This week, SFRSS interviews author Tessa McFionn. She’s published three books in The Guardians series with Etopia Press, and her short SFR, Midnight at Andromeda’s, appears in the new SFRSS anthology, Cosmic Cabaret.
SFRSS: Wecome, Tessa McFionn! SFRSS is excited to include your contribution in the second anthology Cosmic Cabaret, and to chat with you today about your story, and on the reading and writing of SFR.
Tessa McFionn: Thanks for inviting me.
SFRSS: We’re going to open with a silly “if” question. If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be and why?
Tessa McFionn: DRAGON! Well, I am a firm believer that they exist somewhere in the world. If it has to be an animal currently dwelling in this realm, I would go with a cat. I’ve always been a cat person. I love their independence and grace. It would be a toss-up between a black panther or a Maine Coon house cat.
SFRSS: Who doesn’t love dragons? Especially shifting ones, lol. I’m sure a lot of SFR readers can relate because they also have a special place in their hearts for mythical and dangerous creatures who can fly. And cats. What are you known for among your friends and family, outside of writing?
Tessa McFionn: I am a huge nerd! I collect comic books and have since I was in elementary school. I played D&D in high school and as an adult, I have a collection of Minions, rubber ducks, and sock monkeys. I love Disneyland and will go at the drop of a hat. I’ve also been a dancer for the whole of my life and have even performed Off-Broadway.
SFRSS: Wow! You’ve have an interesting background, which includes dance, and therefore, we assume, a love of music, especially since your PNR series has the word “song” in the titles. Who are your favorite musicians?
Tessa McFionn: Since I’ve been a dancer, I love a wide variety of music. As to my favorites, I’m a rocker chick at heart. My favorite bands are Disturbed, Queensryche, Lacuna Coil and Rush.
SFRSS: Do you have a play list that you listen to when you write?
Tessa McFionn: When I’m writing, it all depends on the genre and the kind of scene I’m working on. If it’s a sensual love scene, I lean toward ballads or instrumental works, while fight scenes are all about the beat. I have about twenty Pandora and Spotify stations that I can quickly click to when the spirit moves me.
SFRSS: Who are your authorial influences?
Tessa McFionn: Wow. Since I’ve been a reader my whole life, I would say those influences range from Tolkien to Terry Brooks. As to the romantic aspects, I would credit lots to Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan, and JR Ward. There have been so many books I’ve read and from each story, I take something new and try to bring it into my own words.
SFRSS: What’s your favorite speculative book or series by another publishing author?
Tessa McFionn: I love Sherrilyn Kenyon’s League series. In fact, it was her Dark Hunter’s series that got me hooked on the idea of paranormal romance in the first place. I love the incredible world building she does in all her stories and the in-depth characters she creates. For straight sci-fi, it’s gotta be Heinlein, Bradbury, and Gaiman. I love the sense of “what if” that lives in the science fiction.
SFRSS: Is that what attracts you to read and write in the genres you do?
Tessa McFionn: I have been a fan of sci-fi/fantasy for as long as I can remember. One of the first books I remember reading was Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. On the first page, I had to look up the word “xenomorph” and the rest as they say is history. I discovered romance in college and the two merged together naturally for me.
What’s the title of your story?
Tessa McFionn: Midnight at Andromeda’s
SFRSS: Let’s read the blurb:
Karyna Cyrnavolk had spent her life trying to get her father, Chancellor General Bantal of the Wyldren Kindred, to see her as something more than just a girl. When she overhears her father’s plans to hand her, unseen, to their sworn enemy, the Lavourne Dynasty, to cement a peace treaty, she escapes her fate and stows away on board the Blue Star pleasure luxury line, LS Quantum. Without a dime to her name, she stumbles into a dark, secluded bar, hoping to hide from the unwanted marriage.
Settling down was definitely not in the cards as far as Marqaz, Highprince of the Lavourne Dynasty, was concerned. Yet he was granted a reprieve before he would be shackled for the rest of his days to his enemy’s daughter and he found entertainment in any variety working as a bartender on board LS Quantum. But nothing could have prepared him for the appearance of his affianced in his off-the-beaten-path club.
Unable to resist the sensual connection, Karyna takes a chance on a night with the handsome bartender. Will the stars align for a happily ever after, or will a hidden truth shatter forever?
SFRSS: That sounds sexy. And it’s always fun to watch what happens plot-wise when one lover keeps secrets from the other. Developing trust is key to getting to the happy-ever-after, right? The best fictional characters, like people, have strong morals.
Tessa McFionn: Ah, looking for the moral of the story. Actually, I think there are a couple of them, but mostly, true love requires honesty and trust. Far too often, people are wrapped up in their own heads, focusing on their plans and we don’t realize how our actions can make both a positive and a negative impact on those closest to us. And best of all, I believe that love can conquer all.
SFRSS: Thinking about characters who deserve love, what’s your favorite kind of hero, alpha or beta, and why?
Tessa McFionn: Ooh. For me, it’s all about the alpha, that strong hero who sails in to save the day. He doesn’t have to be the broken, bad boy either. In fact, I prefer a good guy with all his flaws.
SFRSS: Which literary hero would you love to meet?
Tessa McFionn: Far too many!!! LOL! I think I would have to start with Acheron, Remi Peltier and the entire Sentella from Sherrilyn Kenyon’s books, then I wouldn’t object to spending some time with the Warden’s Black Dagger Brotherhood. Purely for research purposes, I assure you. 
SFRSS: Research, exactly. Writers are all about research. And influences. What other works turned you onto speculative fiction*?
Tessa McFionn: That’s a tough call. It would have to be between Doctor Who, Star Trek reruns, or Star Wars. I remember standing in line when it first came out and I’ve been hooked ever since. I still have some of the original comics as well. I consider myself to be a nerd since birth.
SFRSS: What’s your favorite speculative fiction film or television series?
Tessa McFionn: I’m old school. For me, it’s all about Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who. I keep searching for something new, but haven’t had much luck just yet.
SFRSS: SF is almost as popular as romance. Why do you think speculative fiction is also popular as a sub-genre in romance, especially now? What does it offer readers that other romance genres do not?
Tessa McFionn: With the current political and social environments, I believe people are looking to find something pure and hopeful. Even the dystopian world has some kind of happy ending. Also, it’s the hope that the future will be better than today.
SFRSS: What was the inspiration for Midnight at Andromeda’s?
Tessa McFionn: Since the idea of “what if’s” has always intrigued me, I wondered what if a fairy tale got flipped on its head. Say Cinderella’s prince played the pauper and hid within the common folk? What would happen when our damsel discovers his duplicitous nature? That was the basis for Midnight at Andromeda’s, with a couple of intergalactic twists along the way.
SFRSS: What or who inspires your writing, outside the realm of books and literature?
Tessa McFionn: I feel grateful to be surrounded by inspiring people. In my day job, I teach at a performing arts high school and have had opportunities to work with some amazing students. Plus, I have friends who have overcome incredible hardships and still find reasons to smile. I choose to seek out inspiration in all aspects of life.
SFRSS: And put it into our fiction. We think that’s why they warn people not to be friends with writers, lol. They find themselves used as fodder for fiction. Fortunately, SFR is “mostly” fantasy. The L.S. Quantum is passing through your special world. What makes it a unique world within this anthology?
Tessa McFionn: Well, I actually have a sci-fi about to release in early 2018. But my currently published series is a dark paranormal romance set in the modern-day world of the Guardian Warriors. 
Heroes plucked from ancient battlefields sworn to protect humanity against agents of chaos and destruction, the nefarious Rogue Warriors. Each side armed with magical skills and abilities to control mind, body and emotions, readers are drawn into the stories of each Guardian as he discovers the one person who can ground him once again in the moral realm, his spiritmate. To me, I think what makes my stories unique is the simple fact that paranormal can be written without vampires or shifters. I love magic and the belief that it can exist.
SFRSS: At SFRSS, we always want to know what’s on a writer’s TBR list in the coming months. What’s on yours?
Tessa McFionn: Well, I have fallen behind in so many series. But Christine Feehan has a series I have been itching to read, her Ghosthunters books. Plus, I’m always waiting for the next book in Sherrilyn’s League series.
SFRSS: What’s next for your writing? Any other upcoming publications?
Tessa McFionn: As I stated earlier, I actually have a sci-fi trilogy with the first book set to release in early 2018. To Discover a Divine, Book One in the Rise of the Stria is a labor of love for me. The story I pitched as The Wizard of Oz meets Star Wars was picked up by a publisher in 2016 who sadly closed their doors on New Year’s Eve 2016. So, back to the drawing, and to the pitching, board I went. But fortune smiled on me and it was picked up again. I’m also working on the fourth book in my Guardians series and will be pitching a completely new light paranormal idea at RWA Nationals in Orlando.
SFRSS: One last question and we’ll let you go back to your writing and reading. What’s the last show or movie you watched on TV and why did you choose to watch it?
Tessa McFionn: LOL! Ugh. I’m one of those horrible people that needs a constant distraction going in order to function. Most of the time, I try to find something I’ve already seen so many times I can recite it verbatim while I work. In fact, I just finished half-watching reruns of Star Trek: Voyager. Sadly, I only watched it because it was on.
SFRSS: I’m pretty sure we’ll be reading your story with more excitement than that. Can you share an excerpt?
Tessa McFionn: Absolutely!
Excerpt:
“I hoped you hadn’t disappeared on me.” Marqaz crossed his ankles, hoping the lazy stance would hide his obvious hard-on.
Karyna chuckled and shook her head. “I don’t really have a place to disappear to.”
His eyebrows tugged together. “You haven’t checked in yet?” He snuck a deep inhale, reading more into her enigmatic reply. He forced his face to remain neutral as he discovered her surprising secret. She was a stowaway. Her father had more money than all the gods and he let her go as a pauper on the most luxurious space liner?
No. He didn’t know she was here. The realization hit him like an anvil. She was running away. Running away from him. Should he continue with the charade?
She bit her bottom lip and he coughed, covering up his needy whine. “Ummm. Well?”
“Then you haven’t eaten yet? Why didn’t you say so?” The more time he could spend with her, the better. Never had he looked so forward to a dinner date. He told himself he wasn’t using her; he was simply getting to know her. Over and over the phrase tumbled in his mind. His chivalrous side peeked out, encouraging him to do the good thing. Even if it was for once in his life.
With a coy gesture, she swept the stray locks that slipped from her thick braid behind her ear and gave him a timid smile. “I guess I wasn’t thinking about food when I got here.”
The opportunity was too tempting and he needed to measure her sense of humor. “Really? Was there something…else holding your attention?”
She blinked slowly, mulling over his words. The moment a delightful pink hit her cheeks, he knew his innuendo has hit its mark. He chuckled and ducked his chin sheepishly.
“Sorry. I couldn’t resist.” Daring, he leaned in, standing so close he felt the heat from her blush on his skin. “Well, that’s not entirely true. I could have, but I didn’t want to.”
Karyna lifted her gaze, her green eyes dazzling. At this scant distance, he stared, entranced at the myriad of shades housed within her shining orbs. Gods, he wanted to kiss her. Needed it more than he was ready to believe. She was the daughter of the highest-ranking officer in his enemy’s armored forces, and his betrothed to boot.
Yet at this moment, she was just a woman on board the universe’s most popular pleasure cruise. And he was more than happy to ensure she got the most out of all the amenities.
ABOUT TESSA MCFIONN
Tessa McFionn is a very native Californian and has called Southern California home for most of her life, growing up in San Diego and attending college in Northern California and Orange County, only to return to San Diego to work as a teacher. Insatiably curious and imaginative, she loves to learn and discover, making her wicked knowledge of trivial facts an unwelcomed guest at many Trivial Pursuit boards.
When not writing, she can be found at the movies or at Disneyland with her husband, as well as family, friends or anyone who wants to play at the Happiest Place on Earth. She also finds her artistic soul fed through her passions for theatre, dance and music.
A proud parent of far too many high school seniors and two still living house plants, she also enjoys hockey, reading and playing Words With Friends to keep her vocabulary sharp. She is currently the treasurer of the San Diego chapter of Romance Writers of America and loves spending time working with such amazingly intelligent and creative writers.
Want to ask Tessa more questions? Find her on Social Meda:
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S.E. Smith: What attracts me to the different genres is the possibilities! I live for the action, adventure, suspense, and romance. Each new world opens up another and the possibilities are limited only by my imagination. Science fiction romance takes this to a new level and opens the door to countless worlds, species, and situations.
Cara Bristol: I also love the creative possibilities that science fiction romance offers. It’s a liberating experience to write “outside the box,” and to explore new ideas and concepts. People who say they don’t read science fiction just haven’t found the right subgenre because the genre is incredibly broad and diverse.
Veronica Scott: I love the endless possibilities for adventure inherent in science fiction romance too. I’m not constrained by current science or technology, and I can mix in a bit of mysticism and fantasy if the plot calls for it. I also write a paranormal series set in ancient Egypt, which has always been a fascination of mine and I’ve also begun a fantasy series.
Susan Grant: I love writing speculative fiction, especially science fiction romance, because of the almost total lack of boundaries. Anything goes. I love the adventure, the “Wild West” type of frontier feel, the fantasy aspect, the strong, independent characters, even quirky characters—again, reminiscent of the frontier days of 19th century America. I travel the world in my other career as an airline pilot and am fortunate to visit “new worlds” and experience exotic and different foods and peoples. I love to bring my feelings of wonder and excitement and curiosity to the science fiction worlds I write.
Laurie A. Green: From the time I was very small, I’ve always been fascinated with space and the stars, so it’s probably no great surprise that Science Fiction Romance became my genre of choice. I love having the freedom to write stories set in the distant cosmos, on alien worlds or in other times or dimensions. Even the few Paranormal Romance stories I’ve penned have a definite slant toward science fiction.
M.K. Eidem: I like to write Sci-Fi because I get to create my own world and decide what can and can’t happen there.
Sabine Priestley: SFR is my first true love. The engineer in me gets off on all the tech elements, throw in space and I’m a goner. Now is an amazing time to be alive and an even more brilliant one for writers of any kind of Science Fiction. We are standing on a precipice of explosive growth and technology is what is taking us there. What could be more fun than building on a framework that exists here and now?
Jessica L. Subject: I love the idea of learning about new cultures, not only on our own planet, but also on distant planets. That is common in most speculative fiction. When it comes to the romance aspect, I enjoy the idea that love transcends all boundaries.
Pauline Baird Jones: I stumbled into writing speculative romantic fiction. No really. I thought I was writing an action adventure romance that just happened to take place in space. When readers started calling it “science fiction romance” and “space opera romance,” I was kind of freaked out. Then I realized that I’d been “writing” science fiction since high school—something my high school science teacher would heartily agree with! I don’t even pretend my science is “real.” It’s way too fun to make things up. I mean, I am a fiction author, after all.
Carol Van Natta: I was warp…er, influenced very early on by my parents, who gave me science fiction to read one summer to keep me busy. The joke was on them, because from then on, I kept begging for more science fiction and fantasy books to read. I came to romance a little later, but it’s an important part of my space opera, adventure, and romance series. Science fiction is inherently hopeful — it assumes we’ve overcome any problems we have now and are out in the galaxy — and gives me the chance to explore huge “what ifs” in storytelling. Romance is equally hopeful, on a more personal level, and affirms that love is as constant as the stars.
The speculation comes in looking at a world or place or technology or creature that exists only in the imagination, being fascinated by it, and then asking some kind of “What if?” question, or maybe a “How could it be?” or “What would happen if?” If the answer is neat little surprise or a short sharp shock, there’s probably a short story there. But sometimes the answer leads to making a whole new world. In that case it’s probably going to be a novel or even a series. Depending on what kind of world it is, whether there are likeable characters, and what the characters do besides explore their world (falling in love or lust with each other is always an interesting development), reading a story set in an invented world is one of the most enjoyable activities there is!
M. K. Eidem: I love Laurann Dohner’s Zorn Warriors Series and Kelly Lucille’s Dragon Mage Series.
Cara Bristol: Eve Langlais’ More Than Machines cyborg series definitely inspired me. Cyborgs represent the perfect alpha hero: strong, smart, tough, but with a secret vulnerability. The sexual tension between her hero and heroine hooked me right at the start. After reading Eve’s series, I was inspired to create my own cyborg series: the Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance series.
Pauline Baird Jones: I have been in love with Veronica Scott’s Sectors series since she released the first book, The Wreck of the Nebula Dream. It has everything I love in a series. More books. Action. Adventure. Romance. And engaging characters.
Sabine Priestley: So many wonderful authors out there, but as with a number of my peers, I have a limited amount of time to read. I can give a shout out to G.S. Jennsen’s Aurora Rhapsody series. She’s brilliant in world building and I love her politics and science. In full disclosure, I’ve only read the 1st 2 books but can whole heartedly recommend them.
Carol Van Natta: What week is it? My answer tends to change based on my mood and what criteria I’m using. Any of Ruby Lionsdrake’s series—Mandrake, Star Guardians—are good for thrilling adventure and snarky humor, which is also what appeals to me about Eve Langlais’ Cyborgs More Than Machines series. Eve Silver’s Northern Wastes series offers strong characters and hope in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian world. And if I’m feeling nostalgic, I re-read the Andre Norton classics, which are slowly being reissued in ebooks. Not all have romance, but enough do to keep me reading.
Alexis Glynn Latner: My favorite works of world-making speculative fiction include Dante’s Divine Comedy because the Italian Renaissance poet built a whole cosmos based on Aristotelian science, and populated it with all kinds of interesting people, many of them recognizable as famous or infamous contemporaries of Dante. I’ve loved Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings ever since I read it as a teenager – and promptly re-read the whole thing. Tolkien’s world isn’t just the trilogy and The Hobbit: he revealed a lot more world in The Silmarillion. And I really like Lois McMaster Bujold’s Miles Vorkosigan series. This is science fiction with really strong elements of fantasy, populated by vivid and intriguing characters, quite a few of whom have colorful and endearing romances. Bujold is a terrific story-teller.
Jessica L. Subject: The Host by Stephanie Meyer remains one of my favorites. In this book, the aliens thought they were doing right by the planet, while the humans weren’t ready to give up Earth to the foreign invaders. By the end, they realized they could work together to save the planet, and that love went beyond a physical attraction.
Veronica Scott: Pick pretty much any series by Nalini Singh and I’m right there with my one-click. My favorite from her is the Psy Changeling series – I especially love the Arrows, who are super capable psychic soldiers. They believe they’ve eradicated their emotions but of course let them meet the right heroine and those emotions bubble right up. Shield of Winter is my absolute favorite. Nalini has done amazing world building and her characters feel ‘real’ to me, so I can lost myself in the stories and resurface hours later.
Susan Grant: I have so little time to read these days. I read only a few books last year. So sad! Because I love reading. I have lots of favorites. A new discovery is the Brides of the Kindred books because I admire craft as well as story and Evangeline Anderson is such a good writer. I love her prose. Another favorite is Hugh Howey’s Silo Series. Such a cool concept! If it becomes a movie I hope they don’t ruin it.
S.E. Smith: I fell in love with Escape to Witch Mountain as a kid and it grew with Dune along with a little known series called America 2040. For romance, I love many of Linnea Sinclair’s stories and Monette Michaels’ Prime Obsession.
Susan Grant: Mine is titled The Prince, the Pilot, and the Puppy. In last year’s Pets in Space 1 Anthology, my story Stray (now titled Star Hero) featured a frightened, starving yipwag—an alien street dog named Bang-Bang that took shelter under a wreck of a car where he met another puppy. Even though Bang-Bang was ravenous, he shared a piece of meat with the other weak and starving pup. Readers always wanted to know what happened to that puppy. Me too! And so I wrote her story—The Prince, the Pilot, and the Puppy. (Star Puppy).
Veronica Scott: My story comes from my Sectors series and is titled Star Cruise: Songbird. I always wanted to write a rock star romance because I love the genre, but anything I write skews Sci-Fi. Then I read an article about bands and singers here on Earth booking special cruises for their fans and doing performances aboard the ship. It was easy to translate the idea to my interstellar spaceliner the Nebula Zephyr. Once I knew my heroine was a rock star, the hero stepped up – ex-military, ship’s security officer, assigned as her temporary bodyguard. And he had been serving in a special military unit where they used super intelligent animals to assist in the fighting, so his telepathic eagle Valkyr became my pet for the story. And there is a songbird…
Sabine Priestley: Sensate, came from a desire to delve further into a phenomenon that occurred in one of my books, Rebellion. I don’t want to give it away, but it was a place I had to go, and one I’ll be delving into deeper in future. In short, what does it mean to be sentient?
S.E. Smith: In a series of events that came together, I had the beginning of Pearl’s Dragon. It started with Grandma Pearl being introduced in Choosing Riley. Readers got to know her better in Viper’s Mate, which lead to the Dragonlings’ Easter where Pearl was kidnapped by a sexy, older dragon warrior. I knew Pearl had to have her story and with the mysterious giant green eggs that were brought back in The Dragonlings’ Very Special Valentine, I knew I had her and Asim’s story – and an amazing new feathered army from Earth.
Cara Bristol: My novella is titled Rescued by the Cyborg and it’s set in my Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance Series. Cats are my go-to pet, and I like the idea of pairing opposites, so I created a big, tough secret agent cyborg who gets a little kitten as a pet.
M.K. Eidem: I always knew I was going to be a story about the Great Raptor, so this was the perfect opportunity to write A Grim Pet especially when it is for such a great cause.
Pauline Baird Jones: Time Trap is a novella set in my Project Enterprise Series. I always kind of smile when I’m asked what “inspired” me to write something. I basically commit random acts of writing that eventually turn into stories. The only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted the hero to be Briggs, who was a minor, but an important character, in The Key and Girl Gone Nova.
Carol Van Natta: Pet Trade comes out of my Central Galactic Concordance Series. I begged shamelessly to join the Pets in Space crew, in part because they support the Hero-Dogs.org charity. The charity raises, trains, and places service dogs with disabled veterans, free of charge, to improve their quality of life and help them regain independence. I guarantee you that when humans explore the galaxy, we’ll take our pets. They entertain us, love us, and sometimes, they save us. Both the main characters in my story end up rescuing pets, but they need the pets as much as the pets need them. I got carried away with the number of pets—17, and that doesn’t count the talking yaks and the guard geese—but I couldn’t pick just one.
Laurie A. Green: I’d honestly have to say what inspired Courting Disaster: StarDog 2 was my story in the original Pets in Space collection, StarDog. When I was asked back to write for the second anthology, I admit to being totally stumped at first. Did I have another pet-inspired story in me? Then I realized the little surprise at the end of the original story would work perfectly paired with an idea that had been brewing in my head for quite some time–and a premise was born! I’m really happy with how the StarDog tales have added new dimensions and new characters to my Inherited Stars Series.
Veronica Scott: Howard’s novella, Wired for Love, concerns a warrior, a heroine and a pet trying to survive an enemy.
SFR stories love to showcase military men and women at their best. They have to be strong, smart and have moral scruples. It’s difficult to find a story in which lives aren’t on the line at some point during an SFR story. Couple that harrowing plot device with galactic-wide wars complicated by alien factions operating with opposing moral value systems, and chaos is often just around the narrative corner. SFR stories alternate between intense moments of stress and danger, interrupted by romantic retreats into private space cabins or cozy caves because these guys need their female partners in order to stay strong and steady, to persist. Naturally, to battle these kinds of odds, the soldiers and warriors are taller, broader, quicker (or more desperate) than the heroes of other romances. Think of them as testosterone amped with cocaine. Cyndi Friberg’s Battle Born warriors or Mina Carter’s Warriors of Lathar demonstrate just how over-the-top these guys can be.
In the end, all SFR heroines, even the ones without military training or enhanced cybernetic features, like to do a little rescuing themselves, often in the emotional sense. After all, it’s the female superpower to feel our feelings and help others feel theirs. Frankly, it’s not that much of a challenge to get an emotionally-available modern guy to fall in love with a gal in a contemporary romance. There’s certainly less risk involved in a story when the characters are college-educated and their biggest life challenge is climbing the corporate ladder.
We have the protectors who will kill to save the heroine’s life. We have the cyborgs who only open their hearts to one worthy gal. But women all need to laugh as well. Especially in these life-threatening situations. So bring on the scoundrels and daredevil SFR pirates and adventurers. Swashbuckling pirates of the 1700s might prove their muster in historical romances charting their way into unknown waters, but imagine them steering their spaceships into unknown worlds.
Vampires, Werewolves, Demons. These mysterious, powerful and dangerous creatures might rule the paranormal romance genre, but in SFR they tend to just be other humanoid races. So, in SFR, there are rarely issues of incompatible life spans, or bloody nocturnal rampages, or hotter-than-hell living quarters.
This trope mostly describes all the male heroes in all the romances ever, but only SFR gives readers big and hard with vibrating nubs and double wangs. Seriously. While there are also sweet romances in SFR, one of the things this sub-genre exploits to its full potential are sexual fantasies involving enhanced-specifically-for-female-pleasure alien penises and tongues.