FreakShow Character Introduction: Diantha

Two quick things before we get to the main event.

Schreyer Ink, publisher of the alien anthology Children of the Sky which contains my story Artist Unknown, is going out of business.
Children of the Sky will be out of print at the end of the year, so be sure to get your copy soon!
https://www.amazon.com/Children-Sky-Schreyer-Ink-Publishing/dp/1988853257/

And more about this soon, but Rhonda Parrish is raising money for a food bank, and she also has a free raffle! I've donated a signed copy of Freakshow... http://www.rhondaparrish.com/giftmas-2018/

Now to the reason you came...

　

Every Monday, I'm introducing a character from my debut novel, Jack Jetstark's Intergalactic FreakShow, which comes out tomorrow! Today's character...

　

Diantha!

　

 

Jack's first love, Diantha has gone from a poor citizen of a moon ruled by the evil VesCorp to the leader of VesCorp itself. But is she changing their corrupt ways, or has she gone over to the other side?

　

Diantha is a freak, a descendant of people who were genetically engineered to have superhuman abilities when they hear a certain song. She is a chameleon, changing her skin to blend in with the background and render herself invisible. She also adapts her personality to fit her situation, making it hard to tell whether she's being sincere.

　

Most of my characters were inspired by lyrics from American Pie. Diantha is an amalgamation of a lot of lyrics. She's the queen, the girl who sang the blues, maybe the jester and the devil, too. But her name is Latin for "carnation," as in the "pink carnation and a pickup truck."

　

Diantha is perhaps the most important character in the book, because it's her song that triggers the abilities in the other freaks. She sings it every night through the radio so Jack knows she's safe, and when she doesn't sing it one night, he knows she's in trouble and that kicks off the plot.

　

Whether she's the villain or just the target of the true villain's assassination attempt, I won't spoil. It might even be a little bit of both, depending on who you ask.

　

In my mind, Diantha would be played by Jaime Murray, who played Helena on Warehouse 13.

　

Preorder here and add it on Goodreads!