About Taren J. West
Taren J. West (b. 1967) combines her architectural eye for space with her lifelong love of science fiction to create rich, immersive near-future romances. With degrees in Architecture and Architectural Criticism, she spent twenty years publishing architecture books before her fascination with humanity's future in space led her to a second career in fiction.
“My background in designing human environments naturally led me to wonder about how we'll create homes among the stars,” West says. “Every space station is essentially a vertical city, every Mars colony an exercise in extreme urban planning. And where humans build communities, they fall in love.”
From her home office in the Hudson Valley, surrounded by architectural drawings, sci-fi memorabilia, and her four cats (Mission Control, Launchpad, Zero-G, and Stardust), West crafts stories about the intersection of technology and the heart. Her debut series, “The Space Between Worlds,” draws on her professional understanding of how built environments shape human interaction, combined with meticulous research into current space development.
When not writing or feeding her feline overlords, West maintains a popular blog exploring potential designs for future space habitats and gives talks about architecture in science fiction. She's a member of both the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and Romance Writers of America, and regularly attends space industry conferences as a civilian enthusiast.
Short Bio
Tareb J. West turned her architect's eye to the stars with her debut series, “The Space Between Worlds.” With decades of experience designing Earth-bound spaces, she now crafts stories about love in humanity's future homes among the stars. She lives in Seattle with her four space-obsessed cats, where she divides her time between writing, architectural consultation, and dreaming about orbital habitats.
Social Media Bio (280 characters)
🚀 Architect turned sci-fi romance author
🏗️ Building love stories among the stars
📐 Where space stations meet soulmates
🐱🐱🐱🐱 Mission Control & crew supervising
✍️ Author of the “Space Between Worlds” series
🌎 Hudson Valley, NY-based, star-dreaming
Fun Facts for Interviews
- Named her cats after space program terminology
- Office walls covered in space habitat concept drawings
- Builds elaborate cat towers based on space station designs
- Started writing sci-fi romance at 50 after attending her first space conference
- Collection of vintage NASA posters inspires her worldbuilding
- Learns zero-gravity physics through countless hours of Kerbal Space Program
Standard Introduction for Events
“Taren J. West brings her architectural expertise and boundless imagination to the future of human relationships in space. Her 'Space Between Worlds' series combines meticulous research with an architect's understanding of how our environments shape our connections. A late-blooming author who published her first novel at 53, she proves it's never too late to reach for the stars.”
Quote Bank
“Every architect is a bit of a science fiction writer – we're always designing for a future that doesn't exist yet.”
“Space stations are just vertical cities waiting to happen.”
“The best love stories, like the best buildings, need both a solid foundation and room to grow.”
“My cats have veto power over all my space habitat designs.”
“It's never too late to start writing your future.”