"She was free in her wildness. She was a wanderess, a drop of free water. She belonged to no man and to no city."Roman Payne (b. 1977), the author of "The Wanderess," is an international novelist, poet, and adventurer who immigrated to France in 1999, and now lives in Morocco.Payne is known for his poetic language, the incredible sensuality of his prose, his archetype of the "Wandering Dreamer," and his return to classicism (what he terms "heroic prose").Although Payne writes in English, his 15 years living in Paris has greatly influenced his work, giving it a unique Latinate quality and inimitable voice. Payne's literary quotes have inspired the lives and works of many famous artists, from pop-singers to world leaders. Their themes are: travel, devoting one's life to wandering, love and sexuality, femininity and women's empowerment, and the rise of the individual to live the "Heroic Life." He is heavily influenced by Homeric Epic and French classical literature.Payne achieved financial and critical literary success in 2013 with the publication of his cult-classic novel, "The Wanderess." It took Payne five years to write "The Wanderess," whereas his other four novels each took one year to complete. "The Wanderess" is arguably his best novel and a masterpiece of literary fiction.In 2016, Roman Payne left his beloved Europe for Africa and he now lives solely off his writing in the Arabic Muslim city of Marrakech, Morocco.