The Marann

By Christie Meierz

WINNER of the 2013 Prism Award for Futuristic Romance!

"A beautifully realized story that proves that politically driven space opera and tender love stories do not have to be mutually exclusive." Kirkus Reviews

"For anyone who enjoys tightly written, wonderfully imaginative Science Fiction wrapped with romance, this one is a must!" InDTale Magazine

A story that will appeal to fans of Marion Zimmer Bradley and Zenna Henderson, The Marann recounts one woman's experience on a world where everyone can read her emotions.

Marianne Woolsey is a high school Spanish teacher in rural Iowa, when Earth Central Command decides her linguistic talents would be better exercised if she spent 26 years teaching the daughter and heir of an alien ruler on a planet 24 light years from Earth. Now she's alone on a planet of aliens so humanlike that she has to keep telling herself her student's noble father is just her boss.

Handsome - and deadly - the Sural has ruled his province and led his planet far longer than he can admit to his daughter's human tutor. He hides much more from the space-faring races of the Trade Alliance than he is willing to reveal. What he doesn't want Central Command to know, he has to conceal from Marianne, but Marianne is concealing her own secrets from him - and as an empath, he knows it.

The Marann is a sweet romance. Might not be suitable for young teens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sky Warrior Book Publishing
• Release date: Oct 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301304011

Christie Meierz

Christie lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, her son, her piano, and a very sharp oboe. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, quilting, knitting, and trying to keep her menfolk from telling odious puns.

Reviews for The Marann

[leesalogic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a satisfying sci fi romance. Meierz is a careful writer and the whole story is smooth. There's a lot of restraint here, both in how the characters respond to each other and how the story unfolds. It's like reading a regency romance but in space. I like this.The love story here is gentle and not in any hurry. It takes eight years for the romance to unfold. There aren't any sex scenes, mostly just fade to black and we get the gist.Really good world building here, and Meierz establishes mood quite well.I liked the science/tech elements. There's still some fantasy elements here that aren't "sci fi" explained (empathic abilities, for one), but most things that could be taken as magic have a science/tech explanation that was plausible to me.I will continue on with this series.