With season two of this Syfy drama rapidly approaching (it returns Friday, June 7, 10 pm), it’s a great time to catch up on the promising mystery/sci-fi hybrid series Continuum.

Rachel Nichols stars as über-capable cop Kiera Cameron, who was accidentally propelled back to 2012 from her spacecraft-flying, supersuit-wearing existence in 2077 when a shady criminal enterprise used a time-travel device to escape execution. The group, Liber8, was a terrorist cell fighting against the total control of society by corporations, the largest of which was run by Alec Sadler (Eric Knudsen). When Keira lands in 2013, she quickly becomes part of the modern police force, partnering with Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster). Our fish-out-of-water heroine gets a little help from that high-tech supersuit and her futuristic “upgrades” which also put her in contact with Alec (his company made the suit), who is now a nerdy teen with a crazy computer grid in his family’s barn.

Got all that? Good. Because now we can get down to what’s really important—the 'ships! So technically, Kiera is married with a kid in 2077 and desperately wants to get back to that family. (Even if there are hints that her husband is shady and possibly in cahoots with Old Alec to do bad things.) Ahem. So the shipping is on the down-low and mostly implied at this point, but shipping is all about having faith when canon tells you not to! Or, uh, something like that. Anyway, here’s the down-low on the potential romances brewing for our kickass lady cop.

[To the ships!...]

“You like movies?”

Here's the trailer for Joseph Gordon Levitt's new movie, Don Jon, where a porn-obsessed guy tries to figure out how to sustain a real-life love, played by Scarlett Johansson. Here's the synopsis:

A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love.

Don Jon opens in theaters October 18.

Are you intrigued?

Molly Harper
A Witch’s Handbook of Kisses and Curses
Pocket / May 28, 2013 / $7.99 print, $7.59 digital

Nola Leary would have been content to stay in Kilcairy, Ireland, healing villagers at her family’s clinic with a mix of magic and modern medicine. But a series of ill-timed omens and a deathbed promise to her grandmother have sent her on a quest to Half-Moon Hollow, Kentucky, to secure her family’s magical potency for the next generation. Her supernatural task? To unearth four artifacts hidden by her grandfather before a rival magical family beats her to it.

Complication One: The artifacts are lost somewhere in vampire Jane Jameson’s occult bookshop. Complication Two: Her new neighbor Jed Trudeau keeps turning up half-naked at the strangest times, a distraction Nola doesn’t need. And teaming up with a real-life Adonis is as dangerous as it sounds, especially since Jed’s got the face of an angel and the abs of a washboard. Can Nola complete her mission before falling completely under his spell?

A Witch’s Handbook of Kisses and Curses is Molly Harper’s latest trip to Half-Moon Hollow, Kentucky—home to vampires, werewolves and now witches, oh my! Well, maybe just one witch; Nola Leary has come all the way from the very small village of Kilcairy, Ireland, to find Gilbert Wainwright, former lover of her grandmother, although she really doesn’t want to think about that too much. The secret Nana Fee has been keeping all these years is that Gilbert Wainwright is Nola’s grandfather. While Mr. Wainwright might have left Ireland without knowing his passionate encounters with Fiona led to more than just happy memories, Fiona did entrusted him with the McGavock witches’ mystical treasures for safekeeping.

[Mystical treasures, you say?...]

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?...]

Yesterday, in partnership with Alloy Entertainment, Amazon announced Kindle Worlds, “the first commercial publishing platform that will enable any writer to create fan fiction based on a range of original stories and characters and earn royalties for doing so.”

Amazon and Alloy have already secured permission to publish fan fiction based on Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, and The Vampire Diaries, and the World launches in June “with over 50 commissioned works from authors such as #1 New York Times best-selling author Barbara Freethy, Bram Stoker Award-winner John Everson and RITA Award-winner Colleen Thompson.”

With a whole new World awaiting readers, what source material would you like to see made into fan fiction for Kindle Worlds?

Nancy Gideon
Prince of Shadows
Simon & Schuster / May 27, 2013 / $5.69 digital

The fourth original eBook in the steamy Shadows paranormal romance series features a woman forced to choose a mate, and a Shifter prince who may need to give up everything to win her.

Held hostage until she chooses a mate, Kendra Terriot must play a careful courtship game when choosing among the dangerous Shifter heirs. As a prince in the House of Terriot, Cale knows he can be the leader his clan needs with Kendra at his side, but first he must learn to become the kind of man she desires. In a treacherous race for the crown, where weakness means death, the only way to win her trust could mean surrendering his throne. But the only way to win her heart could mean letting her go…

Cale Terriot has loved Kendra Terriot since they were children. Sheltered Kendra has been forcefully brought back to live among the Shifters and ordered to choose one of the Terriot princes as a mate. The one she chooses will gain the throne, when king Bran Terriot dies. Unwilling to let anyone else have Kendra, Cale declares his intent to make her his queen, even if it means he must fight his brothers to do so. In the shifter world, the strongest survive and the weakest die. And family loyalty is not guaranteed. Cale knows this only too well.

[If you can't trust your family, who can you trust?...]

It’s that time again, where I gross you out and make you dirty giggle in your office. I can’t believe this is my fourth squick words post; I'd have thought I wouldn’t have to do this anymore. That my posts would serve as a warning of what words not to use. Alas, no one listens and I am sufficiently grossed out once again. So without further ado, let's squick.

Folds: I don’t know about you, but when I hear a vagina described as folds I think one of two things: either folding laundry or folding origami.

Speaking of words to describe vaginas, what is with the references to highways and bodies of water? Channels, tunnels and caves, what are we, riding on the Autobahn?  

Flaps: When I see the word flaps in a novel, I automatically think trucker flaps. You know the ones with the half naked ladies on them that hang over your tires? Alas, there is nothing sexy about your flaps. If anyone put the words moist and flap together, I think my eyes would burn.

[I dunno, that sounds like a challenge...]

Today we're pleased to reveal the gorgeous cover for Cat Devon's Love Your Entity, a followup to Sleeping with the Entity and The Entity Within (out in July). Looks like we're in for another deliciously sexy paranormal treat. 

In Love Your Entity, writer heroine Sierra discovers that her life is turning out to be way stranger than fiction! Here's the official description:

SOMETIMES LOVE IS A MATTER

Sierra Brennan can inherit her great-uncle’s historic Chicago townhouse under one condition: She must live there for thirty consecutive days. What could possibly go wrong? As a writer and a ghost whisperer, Sierra has a vast imagination and a brave spirit. But not even she is prepared for the gorgeous—and naked—vampire who greets her at the door.

OF LIFE AND UN-DEATH

Ronan McCoy has spent the past century waiting to come home…to this house. The presence of the beautiful, brazen Sierra is one complication he doesn’t expect. The other is Hal, a dangerous ghost and original member of Al Capone’s gang who’s dead-set on revenge. What is a formerly indentured vampire supposed to do to get a moment’s peace? All he knows for sure is that he must protect Sierra from Hal. But once he has her in his arms, can he ever let her go? Life—and love—is becoming stranger than fiction for Sierra…and more delicious than she and Ronan could have ever imagined...

Love Your Entity will be available December 31, 2013.

Acheron and Styxx, twin brothers not of blood but bonded together by the will of the Gods. Not since Caine and Abel has there been a story of two brothers whose relationship is such a tangle of jealously, pain, and rage. In Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series, Acheron is the leader of the Dark-Hunters. His history goes back over 11,000 years and begins in the Atlantean pantheon. It was foretold to the Atlantean Goddess of Destruction Apollymi that the birth of her son, Apostolos (Acheron), would herald the destruction of the Atlantean Pantheon and bring about the death of all their Gods. So the Gods ordered Apollymi to kill her unborn son. To save him, Apollymi removed him from her womb and put him into the womb of the Queen Aara, Queen of Didymos.

Apollymi twinned him to the son of the King and Queen and tied his life force to that of their own son so they would not destroy him upon his birth.

The boys were born identical to each other, except for one inescapable difference—where Styxx’s eyes are blue, Acheron has the silver swirling eyes of a God, and it was from the moment they opened their eyes that their lives of turmoil began.

“What happened?” I asked.

He looked away.

Kneeling in front of him, I gently brushed the blond hair away from his swollen cheek. “Tell me.”

“She hugged Styxx.”

I knew without asking who she was. He’d been with our mother. I’d never understood how she could be so loving to me and Styxx and yet so cruel to Acheron. “And?”

“I wanted a hug, too.”

Then I saw it. The telltale sign of a boy who wanted nothing more than his mother’s love. —Acheron

[But Styxx's is life is far from perfect too...]

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!...]

A new, yet very old, vampire comes to TV this fall—Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays the titular role of Dracula in the latest incarnation of the legendary vampire.

Here's the show's premise:

The series introduces Dracula as he arrives in London, posing as an American entrepreneur who maintains that he wants to bring modern science to Victorian society. In reality, he hopes to wreak revenge on the people who ruined his life centuries earlier. There's only one circumstance that can potentially thwart his plan: Dracula falls hopelessly in love with a woman who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife.

The trailer shows Dracula in an ambiguous light; of course there's the whole vampiric side to him, but he is also capable of emotion, it seems. The producers behind Downton Abbey are also responsible for this, and the director is the same one who worked with Rhys Meyers on The Tudors. With that kind of pedigree, and Rhys Meyers, it seems that the show will at least be lovely to look at.

Will you watch?

Towards the end of season three, Gabrielle Miller (an actress well known in Canada) guest starred on Lost Girl as the ringleader for a small coven of witches. She had enough power to cause a bit of trouble for Bo and the gang, but when it came down to it, she was no match for Bo’s amped up strength. Whether Bo’s help is thanks to friend or foe we’re still not sure yet, but will hopefully discover quickly when the new run begins.

The witches portrayed in Lost Girl were of the suburban variety, complete with talismans and herbal remedies in their retinue, and practicing their ‘craft’ behind closed doors. In fiction, you have everything under the sun when it comes to the composition of a witch. From the green-skinned Wicked Witch in L. Frank Baum’s (and Gregory Maguire’s) stories to the dark, addictive Chess Putnam series by Stacia Kane, no altar stone is left unturned.

In fact, searching for popular fiction that contains this variation of the supernatural provides results that could possibly rival the vast collection of vampire novels out there. From this list, it’s hard to narrow down the best of the best when it comes to witchy literature, but let’s see if a cross section of this subgenre will help.

[It's the witching hour...]

Maya Banks will be publishing a new trilogy of erotic romance novels with Berkley, it was announced today. 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.

I read romance novels because I love the journey of two people falling in love. There is the encounter and then the attraction which leads to lust and hunger, need and desire. Throw in some conflict—maybe communication problems or different goals, or maybe a misunderstanding. Blend in doubts and insecurities. Shake and stir, and serve with a little heartbreak. But by the book’s end, the couple realize they complete each other—they are better people when they are together. They start their passion-filled lives together, euphorically in love and blissfully happy.

But there is another side of love. The part of love that is more grounded in day-to-day life–the love Angelina Jolie alluded at when she recently stated:

"I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive. We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.”

Both women and men want to find someone who will be there for the long haul, through thick or thin, in sickness and in health.

Books that illustrate this type of love touch a core in me, because I know that this is such an basic element of true love. Altruism can be as exciting as passion.

I have mentioned The Other Side of Us by Sarah Mayberry before, but one reason it moved me so is the caring by the hero. Here is one of the scenes:

[Everyone needs a little TLC sometimes...]

Tessa Dare
Any Duchess Will Do
Avon / May 28, 2013 / $5.99 print, $4.99 digital

What's a duke to do, when the girl who's perfectly wrong becomes the woman he can't live without?

Griffin York, the Duke of Halford, has no desire to wed this season—or any season—but his diabolical mother abducts him to “Spinster Cove” and insists he select a bride from the ladies in residence. Griff decides to teach her a lesson that will end the marriage debate forever. He chooses the serving girl.

Overworked and struggling, Pauline Simms doesn't dream about dukes. All she wants is to hang up her barmaid apron and open a bookshop. That dream becomes a possibility when an arrogant, sinfully attractive duke offers her a small fortune for a week's employment. Her duties are simple: submit to his mother's “duchess training”... and fail miserably.

But in London, Pauline isn't a miserable failure. She's a brave, quick-witted, beguiling failure—a woman who ignites Griff's desire and soothes the darkness in his soul. Keeping Pauline by his side won't be easy. Even if Society could accept a serving girl duchess—can a roguish duke convince a serving girl to trust him with her heart?

Romances based on fairy tales have enjoyed a new surge of popularity recently, but in her fourth Spindle Cove novel, Tessa Dare gives readers an anti-fairy tale romance in which hard work and self-respect are the route to happiness, and love is the only magic anyone needs. Pauline Simms is no passive Cinderella sitting amid the cinders waiting for a prince to rescue her. She is a “mud-spattered, sugar-dusted, smart-mouthed serving girl” wearing not rags but “drab linsey-woolsey.” Instead of a wicked stepmother and an absent father, Pauline has an apathetic mother and a brute of a father who is willing to sell her for less than five pounds. Instead of shallow, selfish stepsisters, Paulina has Daniela, a loving sister with special needs.

[And what about her hero?...]

As long as there have been romance novels, there have been romance novel covers. Trends in covers have gone from long-locked men with rippling chests standing over fragilely beautiful females, to iconic covers, back to the rippling chests, onto more icons, and back again.

Do you prefer one type of cover over another? What's your favorite romance novel cover (share in comments!)

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?...]