Who she is is a tough mercenary starship captain. The main character, Vaslisha Tor Dain, has spent most of her life sure in what she does and who she is. MARIE: Warrior Wench is an adventure, space opera with romance woven in. SGLSF: Please tell us a bit about your most recent project. The energy and background noise seem to work well some times to keep me writing quickly and I’m often with writer friends so that’s always good too!

The second place is sort of the opposite-it’s a busy local coffee house. It’s messy and disorganized, but still a place with a desk, a window, and a ton of books. MARIE: There are really two, and sometimes one works better than the other, but I’m not sure why. SGLSF: Where is your favorite place to write and why? They both chose to be with each other-even if that may be a really stupid idea on the surface. It’s free will-she’s strong, he’s strong, they both have faults as well. I need to believe that the heroine is with the hero because he makes her better, not because she needs him, or they are fated. Vas is the toughest of all of my heroines so far, but not the most powerful. They have to be smart, funny, and in their own way- fierce. I can’t read weak or simpering heroines, even in a historical romance.

MARIE: I think they have to be able to stand on their own. SGLSF: What do you feel makes an engaging hero/heroine? I was totally hooked! I think one of my favorites is The Accidental Goddess by Linnea- I love humor mixed in with the romance, adventure, and mayhem! I wasn’t reading a lot of SF at the time since for me it all felt too much like hard SF…but the book was free. I still recall my first SFR, I was at Comic Con International, San Diego, and an editor at the Del Rey booth talked to me for a few moments, then handed a Linnea Sinclair book to me. But when you have action, thrills, a world or two to save, AND romance-I’m hooked. MARIE: I really enjoy romance when it has a great story attached-romance for romance sake doesn’t work for me.

SGLSF: What attracts you to the romance genre, particularly SF/futuristic romance? But I read so much-even as a kid-it’s hard to say what all influenced me. Piers Anthony, Alan Dean Foster, Anne McCaffery, Mercedes Lackey, and David Eddings were probably some of the biggest influences. MARIE: The first books I recall reading on my own were Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and just about any horse book written. SGLSF: What books had an influence on you growing up?

Warrior Wench by Marie Andreas