The Verdant String Series The seven 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 colonized the planets at the same time a thousand or more years ago, the mysteries of who they were, and where they came from, persist.

Interference (A 25,000 word novella introducing the world of the Verdant String)

Interference can go either way . . . The tiny moon of Cepi is on a countdown to destruction, and while Nyha Bartali has been persuaded to take her four wards for a final look at the archaeological wonder, now she's eager to leave. The only problem is, someone has other plans--plans to exploit Nyha and the girls in her care in order to give themselves time to steal Cepi's secrets.

Nyha and her wards' value as survivors of the dead planet, Halatia, means it would be political suicide for any leader of the Verdant String to endanger them again--something the hostage-takers know very well. What the hostage-takers don't know is that Nyha and her girls have more help than they realize.

Mak Carep knows his team's presence on Cepi is the last flex of his planet Arkhor's muscles before the moon is blown to bits. Arkhor has interfered on Cepi since it discovered the ruins four hundred years ago, but sometimes, interference can have unexpected consequences.

When Nyha and her girls are taken hostage, Mak and the rest of his special forces team are the only ones who have any hope of rescuing them, and they're ready and willing to do what Arkhor does best . . . Interfere.

Interference was first published in the Orphans in the Black Anthology in July 2017.

Insurgency (Insurgency is a 45,000 word short novel set in the Verdant String series)

The Parnian city of Var is under siege. Buildings are being targeted by insurgents whose only aim seems to be destruction. Nick Bartega is part of the Protection Unit team investigating the explosions, but with no discernible pattern, and no one taking responsibility, he and his colleagues have hit a blank wall.

That is, until his neighbor, Tila, is caught up in the first real mistake the insurgents have made. Cornered, forced to take Tila's whole office hostage, the insurgents are surrounded and out of options, until they use Tila as their shield.

Tila sees herself as Parnian first, Halatian second, but her dark blue hair, and the strong emotions her very existence provokes in others means the insurgents see her as the perfect hostage. No one on Parn wants to give the order that might catch her in the crossfire. They'd rather let the insurgents get away.

But Nick, and his commander, Drake, see the first glimpse of a pattern in the insurgents' behavior. Not that long ago, Halatians were used as hostages in another incident on the tiny moon of Cepi, and the parallels are hard to ignore. So is this attack on Var an isolated incident, or is there a bigger conspiracy at play? Whatever the truth, Nick isn't prepared to leave Tila in the insurgents hands. And he's prepared to break any rule, and disregard any order to do it.
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The first novel in a brilliant collaboration between the visionary Discworld® creator Terry Pratchett and acclaimed science fiction novelist Stephen Baxter, The Long Earth transports readers to an infinity of new worlds—a series of parallel “earths" with doorways leading to adventure, intrigue, excitement, and an escape into the furthest reaches of the imagination. All it takes is a single step. . . .

The possibilities are endless. (Just be careful what you wish for. . . .)

1916: The Western Front. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong and the wind in the leaves. Where have the mud, blood, and blasted landscape of no-man's-land gone? For that matter, where has Percy gone?

2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Police officer Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive—some say mad, others allege dangerous—scientist who seems to have vanished. Sifting through the wreckage, Jansson finds a curious gadget: a box containing some rudimentary wiring, a three-way switch, and . . . a potato. It is the prototype of an invention that will change the way humankind views the world forever.

The Long Earth is an adventure of the highest order and willcaptivate science fiction fans of all stripes, readers of Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen, and anyone who enjoyed the Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman collaboration Good Omens.

Other books in the Long Earth series include:

The Long War
The Long Mars
The Long Utopia
The Long Cosmos
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A witty Belle-like wanderer meets murderous beasts. The locals can be like that. Welcome to Haell.

Troubled past? Check. Strictly avoiding interstellar travel for the foreseeable future? Check. Shrouded homeless human on an alien planet dodging draven dung and the occasional hawked loogie? Check.

Hi. The name’s Trick. A short female camped out on a brutal planet lying low with my secrets until suddenly I’m not. With a lethal librarian providing backup, I find myself investigating a series of abductions in the city of TreValla while gathering a motley group of allies, sentient murderous books, and an alluring enemy K’Vroken on the way.

When word spreads that 'undesirable' citizens are being targeted for their meager ability to harness mahdra, a magic that usually only the elite here on Haell can manipulate, I allow myself to become bait. I mean, as an avatar for the celestial stars themselves, brimming with a world-ending amount of mahdra, it seems fitting that a born reject like me sticks up for those whose voices go unheard. I may have just been remade for it.

Trip the Starlight Sarcastic is a full-length adult novel that focuses on fish-out-of-water hilarity and new-found families to navigate some darker themes that seem to plague Haell and Earth alike. Trigger warning: allusions to assault are made while a thwarted incident occurs later on in the book. That said, chaotic good reigns. Justice is satisfyingly graphic, swift, and quite funny. Adventure, slow-burn romance, and wonder abound, all under the contented feeling of finally being home. In a library. With living books.

Coming Soon...
Star Keeper Novel 2: Tricked Out Turning Drastic
Release date March 7th, 2024

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A cranky outcast, an egocentric robot and a cargo bay's worth of problems.

In the three years since Caspian Robeaux refused a direct order from his captain to fire on a civilian population, he’s been court-martialed, jailed, sentenced to a work camp and almost killed. Only a genius or someone with incredible luck could have made it this far with all his parts intact, and Cas knows he’s not that smart.

Now he’s escaped, living on some backwater planet drinking the days away with a robot who won’t shut up. His refuge is short lived, however, when raiders invade the planet and steal what little he’s scavenged. His only choice now is to return and face his captors, or take his fate into his own hands, and do whatever is necessary to survive. Will he sacrifice all he believes if it means getting out alive?

FATE'S ARROW: ROBEAUX is the first novella in the INFINITY’S END LEGACY series, a group of one-shot stories about the characters from INFINITY’S END. Each book in the series can be read in any order and is perfect for new readers and fans of the series alike! Grab your copy today!