I am so, so excited to show you the cover of The Turncoat King! Release day is January 12, and this is book 1 in the Rising Wave Series. Book 2, The Threadbare Queen, is due out later this year.

Preorder The Turncoat King on Amazon

About The Turncoat King (The Rising Wave Book 1)

A thirst for revenge . . . Ava is committed to vengeance against the man responsible for the death of her parents. The same man, the Queen’s Herald, who kept her prisoner for two years, until she escaped with Luc, a warlord bent on vengeance just as fierce as her own. He’s forged a powerful army of people from all through the region, called the Rising Wave, to march on the Kassian royal family and smash its corrupt power under the weight of their anger. But for Luc, just as for Ava, his true motive is a lot more personal.

A hidden magic . . . Luc suspects Ava has magical powers, suspects he’s benefited greatly from them, but he’s no stranger to the burdens of power, and he’s prepared to let her tell him in her own time—after all, she’s his heart’s choice and he will give her all the time she needs. Except time is running out for both of them. As they near the Kassian stronghold, forces from within their own camp and without will use every trick they have to stop both Luc and Ava and tear them apart.

A secret laid bare . . . Luc knows Ava has a secret she’s keeping from him—but what he doesn’t realize is she has many. And when those secrets are exposed, everyone will have to grapple with the consequences. Ava is prepared to sacrifice her happiness and even her life to save the Rising Wave and Luc—but she would prefer to use her heart and her head to outwit her enemies instead.

I’m excited to announce that The Turncoat King, the first full-length novel in my Rising Wave series, is now up for pre-order on Amazon. The prequel novella to this series, called The Rising Wave, can be found in the upcoming Warlords, Witches & Wolves anthology, which is releasing on November 9th.

The Turncoat King by Michelle Diener (Eclipse 12 January 2021)
Preorder on Amazon

About The Turncoat King (The Rising Wave Book 1)

A thirst for revenge . . . Ava is committed to vengeance against the man responsible for the death of her parents. The same man, the Queen’s Herald, who kept her prisoner for two years, until she escaped with Luc, a warlord bent on vengeance just as fierce as her own. He’s forged a powerful army of people from all through the region, called the Rising Wave, to march on the Kassian royal family and smash its corrupt power under the weight of their anger. But for Luc, just as for Ava, his true motive is a lot more personal.

A hidden magic . . . Luc suspects Ava has magical powers, suspects he’s benefited greatly from them, but he’s no stranger to the burdens of power, and he’s prepared to let her tell him in her own time—after all, she’s his heart’s choice and he will give her all the time she needs. Except time is running out for both of them. As they near the Kassian stronghold, forces from within their own camp and without will use every trick they have to stop both Luc and Ava and tear them apart.

A secret laid bare . . . Luc knows Ava has a secret she’s keeping from him—but what he doesn’t realize is she has many. And when those secrets are exposed, everyone will have to grapple with the consequences. Ava is prepared to sacrifice her happiness and even her life to save the Rising Wave and Luc—but she would prefer to use her heart and her head to outwit her enemies instead.

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PETS IN SPACE® 5 is now available!

It contains 12 original science fiction romance novellas and weighs in at over 1400 pages. Not only is it great value, the Pets in Space® authors are 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/

My contribution to this year’s PETS IN SPACE® anthology is a novella set in the world of my Class 5 series. DARK AMBITIONS gives readers a trip back into the life of Rose, Dav and Sazo.

DARK AMBITIONS EXCERPT

Rose looked back to where the Barrist had been, but it was really gone, gone. Disappeared. Off to check out a faint distress signal from the asteroid belt in the next solar system along from this one.


Sazo was still there, though. A big, black prickle ball hanging in space, looking menacing.


“Did Dav tell you to watch out for me, too?” Rose asked him.


“No.” Sazo was a master at voice inflection, and she realized she’d insulted him. “I will always watch out for you, whether he asks me to or not.”


She knew he could see her. He was in every visual comms feed, every system the Barrist and its shuttles had, and so she blew him a kiss.

“Right back at you.”

The soft snort she heard in her ear told her she had been forgiven.


And then she turned to look at the sea of green below and the promise of adventure. She was about to go outside!

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.

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

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.

So thrilled that HIGH FLYER, book 4 in the Verdant String series, is available from today. I really enjoyed writing this story and hope my readers love reading it!