Rachel Caine’s legions of fans were recently delighted to hear that a Kickstarter campaign to make a web series about the Morganville Vampires was in the works, headed up by filmmaker, and local boy (for me at least) Blake Calhoun!

I’m sure the collective squees were deafening, and why shouldn’t they be? Morganville sucked me in from the very beginning—despite my being generally hard on YA—and 14 books in is still going strong (the 15th, Daylighters, is due in November).

The novels are narrated by 16 year old Claire Danvers, who is accepted at Texas Prairie University in Morganville (yes, she’s super smart), and of course, Morganville is run by vamps. Her uber braininess comes to the attention of Amelie, Morganville’s founder, and she decides Claire would be a great assistant to alchemist Myrnin, a vamp who is as crazy as he is brilliant. Claire’s roomies at the Glass House are Michael Glass, Shane Collins, and goth girl Eve Rosser. The combo makes for sparks in more ways than one, and the relationships between the roommates is one of the highlights of the series in my opinion, so I’m hoping for some astute casting here, because chemistry is a must!

[And chemistry is only the tip of the Iceberg...]

Several months ago, I read Meant to Be, Terri Osburn's debut novel. As with nearly all the romance novels that make up my keepers, I fell in love with the characters, major and minor. One of the minor characters whom I really hope to see more of in future books is Randy Navarro. Osburn describes Randy as a “gentle giant” with night-dark, curly hair and a “massive breadth of chest and shoulders.” When he later proves to be a protective type with a sense of humor, I knew he deserved to be the hero of his own story. Thinking about this Osburn character made me remember other big heroes whose stories I love. Among them are some of the most memorable heroes in the genre.

First, there was Hugo, or the unknown Ajax as he is christened in Georgette Heyer’s novel by that title. The Unknown Ajax (1959) is one of Heyer’s funniest books with a cast of wonderfully drawn characters from a pair of feuding valets to an aristocratic matron whose hauteur and self-possession are inimitable (though many have tried), but the star of the book is Major Hugh “Hugo” Darracott, the product of a misalliance between the second son of an arrogant peer and a weaver’s daughter. When the lord’s eldest son and his heir drown, Hugo, to the great dismay of his grandfather and most of the Darracott family, becomes the heir. When Hugo arrives at the family estate to meet his paternal relatives for the first time, he realizes they think he is an uneducated bumpkin with little wit and less social poise. Since Hugo’s besetting sin is his “levity,” he cannot resist giving his family what they expect. He speaks in a broad Yorkshire accent that leaves them cringing and assumes the role of a naïve bumbling giant of a man, graceless and limited in intellect.

[Sexy beasts indeed...]

This month, readers will find all manner of digital reissues. First up, Heart of the West, a western historical from Penelope Williams, followed by Patricia Gaffney’s Victorian series, the Wyckerly trilogy, and, finally, a category romance—Against the Rules—from Linda Howard, reissued with digital-only 2010 release from newish author Marie Force.

Penelope Williamson: Heart of the West (First published in 1995, digital reissue June 25, 2013)

Two-time best novel RITA-winning Penelope Williamson wrote large, expansive romances. Heart of the West clocks in at 800 pages, with a time span covering twelve years in late 1800s Montana.

Clementine Kennicutt, the daughter of an abusive New England minister, dreams of a different future, away from the straightjacket of a life she foresees if she stays in Boston. With her mother’s approval, she elopes with cowboy Gus McQueen, wholly unprepared for her new home—a Green Acres type house in the middle of nowhere—and her reaction to his brother Zach. Gus is his family’s golden boy, Zach its black sheep.

[I'm sensing a love triangle and some angst...]

Cecilia Grant
A Woman Entangled
Bantam / June 25, 2013 / $7.99 print & digital

Kate Westbrook has dreams far bigger than romance. Love won’t get her into London’s most consequential parties, nor prevent her sisters from being snubbed and looked down upon—all because their besotted father unadvisedly married an actress. But a noble husband for Kate would deliver a future most suited to the granddaughter of an earl. Armed with ingenuity, breathtaking beauty, and the help of an idle aunt with connections, Kate is poised to make her dreams come true. Unfortunately, a familiar face—albeit a maddeningly handsome one—appears bent on upsetting her scheme.

Implored by Kate’s worried father to fend off the rogues eager to exploit his daughter’s charms, Nick Blackshear has set aside the torch he’s carried for Kate in order to do right by his friend. Anyway, she made quite clear that his feelings were not returned—though policing her won’t abate Nick’s desire. Reckless passion leads to love’s awakening, but time is running out. Kate must see for herself that the charms of high society are nothing compared to the infinite sweet pleasures demanded by the heart.

Cecilia Grant’s third novel, A Woman Entangled, once again features a couple with substantial and believable obstacles in the way of their having a life together. The story is told with Grant’s trademark complex characterization and snappy dialogue, with some literary references for added spice. The various conflicts, most relating to marriage and its effects upon one’s family, expand upon ideas put forth in Pride and Prejudice, which Kate is borrowing from the lending library in the first chapter. There are later references to Emma and the titular character’s relationship with Mr. Knightley. Kate approves of marriages made for sensible reasons, and feels that marrying an unsuitable person, merely for love, is not only a selfish act but can cause great harm to others.

[Yet somehow she ended up in a romance novel of her own...]

We've featured many Squick! posts, the most recent of which is Squick Me Out, Part 4: Return of the Moist, where we've shared the words used in romance novels that make us shudder.

But there are some words that aren't entirely shudder-inducing, but are awkward. Case in point? Panties.

Does anyone say panties? Say it aloud, and see if it doesn't sound goofy (hint: it does!). The alternatives, underwear and underpants, don't sound any better.

What other undergarments euphemisms have you seen? Which is your preference?

Here we are, already two weeks into the summer season, and there are yet more television series premieres coming our way... ahead, the highly anticipated premiere of Camp, the welcome returns of Necessary Roughness and Magic City and...well, I guess True Blood, for those of you who like your vampires with a side of ick. Among much else.

For a look at the shows already in progress, see Summer Lovin’: Summer TV Premieres, May/June 2013, Part 1.

But in this week’s news:

Camp
NBC
Series Premiere: Monday, June 10

Come spend the summer at Little Otter Family Camp, where the staff are zany, the campers are troublesome and the scent of pine is only eclipsed by that of rampaging teenage pheromones.

[Pheromones=Love, so where's the romance!...]

Ever wondered how the art for your favorite romances is chosen, or wished you could be part of the process? Here's your chance! H&H is excited to offer readers the opportunity to have a major say in the cover for Manda Collins's forthcoming novel Why Earls Fall In Love, the second book in the Wicked Widows series, released in January 2014.

The deal:
From now until Thursday at 5 p.m. ET on the H&H Facebook page, you can cast your vote for 1 of 3 possible poses for the hero and heroine by “liking” your favorite pose: The image/pose with the most “likes” on Facebook* after 5 p.m. ET that day is the pose that will end up on the final cover!

Remember the art/cover** is not yet final—you’re picking the pose of the hero and heroine, which the art department will then include in the cover design.

Once the Why Earls Fall In Love cover is finished, look for a reveal of the final Why Earls Fall in Love cover on HeroesandHeartbreakers.com!

Head on over to Facebook now to check out the images and to cast your vote for your favorite pose!

*YOU MUST “LIKE” THE PICTURE of your choice—comments here or on the Facebook post are fantastic and you can certainly use the comments to lobby for your favorite pose, but comments WILL NOT count as a vote. The image with the most Facebook Likes will win.

**The art for all 3 poses, including the image used at the top of this post, is courtesy of Steve Gardner, www.shootpw.com.

Please join us in welcoming author Cassie Alexander to Heroes and Heartbreakers. Cassie's most recent book, Shapeshifted, is the third in the urban fantasy Edie Spence series. Edie is a nurse who treats paranormal creatures, and in her real life, Cassie is a nurse as well. Today she's here to talk about how normal some paranormal stuff actually is. Thanks, Cassie!

Since my books deal with supernatural creatures in the hospital, I’ve had to look around for a lot of plausible reasons to put them there, and have discovered that there’s more overlap between our world and ‘theirs’ than the casual reader might think.

In the 1970s a medical theory was floated for all the vampire legends – the blood disease of porphyric hemophilia. You may have seen people suffering from this on the TV show House. One of the symptoms of porphyria is painful photosensitivity, with burning and itching rashes under exposure to light, and in one episode they almost cut a girl’s arm off because of her reaction to the operating room lights. (Contracting porphyric hemophilia is also the way you become a vampire in the video game Oblivion, which I find hugely amusing.) While people still debate as to if this actual disease is the cause of the mythology, it’s easy to imagine people who had to hide indoors in olden days because of intense reactions to light being labeled as vampires.

[Putting it all in perspective...]

You read romance, that's a given, because you're here. But chances are you read in other genres, as well, making people you discuss your reading choices with cock an eyebrow when you say you love _________ or _________.

Are you a romance fan, but also love science fiction/fantasy? Maybe you have a weakness for reading tell-all memoirs? Or you are a fan of an author who writes outside the genre?

What's your most unexpectedly favorite genre or author?

*****MAJOR, MAJOR SPOILERS for The Borgias's series finale—3.10, “The Prince”—below.*****

Seriously, DO NOT READ until you've seen the episode for yourself.

While the series finale hasn't yet aired on U.S. television, this morning Showtime posted the final episode of The Borgias online for subscribers at ShowtimeAnytime, and it is a wild ride.

[How does it all end?...]

One thing I love about the romance genre is the amount of variety. I can literally go from reading a book featuring a shape-shifting vampire angel to a contemporary action-adventure story featuring a Navy SEAL.  That being said, the Old Gray Lady of the genre, the reason the genre as we know it exists today, is because of historical romance. 

Over the years, readers have delighted in romantic sagas that spanned generations and continents, to more precisely-focused stories that rarely stray out of the Regency-era ballroom.  Historicals have ebbed and flowed, come and gone, but have always remained a steady presence in the genre.  It’s why I love historicals so much, and why I get frustrated when I read theories and impending predications that the subgenre is on its last legs.

I don’t believe that, and nothing anybody says is going to sway me otherwise.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t think that historicals couldn’t do with a little renovation project; the foundation is still solid, but nobody wants to live in a house with an outdated kitchen, shag carpeting and not enough closet space.  So just like any home improvement project, I start with a wish list.  I kick the tires, look at samples, and dream of what could be.  What’s on my historical romance wish list? Let me give you the starter kit:

[First stop: Edwardian period...]

How is it already Game of Thrones finale time?! If you need to catch up, don't miss Regina Thorne's Season 2 refresher or her recap of episode 3.01, episode 3.02, episode 3.03, episode 3.04, episode 3.05, episode 3.06, episode 3.07, and episode 3.08.

And now, onto last night's episode 3.10, “Mhysa.“

***SPOILERS FOR THE GAME OF THRONES SEASON 3 FINALE***

It’s hard to top the Red Wedding, so it’s probably wise that “Mhysa,” the Game of Thrones season 3 finale, didn’t even try. Instead, we got a kitchen sink episode that set the stage for next season while giving us closure on some of the plot arcs of this season.

We open at the Twins where the Red Wedding is still going on in full swing, with Frey soldiers slaughtering the remainder of Robb Stark’s army. From somewhere, Sandor Clegane has found a horse and is riding away slowly with Arya Stark in front of him. Arya is still blessedly unconscious from when Sandor knocked her out, but unfortunately she wakes up in time to see the Freys parading Robb’s decapitated body with the head of his direwolf sewn onto it, as they chant “the King in the North.” The look on Arya’s face is pure devastation; she will remember this forever.

[If only we could all un-see that...]

The publishing world is reeling with how well some self-published e-books are doing. Previously unknown—much less published—names are skyrocketing to the top of the book sales charts, and hundreds of people are posting reviews to Amazon and Goodreads and writing the books up on their blogs.

But—why? Why are so many self-published e-books doing this well?

Well, as it happens, there are a few intriguing elements to consider:

—Price: Most of these e-books are priced below $3, some as low as .99 cents, so there is very little to risk by taking a chance on a new-to-you author.

—Pretty: Most of the e-book covers are striking in some way, and the cover image gives an indication of the content; a shirtless muscular man clutching a female on the cover means the book is a New Adult book. An image of an object means the content is erotic these days. Sometimes there are three people on the cover, which indicates a love triangle (if they're not touching) or a menage (if they are).

[What else makes self-published e-books so popular now?...]

Current popular romance seems to be populated with a lot of heroes who are obsessed with the object of their affection—so much so, in fact, that sometimes the heroes veer on the scary side.

Today we ask—who's got your vote for the title of Most Obsessive Hero?

Suggestions might include, but are not limited to, Gideon Cross, Christian Grey, Damien Stark, and Dragos Cuelebre.

Shipping Sunday is a new feature for us—it'll put the spotlight on favorite TV, movie, and book couples, a.k.a. 'ships. If you like it, we'll make it a regular piece, so do let us know what you think and/or if you have any requests for future posts!

Fans of Joss Whedon's Angel 'ship Wesley/Fred are being given a rare opportunity: the chance to see the actors who played them together again as a couple in a new project. Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof, once Winifred “Fred” Burkle and  Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, are now on the big screen as Beatrice and Benedick in Joss Whedon's film adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, which is in select U.S. theaters now.

In honor of the premiere of Much Ado, we thought we'd take a trip down memory lane and celebrate some highlights of the Fred/Wesley 'ship. Enjoy, and please share your favorite pics/vids/fics in the comments!

[+More Fred/Wesley goodness...]

If you’re unfamiliar with Cathy Cash Spellman, you should know that she has a lot to say. She’s a prolific columnist and blogger, writing movingly about a life that has seen more than its share of upheaval and heartbreak, along with moments of transcendent joy. She’s an accomplished marketing guru whose clients include Revlon, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Bloomingdale’s, and the Great American Chocolate Factory. She’s an avid astrologer with an interest in alternative healing and metaphysics.

She has also written a novel or two.

Although Spellman is arguably best known for her thrillers, particularly Bless the Child, she wrote several sprawling family chronicles in the 1980s that should be in everyone’s TBR pile. These novels are full of passion, adventure, romance, revenge, and above all history, from the barricades of Dublin during a historic rebellion to the dusty streets of Leadville, Colorado during the silver boom. They’re what I call “One More Chapter” books—as in, you say “It’s late, but I need to see what happens! Just one more chapter.” And the next thing you know, you’re closing the book, it’s 3 a.m., and you have no idea where the time went but you have no regrets.

[Don't stop, never stop...]

At Heroes and Heartbreakers, we have a bit of a soft spot for tall guys. We're sharing a few of our favorites, from Nathan Fillion (whose movie Much Ado About Nothing comes out today), Tom Hiddleston, Queens of the Stone Age frontman, Josh Homme, and Richard Armitage.

Do you like very tall men? Do you find you gravitate towards tall heroes, too? Share your favorites in the comments!

[+More tall drinks of water!...]

It’s been over a month now since Lost Girl's wacky gang of misfit Fae (as well as an awesome human or two) have delighted us with their banter, fighting bad guys, and just generally entertaining us with the twists and turns of life on the less-than-normal side of things. If you haven’t started watching the series from the beginning again and maybe need a suggestion or two of what to read in the meantime, look no further!

Over the three seasons of Lost Girl, we’ve seen all manner of Fae on the small screen. From Baba Yaga to Bacchus, from Sirens (Hale!) to the fearsome Garuda, the creators have brought us world myths and blended them into the lives of the unaligned Succubus and her cohorts. With season four on the horizon, we know there will be a lot more in store for us, but other than our suspicions about Odin, there is definitely still plenty of room for more mythological surprises yet to come. Here are a few more suggestions that can compare in their expansive content of supernatural beings:

What to Read

Charlaine Harris’s Dead Until Dark (et al). Harriss’ insanely popular Sookie Stackhouse series has recently come to a close. For me, this is the best time to start a series, when you know there is a definitive end, plus you don’t have to wait for the next book to release. Harris has taken lots of flack about how she ended the series, but as readers, what we should take from these books is the sheer entertainment value they offer and just go with it.

[More fae-filled recs...]

Stephanie Tyler
Defiance
Carina Press / June 10, 2013 / $3.99 digital

Rebelling against her legacy as the MC's princess, Tru Tennyson escaped the ruthless, male-dominated culture of the Defiance motorcycle club. Three years later, her newfound freedom is ripped away, thanks to a massive hybrid storm that killed millions. Now, in the post-Chaos world of semi-darkness and near-total anarchy where gangs rule, she discovers the dangerous world of Defiance may be the one thing that can keep her safe.

Tru is at the MC's mercy when she's dragged back to her former home…and to the only man she's ever pictured a future with. Caspar is the bastard son of the club's leader, her safe haven when life got rough—and her onetime lover the night she left. When Tru refuses to trade sex for power and be claimed by a rival club leader, she also dares to announce she wants Caspar instead, throwing the MC into turmoil.

Tru's brazen revolt could start a gang war and destroy the club from within. Now both Tru and the MC must wait for Caspar's response…and the inevitable fallout.

Motorcycle clubs (MCs) and post-apocalyptic worlds are big in romance novels these days. Stephanie Tyler combines these two in her New Adult romance Defiance, a story about two people struggling to find their place in their new world and in each other’s lives. Both grew up as part of the Defiance MC; Tru as the princess of the club, because of her father’s role as the club’s enforcer, and Caspar as the bastard son of the club’s leader. Tru abandoned the club, tired of her abusive father’s behavior, but returned after the Chaos, a cataclysmic weather event that destroyed much of the world’s infrastructure, realizing that she had little chance of survival on her own.

[Can she carve out a better life with the Defiance MC?...]