Every year at the RT Booklovers Convention's Giant Book Fair, there is a breakout author. Amidst the sea of writers autographing, one author will have a line so long that it will wrap around the entire event. This year, the one to watch was Larissa Ione. A writer of the paranormal romance variety, Ione is known for creating great characters, complex plots and steamy, steamy reads and her newest series, Lords of Deliverance, is incredibly popular. Featuring the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, these books have readers' hearts racing, desperate for more end of the world action! This month, Ione is feeding our need with the next novel in her series, Lethal Rider and "Apocalypse," an e-only compendium about the series. Included in "Apocalypse" is a behind the scenes look at the author's sexy heroes, daring heroines and smashing series. This 99-cent buy also sports a terrific short story that will have readers wanting more. Whether you are already a fan or are just getting your first taste of Ione's Lords, enjoy this RT-exclusive excerpt from the new e-short "Apocalypse".

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When your only shot at survival is stealing a soul, then it is best to get down to business. But just how do you go about reaping a soul? Author Karen Kelley's newest heroine Destiny from Where There's Smoke may not be the best person to ask since she is so new to the game. As a demon-in-training, Destiny has been saddled with a dark assignment: she can't return to hell unless she brings back one fresh soul with her. In today's guest post, the author shares a bit about Destiny and then the heroine herself explains exactly why she has targeted one good looking cowboy to seduce and lead back to the underworld (or at least that's the plan...)

Destiny is a wannabe demon, but what's a girl to do when she’s kicked out of Hell and only has a week to steal a soul — or else? And why did they tack on or else? She’s already been sent to Hell once. At least she was there. For Destiny there’s only one thing she can do, she heads straight for the sinfully corruptible looking cowboy sitting at the bar and let me tell you — all hell breaks loose!

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With The Avengers movie cracking the $1 billion mark in just over two weeks, superheroes are "super hot" right now. And if Iron Man, the Hulk and Thor have you wishing for more musclebound heroics, we are here to help with some great adventure romance stories featuring cape-d, sometimes spandex-ed and mostly masked heroes and heroines who will have you dreaming of extraordinary feats …

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt Meet the Superhero: The Ghost of St. Giles Why You Need To Know Him: He’s “Batman in Georgian England.” Some Backstory: The Ghost has played an important part in Hoyt’s Maiden Lane series but now the man behind the mask gets his happily ever after … or does he? It’s a story about finding love right under your nose (and sometimes right under a mask) in this July release that was rated an RT Top Pick!

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J.R. Ward doesn’t just write some of the hottest vampires in paranormal fiction, she’s also created a class of fallen angels that may have you swearing to stay away from the pearly gates in order to steal some time with these exiled celestial beings. Ward plunged us into this dark and sexy series with 2009’s Covet and each fall has treated us to another installment with a snappy one-word title — Crave and Envy respectively — and some of the best dark heroes in romance today. (But don’t take my word for it on the heavenly hottie front, you’ve got time to pick up the first three books in the series before the upcoming book four, Rapture, is in stores this fall.)  

But if J.R. Ward’s name and the promise of sinfully sexy men aren’t enough to get you pre-ordering your own copy of Rapture, here is what we know we can expect:

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The paranormal heroes of May swept us off our feet. Their good looks, intriguing backstories and myriad of “super” skills have sparked a heated debate the merits of dating an angel, sorcerer and beyond. Today we are letting these gentlemen face off, so you can decide who you’d want to share your happily ever after with. And if you let us know which man has stolen your heart by leaving a comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win a paranormal prize pack!

Darkest Caress by Kaylea Cross Meet The Man: Daegan Blackwell, naturally magical His Story: This 2,000-year-old — but very well preserved, if you know what we mean — is "Empowered", one of the last of his kind, a breed of magical people on the brink of extinction.

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The newest class of angels featured in upcoming romance novels inspire some very passionate feelings in our hearts. One glance at these covers, and it’s easy to see why these heavenly beings have us positively wrapped around their fingers. It doesn't seem to matter what color these wings are or if they are made of smoke or tattoos, we bet you won’t be thinking of cherubs, halos or pearly gates when you take flight with any of the stories below. Plus, we're giving readers a chance to win two of these titles at the end of this post!

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Bestselling author Anne Rice shares a look inside of her paranormal world in this RT-exclusive video interview. Rice chats with RT's Morgan, about vampire mythology and the author's most famous male characters - including Lestat. Then, go deep inside Rice's newest novel, The Wolf Gift, to discover what "called" to her about these paranormal creatures and the sequel she never thought she'd write. (Plus, the author reveals a look at the upcoming film adaptation of The Tale of the Body Thief — and who she'd tap to star!)

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Beloved historical romance author Shana Abe debuted in 1998 and received immediate attention for her lush voice. But she certainly didn’t rest on her “published author” laurels for long, after just a few books Abe began adding fantasy elements to her tales, like shapeshifters and time travel. Her Drakon series kicked off with The Smoke Thief, which won an RT Reviewers’ Choice award in 2005 and introduced readers to dragon shapeshifters that would capture our imagination — and our hearts. So we were thrilled to learn that the author will once again be breaking new ground with a new paranormal historical series.

Book one, The Sweetest Dark, will hit shelves on August 21st and features the paranormal and historical elements that are this author’s signature style. When TSD picks up, we’re in England during 1915 — that’s smack dab in the second year of WWI for those of you who don’t normally head historical for your reading — and mysterious circumstances bring seventeen-year-old orphan Lora Jones to the elite (but oh so gothic) boarding school, Iverson. Lora has always been connected to an otherness, and according to the book’s official synopsis, literally, “hears songs that no one else can hear, dreams vividly of smoke and flight, and lives with a mysterious voice inside her that insists she’s far more than what she seems.”

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Paranormal superstar Charlaine Harris continues to dazzles readers with her Sookie Stackhouse mysteries, including this month's Deadlocked, the second to last in the series. During the 2012 RT Booklovers Convention in April, RT's Morgan got a chance to sit down with the author to find out what's next after Sookie's story ends, Harris' thoughts on the HBO adaptation of the series, True Blood, and what readers can expect from the author's new project. Plus, Harris sheds some light on the newly-announced upcoming TV adaptation of her Harper Connelly series that has just been optioned by Syfy (you can read more about the project here).

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Whether or not you are familiar with the paranormal sub-genre steampunk, these "retro futuristic" books are definitely here to stay. However, with so many different types of stories, readers can easily become confused by these gear and steam laden tales. But don't despair, we are here to help! Today we discuss what constitutes a steampunk story, suggest a few starter books for readers new to the sub-genre and preview a few of the upcoming tales that we can’t get our hand on. So let’s take a page from the steampunk genre and put on our traveling goggles to prepare for adventure!

SO, WHAT IS STEAMPUNK ?

The term “steampunk” is thought to have been coined during the 1980s, as an alternative to cyberpunk, to describe the books written in an HG Wells-ian and Jules Vern-ian style. At its most specific, the term refers to an alternate Victorian-era England where steam-powered inventions are all the rage. However, this premise provided so much fodder for authors and creators who quickly re-imagined the entire world pivotally changing at this moment in time.

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