Voyeurism is the practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions usually considered to be of a private nature. Voyeurs are most commonly male, though it’s not restricted to gender. For some, the thrill of voyeurism is the secretive nature of the act—the individual being viewed is often unaware of the voyeurs interest. Cameras, webcams, and photographs are tools of the trade. When a voyeur becomes obsessed with their subject, however, it can often lead to stalking. Often regarded as being sexual in nature, it can also be done in a nonsexual nature.

Reality TV is a prime example of nonsexual voyeurism. Shows like Teen Mom, Survivor, and American Idol all give the viewing public an intimate interaction with an particular subject or group with limited outside influence.

Voyeurism often goes hand in hand with exhibitionism. Exhibitionism is the practice of engaging in a deliberate manner in order to garner attention. There are those who like to watch and those who like to be watched. There is no harm, in my honest opinion, in engaging in voyeurism or exhibitonism if all parties and acts involved are consensual. Non-consensual voyeurism and exhibitionism, of course, is a crime.

 Art, film, and literature has long used voyeurism as a medium in their creations: Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, and D.J.’s Caruso Disturbia all used voyeurism as the plot device. Master painters such as Rembrandt depicted half clothed woman in various acts of perceived unobserved normality, while Velasquez focused more on how the images are observed, often using an inanimate object to bisect the picture, forcing the viewer to “peep” at the subjects. Nabokov’s Lolita, Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures Through The Looking Glass, and Nadzam’s Lamb are all classic tales which have an underlying theme of voyeurism. Even music has capitalized on it; who doesn’t know the stalker's anthem song, “Every Breath You Take” by the Police?

[How does romance handle voyeurism?...]

Find your future faves with this delightfully convenient shopping list of romance novels coming out in June. We’ve divided them up by subgenre to make it easier for those who’ve got a very specific obsession and there are some great books to look forward to—from steampunk vampires and Dommes to e-serials and a very special motorcycle club. Don’t forget to take this printable version with you when it’s time to shop!

Heroes and Heartbreakers June 2013 Shopping List!

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy/SfR

[Check out the complete list!...]

Maya Banks will be publishing a new trilogy of erotic romance novels with Berkley, it was announced today.  Although the series is set in the Sweet Series world, it is not a continuation of that series, but a brand new one. According to the press release:

The new trilogy is set in Houston, Texas amidst a world Banks originally created for the Sweet Series and focusing on the lives and friendships of a closely intertwined group of people, the series will explore the friends' tragedies and triumphs as well as their darkest fears and secrets.

Meanwhile, the final installment in Banks's Breathless trilogy, Burn, will be out August 6th.

Are erotica authors born, or made? After a lifetime of reading sex-drenched novels, I finally took the plunge two years ago and published one of my own. Now, five steamy (and occasionally raunchy) “Logan Belle” novels later, I’m still thinking about the books that started it all: the juicy, passionate, explicit, heart-stopping novels of my youth that made me hide my books under my bed and set my imagination (and other parts of me) on fire.

As a pre-teen, I devoured any book with even a hint of sex. I think the first “erotic” scene I ever read was in Judy Blume’s Deenie, in which the heroine Deenie was hooking up with her crush Buddy Brader and he tried to feel her up but she was wearing a back brace. A shockingly short time later, I read D.H. Lawrence's  Lady Chatterley’s Lover—easy to sneak past the parental censors because of the classic-looking cover. Emboldened and hungry for more, I progressed to Jackie Collins’s Chances. I swapped the jacket cover featuring the photo of the vampy brunette for something innocuous. Well-worth the subterfuge: the sex scenes were scorching hot. Those first “erotic” novels are unforgettable—imprinted in my head like nothing that has followed. I recently asked fellow romance and erotica authors if they remember their first erotic read. The answer was, of course, emphatically “yes!”

Stephanie Draven (It Stings So Sweet): “My first erotic novel was the Story of O, which captivated me with its beautiful prose and strange, seductive, foreign sexuality. Alas, when I reached the end and learned that O was to be abandoned by her lover after having transformed herself into everything he desired, I threw the book across the room and wept. Maybe this is why all my erotic novels have happy endings.”

[What's the first erotic novel you read?...]

In need of some sexy reading material to fill your e-reader? I’m here for you. Each month I will bring you an assortment of erotic pleasure reads to tempt your palate—and your credit card....

May brings us a delectable assortment of hot erotic pleasures that will leave you wanting more.

The Tied Man by Tabitha McGowen

Lilith Bresson, an independent, successful young artist, is forced to travel from her home in Spain to the wild borderlands of northern England, to repay her feckless father’s latest debt by painting a portrait of the enigmatic Lady Blaine Albermarle.

On her first night at Albermarle Hall she meets Finn Strachan, Blaine’s “companion,” a cultured and hauntingly beautiful young man who seems to have it all. But Lilith has an artist’s eye, and a gift for seeing what lies beneath the skin. She soon discovers that Blaine is more gaoler than lover, and if the price is right, depravity has no limits.

As the weeks pass, Lilith finds that she too is drawn into the malign web that her patron has spun, yet against the odds she forges a strong friendship with the damaged, dysfunctional Finn. In a dark, modern twist to an age-old story, Lilith Bresson proves that sometimes it’s the princess who needs to become the rescuer.

Please note that this storyline contains depictions of drug abuse, violence and non-consensual sexual activity.

An unconventional love story that will force you through the wringer over and over until the end, leaving you stunned and drained from the emotional onslaught it subjects you to.

[What else is new in May?...]

In less than a month, our favorite dysfunctional couple makes their return. Entwined with You, the third book of Sylvia Day's Crossfire series, will be released on June 4th. Entwined with You is highly anticipated in that the ending of Reflected in You left us reeling. As we patiently wait for release date to get here, I’ve been thinking about what I want to see happen with Gideon and Eva. I love them because they are so dysfunctional but I also hate the dysfunction—if that makes any sense.

Now that the Crossfire series will consist of 5 books instead of 3, what do we want to see/not see in the next 3 books?

• Co-dependency—Gideon is SO dependent on Eva for everything. He wants to be with her 24/7 and she allows this. There are times where Eva puts her foot down and tells Gideon to go away, but she inevitably gives in. Their relationship is already unhealthy with both of them having abuse issues so adding clinginess isn’t going to make it any healthier.

[What do YOU want for Gideon/Eva in future?...]

In addition to more Crossfire books and the Cosmo Hot Reads, Sylvia Day will also be publishing a stand-alone book on October 15th titled Spellbound.

She's just posted the cover and blurb on her Facebook page:

Max Westin. Sex incarnate. She could smell it, feel it with his proximity. Everything about him was a little rough, a little gritty. A primitive creature. Just like she was.

He held her hand a little too long, his thickly-lashed gaze clearly stating his intentions to have her. To tame her…

Read the rest of the blurb at Sylvia's Facebook page.

Jilted, rejected, abandoned, left at the altar, deserted, however you want to term it, having it happen on your wedding day is not a cool thing. It is what happens directly afterward that most interests me. I love to see the heroine jump back into things. Seeing her thumb her nose at her ex, leave with another man, have a honeymoon in spite of the jerk, really fall in love and find happiness; all of these things make for a wonderful HEA.

Most of the books of this plot type, that I have read, are based off of the groom cheating on the bride. I would love to be able to find a “Runaway Bride” type book but for the plot to really work for me, the groom has to be a dastardly jerk. If he isn’t cheating or horrible how can I possibly justify the heroine hooking up so quickly afterward? Here are a couple of books that I have found with this theme:

Down for the Count by Christine Bell — Lacey finds her groom in a supply closet with one of her bridesmaids so what is she to do? Well she goes on her honeymoon with her best friend’s older brother. Galen happens to be a boxing stud with a bit of a reputation but Lacey does not care. All she wants is a good time and Galen is there to provide it.

[I'll bet he does...]

Tessa Bailey
His Risk to Take
Entangled / May 13, 2013 / $1.99 digital

Homicide cop Troy Bennett had a reputation with the Chicago PD for being fearless and in control—until the night his daredevil partner is killed during a raid. From that moment on, he swears he’ll never again be responsible for the loss of a loved one. To escape his demons, Troy transfers to the NYPD, bringing him up close and personal with Ruby Elliott, a beautiful, street-savvy pool hustler.

Reckless and stubbornly independent, Ruby embodies everything Troy’s avoiding, but when she walks into the pub he’s at with his new coworkers and blows his carefully laid plans to hell, Troy knows he has to have her—risks be damned. But there’s a connection between Ruby’s shadowed past and a case Troy’s working involving a notorious Brooklyn felon, throwing her safety into jeopardy. Confronted with his biggest fear, will Troy push Ruby away to keep her safe or fight to keep her in his arms where she belongs?

Troy Bennett, from Tessa Bailey’s His Risk to Take, is a cop with a very special talent. He is an alpha hero who takes protectiveness to a new level, especially once he meets Ruby Elliot, a pool hustler with a dubious past. But what is Troy’s special talent? When things heat up in the bedroom, Troy’s mouth goes into overdrive, talking—making Troy one of the dirtiest talking heroes I’ve run across in my years of reading romance.

[Talk dirty to me...]

Late last week, the internet lit up with another exciting rumor on the potential creative team for the film adaptation of E.L. James's Fifty Shades of Grey—this time, it was the stunning news that British director Joe Wright has become the front runner choice for director. His name has been added to a list of film makers under consideration that apparently includes Gus Van Sant, Patty Jenkins and, oddest of all, Bennett Miller.

(ETA: Deadline now reports that Wright is out of the running, but that doesn't mean he's not the best choice—plus, schedules can change!)

Van Sant might do this movie some justice; in fact he's proven himself quite able to cover male/male sensuality in past films such as Milk, My Own Private Idaho and Mala Noche. But Wright seems like the better choice, given his sensual-overload filmmaking style and proven talent for representing a woman's emotional inner life on screen. One can only hope that if he really is on the short list, that the folks over at the film company Focus Features, and novelist/producer E.L. James (in between her script burning sessions with Kelly Marcel) will seriously consider him.

Joe Wright has a well established knack for high-end book adaptations. His most recent film was last year's Anna Karenina, a fantastical satin-lined waltz through the original Tolstoy novel that explored many forms of love and desire. It was an extremely adult-themed film, full of romance and seduction, and rated R in the USA for good measure. Previous Wright films Pride and Prejudice and Atonement also included heavy drama, romance, and intense emotions, not to mention being flush with stunning visuals and sensual production design.

[How do you make a good Fifty Shades of Grey movie?...]

Have you ever read a book that you thought was crazy, but loved it anyway? Has something ever happened in a book that made you raise your eyebrows and ask yourself: “Did that really just happen?” Did you then go check out the author because you wanted to know if she had more books you could read as soon as possible? You might’ve read a crack romance, a book that seemed oddly different but totally captured your imagination. With the advent of self-publishing, crack romances abound. I am a huge fan of these books and try to read as many as possible. I often live tweet them in order to amuse and/or horrify my followers.

Kristen Ashley, author of titles like Motorcycle Man and Dream Man, may be the quintessential crack romance author. She suddenly appeared on the romance reviewer/blogger scene and readers either loved or hated her. I, myself, was hooked by Tack, the anti-hero of Motorcycle Man who uses phrases like “Get me?” repeatedly and heads up a motorcycle club. In the book Knight, the hero is a pimp, and he likes for the heroine to call him daddy. But Ashley is just one example.

[Who else makes the list?...]

As if Sylvia Day weren't busy enough, she's got a new series coming out soon, the first of which is Afterburn, out August 15th. This is part of a new line of books from Harlequin, who've partnered with Cosmopolitan magazine to release Cosmo Red Hot Reads. Aftershock, which follows Afterburn, will be available November 12, 2013. (Click the individual title links for the respective covers). The cover revealed here looks to be for a paperback bindup of both Aftershock and Afterburn, also available on November 12, 2013.

Day just released the cover on her Facebook page, and shares the blurb on her website:

Never mix business with pleasure. Never bring politics into the bedroom. In a way I did both when I took Jackson Rutledge as a lover. I can't say I wasn't warned.

Two years later, he was back. Walking into a deal I'd worked hard to close. Under the tutelage of Lei Yeung, one of the sharpest businesswomen in New York, I had picked up a thing or two since Jax walked away. I wasn't the girl he once knew, but he hadn't changed. Unlike the last time we'd drifted into each other's lives, I knew exactly what I was dealing with... and how addictive his touch could be.

The inner circle of glamour, sex, and privilege was Jax's playground—but this time, I knew the rules of the game. In the cutthroat business world, one adage rules all: keep your enemies close and your ex-lovers closer...

She has also posted an excerpt of Afterburn on her site.

Writing extreme sex in romance novels is a tricky business. To push the boundaries almost beyond comfort, to stretch the limits of traditional convention, and not veer into straight erotica, requires acute skill and careful balance. But that combination of intense, hardcore sex and a gripping, equally powerful love story heightens the entire experience of reading romance, and for those who can handle it, it can be addicting to glimpse the darker side of love. Whether it's rape fantasy, polyamorous BDSM, or orgiastic dystopia, among endless possibilities, love that knows no bounds and has little restriction can ultimately be the most romantic of all.

Of course, extreme sex isn't without controversy. Cara McKenna gives her take on consensual rape play in Willing Victim, about two people who need it rough. Laurel is just discovering this about herself, longing for something more; Flynn freely embraces this part of himself, but never forces it on the women he's been with. She's drawn to him, he offers his preferences openly, and they circle each other, a tentative cat and mouse chase that escalates realistically until we're hooked. The raw Boston setting, Flynn's predilection for underground boxing, and Laurel's own assertiveness, never for a minute giving the impression of a helpless victim in any way that she doesn't want, all serve to entice even the wary. Certainly Laurel's and Flynn's experiences have shaped them to be who they are, and they have baggage the same as anyone, but there aren't any glaring skeletons or psychological fodder to be dealt with. The greatest thing is that this isn't an unhealthy addiction; it's a preference, and in that, Laurel and Flynn's romance is like any other: perfect just for them.

[Romantic and erotic...perfect combination!...]

Sylvia Day has just posted the first chapter to the next installment of her Crossfire series, Entwined with You, on her website. Here's a snippet of the excerpt:

New York cabbies were a unique breed. Fearless to a fault, they sped and swerved through crowded streets with unnatural calm. To save my sanity, I’d learned to focus on the screen of my smartphone instead of the cars rushing by only inches away. Whenever I made the mistake of paying attention, I’d find my right foot pushing hard into the floorboard, my body instinctively trying to hit the brakes.

But for once, I didn’t need any distractions. I was sticky with sweat from an intense Krav Maga class, and my mind was spinning with thoughts of what the man I loved had done.

Gideon Cross. Just thinking of his name sent a heated flare of longing through my tightly strung body. From the moment I first saw him–saw through his stunning and impossibly gorgeous exterior to the dark and dangerous man inside–I’d felt the pull that came from finding the other half of myself. I needed him like I needed my heart to beat, and he’d put himself in great jeopardy, risking everything–for me.

You can read the rest of Chapter 1 at Sylvia's website. Entwined with You will be released June 4, and continues the Gideon/Eva romance begun in Bared to You and Reflected in You.

And if you haven't heard, it's rumored that the Crossfire Trilogy will in fact become the Crossfire series—Day has allegedly said there are actually FIVE books planned for Gideon and Eva. For all our Sylvia Day coverage and more erotic romance posts, check out H&H's NSFW Collection.

Logan Belle
Miss Chatterly, Parts I-IV
Pocket Star / May 13, 2013 (Part I) / $.99 digital (each part)

Torn between love and sex. By the time Connie decides, it could be too late.

I’ve loved Cliff since the day we met. For three years, he’s been my boyfriend and my best friend. But for the first time, something is missing. Sex. It’s been months since Cliff has touched me. And I don’t know how much longer I can wait—especially since I’ve met someone else. For the first time, I feel doubt. Temptation.

Oliver Mellors is nothing like Cliff. He’s purely physical and intensely focused on my body. But then, he has to be: he’s my CrossFit trainer. I know I can’t confuse sex with love. I know I shouldn’t risk love for sex. But now, caught between two men, I wonder: Is there a way to have both?

Logan Belle's Miss Chatterley, a modern re-take on a classic that stands on its own, takes on that elusive, forbidden subject of cheating—without skirting the issue, without excusing or exploiting it, but running with it. Miss Chatterley fully explores and examines what can lead a heroine we root for to do what she does. And it does so not only with care and aplomb, but with such deftness we can't help but be fascinated as it unfolds and breathless for the final outcome.

[Feeling short of breath already...]

Lust at first sight? Yes, please! It's our pleasure to reveal the alluring cover for Opal Carew's forthcoming erotic romance His to Possess.

The official description is still to come, but here's an exclusive sneak peek at what Jessica and Dane's sexy story will be about:

While attending a job fair, Jessica can't help but notice the tall, dark, and handsome stranger across the conference lobby. Especially since he bears a striking resemblance to her ex, the man who broke her heart when he couldn't support her dreams. Deciding to take a chance, Jessica invites Dane back to her bed for one night of hot, no strings attached sex in a last effort to finally get over her heartbreak. However, when the night's over they find that sometimes a casual fling doesn't end the next morning.

His to Possess will be out later this year. We'll share more details as we get them! In the meantime, if you haven't already, be sure to check out Opal Carew's erotic serial His to Command.

For those of you who are excited for the June 4 release of Entwined with You but mourning the end of the Crossfire series, fear not! For months Sylvia Day has been teasing on her website that there will be a fourth book in the Crossfire series, but at the RT Convention this week, Day allegedly confirmed that there will be not four by five books outlining Gideon Cross and Eva Tramell's life. The Crossfire series was also recently optioned for television, which will give fans a live-action view of Gideon and Eva. We'll let you know more details as we learn them but for fans of the series, get ready to squee!

With Lora Leigh and Sylvia Day update, look below for more details!

Team H&H's Heather Waters (@redline_) is over in Kansas City, Missouri at the Romantic Times Booklover's Convention. The rest of the team is holding down the fort so we thought we'd share some news, gossip, and fun events from #RT13 for the rest of you who are to!:

• E.L. James made a surprise appearance in a New Adult Panel. All would have gone smoothly and no one would have likely known she was there until a panelist started to criticize the 50 Shades series. James then stood up to defend her books before dissolving back into the woodwork. Twitter had a lot of reactions but find out more from the Kansas City local news outlet about the incident.
• Heather listened to an Erotica panel with Sylvia Day, Maya Banks, Jaci Burton, Tiffany Reisz, and Lauren Dane. The consensus: write alpha heroes, not asshole heroes, it's all about the motivation. Misguided, maybe, but alpha heroes have good intentions.
• Tiffany Reisz's squick word is “cream.” Is it yours too?
• Reisz feels her Dominatrix Nora is like Nancy Drew, with one tiny difference: She solves sex problems!
• Ever wonder what it'd be like to be all tied up? Well audience members are at least getting a little look into it as different kinds of rope are being passed out at the All Tied Up panel so you have an idea of what it feels like. We can put it down to research, right? Ouch!
• Maya Banks loves tortured or weaker heroines that grow stronger over course of book, and loves reversing tropes (like Beauty and Beast).
• Avon Editor Erika Tsang brought Editor Trading Cards along with her Avon books!
• All 52 Georgette Heyer books are now in print!
• Jessica Shirvington's Embrace is in development for a show on the CW.
• Jill Shalvis starts with a couple that is wrong for each other and then goes from there. Do you see that in her romances?
• Are you a fan of Downton Abbey? Well fear not, more Edwardian romance is in the works! Also, be on the lookout for Elizabethan and medieval romance. What time period do you want to see in historical romance?
• Lora Leigh hinted that some secrets will be revealed in upcoming Breeds books and don't forget to check out a Breeds story in the upcoming anthology Enthralled (available July 2, 2013). 
• Sylvia Day allegedly confirmed that there will be FIVE books in the Crossfire series. See our full article for more detail!

We'll try to keep you up to date on the news, gossip and other fun events. What else have you heard from RT13? What authors do you want to hear about?

What is an erotic romance?

Every time I think we've got this topic covered, I find out I'm wrong. People don't know. And I mean even people who are putting themselves out as personal assistants and public relations “experts” in the romance community.

What do I mean? I'll mention liking erotic romance, but not erotica. Someone who has been reading romances for twenty years and is well established in the romance community might say “Oh, I love erotica!” To which I respond, “Not for me, thanks. I need the HEA.” Almost always, the immediate following is “Oh. Me too.”

Excuse me?

Erotica doesn't require a happily ever after. It just doesn't. (And I'm not even going to try to discuss between erotica and porn…) But erotica is all about sex between characters. Emotions do not necessarily equal a relationship. Romance, on the other hand, is about the relational journey to a happily ever after love between the characters. (Notice at this point I'm not even saying “between the hero and heroine”?)

[There is a difference...]