Breaking News for Indonesia - Guest Post


I don't write with music playing, I find it distracting, but I most definitely would go for my morning walk and listen to music that suited the mood of the story, and think about what I was going to write next. I find it interesting how music can so affect our moods and our tempo and pace.

1/1: Mel's Shelves - Review


She didn't realize, either, what powers she possessed until she decided to do her best to get Bjorn back. Bjorn is also very likable and they have a great connection. Then there are some secondary characters which add to the story and are fun to learn about. I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first half and towards the end, I couldn't put it down. 


1/2: Mythical Books - Guest Post


The concept of a wind hag, the controller of the winds, was one that delighted me immediately. In the book Women Who Run With the Wolves, Clarissa Estes talks about hags and crones, including the Russian uber-hag, Baba-Yaga, as women of power and consequence. The word 'hag' generally has such negative connotations, but Estes introduced me to the idea that rather than a negative, it was a positive. Her ideas really resonated with me, so when I stumbled upon the Wind Hag folk tale, I was all over it. It just fit so well into the story, as seamlessly as if it was meant to be there.

Tressa's Wishful Endings - This or That


Read a book or watch TV? 
Reading a book wins 90% of the time.

Get out of the house or stay at home? 
I like to get out of the house, because I work from home, so it is the office and the house, and sometimes, I need a break.

Winter or summer? 
Winter. I love boots, I love coming in to a warm house from the cold, and I love how green everything gets (winter in Western Australia is probably like summer in some parts of the world :))

1/3: Brooke Blogs - Guest Post
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.
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, they win and everyone lives happily ever after.
Unfortunately for them, they have to work a little harder for their happy ending than that.
1/5: Leeanna.me - Review


I thought this book was well-written and engaging, and I would check out the author’s next fairy tale retelling, THE GOLDEN APPLE, based on “The Princess on the Glass Hill.”

1/6: The Book Landers - Guest Post


I love being asked for a list of ten of my favorite fairy tales. There are so many great ones, and I'll probably head-smack myself in a couple of days because I left out a really good one, but here goes, in no particular order - and I've put in a link to a version of the fairy tale on the Sur La Lune Fairy Tale website, where there is one. It comes with annotations, and I really love the site, even if some of my favorites are a slightly different version to the one they have up there...

Deal Sharing Aunt - Interview


2. Where do you shop for books? What format? 

I shop for print books at Amazon, Book Depository and my local Dymocks bookstore, and for ebooks on Amazon. Because I live in Australia, I can't always get the books I want in ebook format, because the rights for electronic book sales to Australia haven't been enabled, so I probably buy more print books than ebooks, but that isn't by choice, it's by necessity.

1/7: So Many Reads - Review


If you are fond of fairy tales and fantasy, you should check out Mistress of the Wind. I will admit that I have a tough time getting into fairy tales because it seems the walls on my imagination only allow me to go so far. However, Michelle’s writing is fantastic and she sets my mind free and helps me really visualize what is going on in the story.

1/8: My Devotional Thoughts - Guest Post


Mistress of the Wind is such a great fairy tale because the heroine gets to take an amazing journey to find where her lover has been taken, and rescue him. But part of why I love the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon so much is because the physical journey she takes mirrors a spiritual journey of coming into her power and into her sense of self. So here are ten things you can discover about yourself on a quest – - Astrid certainly did...

1/10: Colorimetry - Review


Michelle Diener follows the fairy tale quite closely while weaving in the Norse mythology stuff. Right in the middle of the story there's a very big switcheroo... and this is where I expected things to get boring or fuzzy with lack of specific detail because... well, read the story.  This is where Michelle totally won me over. The Norse mythology side fills in all the vagueness of the fairy tale and the second half of the book is even better than the first. 

1/12: The Reading Diaries - Review


I think the author did a fantastic job creating a complex story that mixes fantasy with adventure and romance. It was one of those stories you just can’t put down if not for sleep I would have stayed up all night to finish even though I knew how it would play out. The characters are easy to connect with you can’t help rooting for Astrid on her journey. I enjoyed the book it was worth reading and I’m sure I’ll read it again.

Bookish Outsider - Review


Ms Diener's writing is delightful and so descriptive, especially in the latter half of the book when Astrid is traveling with the winds and I could have quite easily carried on reading for some time thanks to the wonderful world the characters inhabited brought to life by the author's writing style and obvious love of the original fairy tale.

1/13: The Wonderings of One Person - Interview


How has this story touched your life?
All my stories touch my life, because I live in the world of the story every day I write it, and I walk in the steps of the characters, and know them as well as I know myself. Mistress of the Wind is about magical things and enduring love and finding your strength. I love its depth and the world it is set in.
1/14: Dalene's Book Reviews - Interview


4)      Why did you decide to write Mistress of the Wind?

I've always loved fairy tales. 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. It was fantastic, and mind-blowing. I suddenly saw the subversion in  the tales...

1/15: A Backwards Story - Interview


What was the hardest scene/element to write in MISTRESS OF THE WIND? The easiest?

Definitely the hardest was working on a way to give Astrid, my heroine, a good reason to go against Bjorn's wishes to see him as a man. It has to happen, it is part of the story, but creating the conditions for her to do so in a way that didn't show her to be careless of what would happen to him was challenging.

The easiest scenes were between Astrid and the troll princess. I'm not sure if it is because I had such a clear idea of who each of them were and their motivations, but I loved writing those scenes and they came easily to me.

Books & Chocolate - Interview


What inspired you to become a writer?
It was a decision made a long time ago, and at its heart, has never really changed - I love books and love telling stories.

What the inspiration behind Mistress Of The Wind?
I love fairy tales, and the fairy tale East of the Sun West of the Moon has always been one of my absolute favorites. The idea of writing a book based on the fairy tale has been swirling through my head for many, many years.

1/16: Addicted Readers


For me, it was about revelling in the world I had fallen in love with in the original tale. Perhaps I could have contemplated shaking things up a lot more if I didn't adore the tale just as it is, but I do, and it was fun and satisfying to set Mistress of the Wind in that world. I felt like I was honouring the original.

1/17: Grand Finale


Mistress of the Wind 300Mistress of the Wind
by Michelle Diener
New Adult/Sci-Fi Fantasy
Paperback, 342 pages
Expected publication: December 19th 2013


Bjorn needs to find a very special woman . . . 

The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.

Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . . 

She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response. 

It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . . 

A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.



Image of Michelle DienerMichelle Diener writes historical fiction. Her Susanna Horenbout & John Parker series, set in the court of Henry VIII, includes In a Treacherous Court, Keeper of the King's Secrets and In Defense of the Queen.

Michelle's other historical novels include Daughter of the Sky, The Emperor's Conspiracy and Banquet of Lies (loosely connected to The Emperor's Conspiracy).

Michelle's first fantasy novel, Mistress of the Wind, is set for a December 23, 2013, release.

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



International Giveaway:

10 copies of Mistress of the Wind, Kindle or print, winner's choice.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Are you a blogger and want to receive information about new tours? Go HERE.
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Monday, December 16, 2013

Mistress of the Wind by Michelle Diener -- Book Blast

To post this Book Blast (html) and add your Social Media to the Rafflecopter, email Tressa at wishfulendings(at)outlook.com with "Mistress of the Wind Book Blast" in the subject line!

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

The Bookblast!!


Mistress of the Wind 300Mistress of the Wind
by Michelle Diener
New Adult/Sci-Fi Fantasy
Paperback, 342 pages
Expected publication: December 19th 2013


Bjorn needs to find a very special woman . . . 

The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.

Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . . 

She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response. 

It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . . 

A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.


Praise for Mistress of the Wind:
“Diener’s adaptation retains the familiar elements of the original, echoing both the structure and spirit of the classic, but true to form, she puts her own spin both the plot and the narrative, crafting an intricately alluring tale of self-sacrifice, steadfast devotion and enduring love.“ Flashlight Commentary

“The story is fast-paced and never boring, the world a beauty and Michelle’s writing so wonderfully detailed that I felt I was with Bjorn and Astrid on their journey.“ Book Bird Reviews

Author Michelle Diener takes this re-telling to another level. She doesn’t restrict herself to an East of the Sun, West of the moon retelling. Instead we are also given parts reminiscent of Psyche’s quest. Which just allowed for a much more richer story.  Paperback Wonderland

Mistress of the Wind

by Michelle Diener regarding her new book!

Mistress of the Wind is based on the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. It's a fairy tale I've loved since I was a child, but it wasn't until I started seriously researching the origins and mythology of East of the Sun, West of the Moon in preparation for writing Mistress of the Wind that I discovered what a unique fairy tale it is in many respects.

Fairy tales are generally grouped into types by folklorists using the Aarne-Thompson classification system, and East of the Sun, West of the Moon is classified as AT-425A, in the 'husband' group of tales, which also includes Beauty and the Beast and Psyche and Eros.

What is unique about East of the Sun, West of the Moon, is that when the heroine goes in search of her lover, the people who help her along the way do not do so because of any action on her part. Usually in a fairy tale--in fact, almost across the board--an elderly, mysterious figure or animal will aid the hero or heroine because of an act of kindness they have shown, or because of a favor the hero / heroine has done first.

In East of the Sun, West of the Moon, the heroine is helped as if it is her due. This really sparked my interest, along with the magical flying horses that are lent to her, and the assumption by all concerned that the four winds will give the heroine their aid.

I approached the story with the question: why would this be so? Because I was writing a full-length novel off of what is, in my fairy tale collection, only 8 pages of text, I obviously had to make the story make sense. Quite often in fairy tales coincidences, strange happenings and the relationships between characters are never explained, but it is assumed the reader will accept them, even though there is no reason behind them. That obviously wouldn't work in a full-length novel. So I decided to explore all mythology relating to the wind, and came across the myth of the Wind Hag, and I just knew I had found the core of my story.

If you are surprised at the use of the Wind Hag as a powerful heroine, let me explain why the crone or hag is a powerful, rather than a pitiable or evil character. And she doesn't have to be old and ugly, either. The book Women Who Run with the Wolves by Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes first introduced me to the idea of the hag as a force of power and self-determination. Estes looked at a number of fairy tales and myths across many cultures, at a time when the power of the feminine had a strong place in society. As the patriarchal Christian religion encroached on society across Europe, women who understood herbology, kept the (pagan) myths and legends alive and who were respected and whose opinions mattered within the social structure, were a direct threat to the new religion.

It was most certainly in the interests of the Church to demonize and undermine these women and what they stood for, and it is no coincidence that the stereotype of a witch is an old hag or crone. They certainly caught the brunt of the Inquisition's witch hunts, and again, that was no coincidence.

It felt right to weave the myth of the Wind Hag through East of the Sun, West of the Moon, even though it isn't in the original. It fit in some way that was really satisfying, and it felt empowering.

Because this is originally a Scandinavian tale, I used Norse mythology to enrich it, although I made a few of the magical creatures up, from a mish-mash of fairy tale creatures and myth.

One aspect of East of the Sun, West of the Moon which I love is that this is a tale where the heroine rescues the hero. I love how the heroine takes action, refusing to give up even in the face of impossible odds. East of the Sun, West of the Moon has one of the bravest, most proactive heroines of any fairy tale, and her journey is striking in how it can be read from a Jungian point of view.

The Jungian psychologist, Marie-Louise Von Franz, made a life's study out of fairy tales and how they relate to ego and our sense of self. I am in awe of her work. One of the points she makes about fairy tales is how they are reflections of our relationship with ourselves, and I found that true over and over again as I wrote Mistress of the Wind.

I love that the heroine cannot rescue the prince until she has travelled to all four corners of the world, and I saw that very much as an allegory for her needing to explore her strengths and come to understand her own power and worth before she could save someone else.

I wrote Mistress of the Wind continually awed and amazed by the depth and richness of the original tale, and so, while I've woven new things into the story, like the Wind Hag, Norse mythology and some of my own imagination, I also tried to remain faithful to the original tale. I wanted to respect the original, and honor it. And it was certainly a privilege to write it. I just hope I did it justice.

- Michelle Diener

Image of Michelle DienerMichelle Diener writes historical fiction. Her Susanna Horenbout & John Parker series, set in the court of Henry VIII, includes In a Treacherous Court, Keeper of the King's Secrets and In Defense of the Queen.

Michelle's other historical novels include Daughter of the Sky, The Emperor's Conspiracy and Banquet of Lies (loosely connected to The Emperor's Conspiracy).

Michelle's first fantasy novel, Mistress of the Wind, is set for a December 23, 2013, release.

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


Sign up for the tour HERE!

International Giveaway:

$50 Amazon gift voucher 

5 copies of Mistress of the Wind, ebook or print, winner's choice.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you a blogger and want to receive information about new tours? Go HERE.
Are you an author or publisher and would like to have us organize a tour event? Go HERE.