Five things to love about TV’s new love affair with fantasy

Tim Mison as Sleepy Hollow's Ichabod Crane

Stephen Amell as Arrow's Oliver Queen

Colin O'Donoghue as Once Upon a Time's Hook

Jay Ryan as Beauty and the Beast's Vincent Keller

David Giuntoli as Grimm's Nick Burkhardt

Oh, and yeah...them. ;)

Yeah, I’m in that kind of a mood. I’m seriously digging the multitude of SFF offerings on TV this season, and the above isn’t the only reason, but it sure doesn’t hurt. And of the five six, Sleepy Hollow, Once Upon a Time, and Beauty and the Beast at least have strong women playing equally important roles. My favorite for that so far is Sleepy Hollow—and also for its diverse casting. Grimm and Arrow get props for trying, but Supernatural? Heading into season nine and they've really never gotten it right. Oh, well. I hear there's a spin-off in the works. Can't wait to see what that will bring!

And there's more to love among the plethora of fantasy shows: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Doctor Who, Lost Girl, Continuum, Warehouse 13, Alphas, Being Human, and last year's favorite of mine that I can't wait to see more of: Orphan Black. (Just to name a few.) But I have to confess to really enjoying the eye candy in the list above. I also have to confess to so far not being that impressed with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Except for Ming-Na Wen and Clark Gregg, I'm not really loving the cast. But maybe they'll grow on me. I'm definitely going to keep watching, I just haven't been wowed yet by this latest Whedon project.

Do you have a favorite so far?

Paranormal Week: Old myth/new life

One of the things I love about paranormal romance is that it can take old myths and breathe new life into them. It could be something as simple as vampires, looking at what the common law is but adding a new spin. Or it could be taking whole legends and reimagining them, Juliet Marillier is very good at this in a fantasy setting.

While Beauty and the Beast gets used a lot in romance, in paranormal romance the hero can truly be a hideous beast…or goblin.

I was able to blend my love of Roman Britain with goblin lore and a classic tale of not judging a person based on appearance to create The Goblin King.

For the Annwyn series I looked at the old fairy lore, the stories from when they were gods and Gwyn ap Nudd ruled the underworld, and then imagine a kind where are they now scenario? What has happened to the fairies over the last couple of thousand years?

Other writers draw on Greek myth or Egyptian. But in each case the old gods and creatures get a chance at being reborn for a modern audience.

Before stories were written down they were handed down orally. Each teller adding their own variation. There are so many variations of King Arthur and Robin Hood. And these are just the ones we know about, the ones that were recorded, and they are far more recent that ancient myth. Imagine how many variations and tales of the gods we have lost over the centuries. 

Some was deliberately destroyed when early books were destroyed by Christian monks wanting to stamp out the worship of old gods. Other stories would have simply been lost because no one was telling the stories anymore after they were forced to convert. 

The only way to keep myth and legend alive is for it to be talked about, for people to know it exists. 

I love that TV shows are looking at the old stories and bringing them back. Supernatural uses plenty of paranormal creatures; ever googled the wendigo? Or the woman in white? 

Seen the trailer for Sleepy Hollow or Dracula? Go one take a look, I’ll wait ;)

Even Once Upon a Time give the fairy tales a fresh spin.

Paranormal romance lets authors take an old tale out of the crypt, revive it and give it a makeover. Some will closely resemble their source (like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast) but others will spawn a new story that on the surface looks nothing like its parents.

5 TV shows to complement your reading

I have to admit, the past few years have conjured up some great offerings on television for fans of sci-fi, paranormal and fantasy. Just skimming through the TV Guide, I counted 20 shows airing in the United States before, well, I got tired and stopped counting. Maybe that's why I'm watching more television now than I think I've ever watched in my life! It puts a serious cramp into my writing time, but quite frankly, when I turn off my television after watching one of my favorite TV shows, I usually want to head straight for the computer because I feel quite inspired. I call it my Television Muse.

So what shows do I recommend? I've picked five that I just can't stop watching.

1. The CW's Supernatural, Fridays at 9 p.m. EST. Aside from the fact I could drool all night by simply pausing the screen on the show's main stars, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, I think the writing on this show is top notch. I mean, how can you go wrong with two demon-hunting brothers battling monsters every week? Plus, they drive an Impala. Or, they used to. OK, don't get me started on the Impala, or I might start crying.

2. Once Upon a Time, ABC, Sundays at 8 p.m. EST. I honestly didn't expect to like this show as much as I do. The town of Storybrooke, Maine, is populated by characters from fairy tales, who have been exiled to the real world due to a curse cast by the Evil Queen as part of a revenge plot against Snow White and Prince Charming. Because of the curse, most of the inhabitants of Storybrooke have no memory of their true identities and have been stuck timelessly in Storybrooke for years. The show has a creative premise, and I love that each week it seems to focus on a different character from fairy tales.

3. The CW's The Vampire Diaries, Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST. I think this one is aimed at teens, but it's my guilty pleasure and IMHO far too sexy to be aimed only at teens. Set in the appropriately named Mystic Falls, this soap opera revolves around Elena Gilbert, a 17-year-old girl who falls for a 162-year-old vampire named Stefan Salvatore. Of course, Stefan has a much sexier, snarky older brother, Damon, who is also a vampire, vying for Elena's affections. Plus, there are werewolves, witches and more plot twists and turns than you can count.

4. SyFy's Being Human, Mondays at 9 p.m. EST. Actually, I should note that there is also a UK version of this show that is probably more awesome than the U.S. version, but since I haven't finished watching the UK seasons, I can only fully comment on the U.S. version, which is about a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost - 3 roommates who are struggling to find their humanity despite being monsters. I love the dynamics that have evolved in season two, and I have become quite emotionally attached to these characters. Plus, I really heart Josh and Nora as a couple.

5. SyFy's Lost Girl, Mondays at 10 p.m. EST. I now know this is a Canadian show that has only recently begun airing in the U.S., and I must say, it is quite a sexy show for television. It's the story of supernatural seductress Bo, a Succubus who feeds off sexual energy. She's torn between the worlds of the Fae - light and dark - and is the center of a love triangle with Dyson, a wolf shifter, and Lauren, a human doctor. This is a show that isn't afraid to push the sexual envelope, but I'm more drawn to the magical stories of Fae.

Honorable mentions: HBO's True Blood (vampires), NBC's Grimm (fairytale creatures), AMC's The Walking Dead (zombies), and the CW's Secret Circle (witches).

Tell me. What sci-fi, paranormal or fantasy shows inspire you?