WATERVILLE (AP) – Steve Miller and Sharon Lee have collaborated on about a dozen books in their writing careers. But they’re not steamy romances or nail-biting thrillers. More like “space operas.”

The latest work in their Liaden Universe series – “Balance of Trade” – carries on a tradition of science fiction but adds an element not found in seven previous books, and it could attract a whole new set of readers.

“It is actually a real coming of age type of novel of a kid caught between two cultures learning to find his own way,” said Ellen Richmond, owner of Children’s Book Cellar in Waterville. “It definitely is a good one for the teen market.”

In expanding a novella Miller and Lee once wrote, they did not plan on spinning a tale that would snare a broader readership. The main character, a teenager named Jethri Gobelyn, proved to be such a dynamic subject that they couldn’t help but sit down and relate his story.

It’s a method that essentially is how the two write all their books, and characters often drive the stories as a result.

“What we are trying to do with ‘Balance of Trade,’ is to say the Liaden Universe is a wide and sometimes not very neat universe. There is romance. There is adventure. There are family relationships,” Lee said.

Miller said the Liaden Universe series already has fans who span generations. One family of hardcore fans he knows boasts readers from 11 to 78.

Richmond said fantasy and science fiction is a galaxy within the fiction universe that can attract many young readers, older children, and teenagers.

In this respect, she said, the Liaden Universe is a very reader-friendly place.

“My sense of quantum mechanics is pretty limited,” she said. “But I have a family, and I have friends, so I can relate that way.”

AP-ES-02-23-04 0918EST