Julia wrote (re Tanith Lee):

Yup, but putting up the entire interview wouldn't be. I don't currently have access to my own copy, and I've never put the complete text in a public place, including this list, so I can't go and pull it off from anywhere on the net. Maybe one of the Citizens has a copy on file and can find the relevant quote.

Julia was kind enough to send me a copy of this, a few months ago.

Tanith Lee mentions that Avon is "pure death wish" in the context of justifying her pairing of Tarrant with Servalan in Sand. She felt that Servalan was also pure death wish, that she and Avon were too similar and that bringing them together would short out the galaxy! "So I thought: something where you have a balance, where you have Tarrant who has less of a death wish..."

She wanted to wait until later in the series to bring Avon and Servalan together, but was caught on the back foot when it finished suddenly.

I hope this helps.

Cheers Frances