Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Guest Post & Giveaway ~ Mistress of The Wind by Michelle Diener

 
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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
Guest Post
 
The Unusual in the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon
 
By Michelle Diener
 
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.
 
Kick-butt heroines may be almost the norm now, but when fairy tale collections were being put together for broader public consumption in the Victorian era, folklorists tended to choose tales that fit nicely with the established world view. Those collections became the mainstay of fairy tales in general, and are the ones most of us are familiar with today. So while there are many fairy tales where the heroine is an active protagonist in the story, very few of the most popular tales feature such heroines. The stereotype of the passive princess waiting to be rescued is the norm.
 
East of the Sun, West of the Moon, although not quite as well-known as Cinderella or Sleep Beauty, is still a popular fairy tale, even though we have a role reversal, where the heroine rescues the prince. Some annotations to the tale I have read see the heroine's quest to save the prince as a task she has to complete to atone for her curiosity and disobedience. If that was the underlying motive for its place in so many collections—a warning to girls to listen and do as they're told—then its inclusion makes more sense. I certainly never saw it that way, though, even when I was young and reading the original from the Andrew Lang collection, and it certainly isn't the case in Mistress of the Wind. The idea of travelling the world, dealing with great powers and overcoming the odds to get what you want never sounded like much of a punishment to me :)
 
Another interesting element of the original story is the clear reference to the sexual relationship between the heroine and the hero. The tale makes it clear they aren't married, and again it is surprising that this story element made it in to the tale without being edited out, or resulting in East of the Sun, West of the Moon being excluded from collections.

The love between the hero and heroine drives both of their behaviour when things go wrong, but the hero is less able to take action, being enchanted and imprisoned. The heroine refuses to leave her lover to the mercy of his enemies, and their sexual relationship not only makes that more believable, but also gives her a right to go after him and claim him as her own. It validates her actions.

When I was writing Mistress of the Wind I definitely wondered whether to leave the sexual part of the relationship in, but eventually, for the reasons I've given above, felt it would be the poorer without it. It is an essential element of the story, and if even the Victorians chose to keep it, I couldn't see myself doing less. :)

There is also a very interesting break from fairy tale norms when the heroine goes off on her quest to find her lover. Many fairy tales use the story device of a helper along the way to give aid to the hero or heroine. They are either old or a magical animal or some mysterious person, but they generally only help the heroine / hero once the heroine has helped them first in some way, however small, or behaved kindly towards them when the heroine could have been selfish or greedy.

That is not the case in East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

Three powerful women help the heroine, and the four winds help her as well, and at no time does the heroine have to do anything to gain that help. It is offered to her willingly and as her due.

That interested me a great deal. As a writer and as a reader, I wouldn't simply accept unconditional help like that in the story line. There had to be some reason she was given so much help, and so I started looking at the story from a different angle. I researched wind myths and found the myth of the Wind Hag, and wove that into the story to explain why Astrid receives the gifts and help that she does. The Wind Hag is powerful and has a right to demand respect. It fit so beautifully into the frame of the story, it almost felt to me as though it should have been there all along.

I hope I've managed to pique your interest into the magical and unusual tale that is East of the Sun, West of the Moon without giving too much of Mistress of the Wind away!

Image of Michelle Diener
Michelle 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.

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