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Today’s guest blogger is debut author, Sandy Lender, of the Choices Trilogy. Please, extend a warm welcome to her for joining us!
I’m pretty doggone lucky. Not only did I get a publisher to give me a contract for my first novel CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS, that publisher asked for my opinion on the design of the cover.
So often in the publishing industry, authors have to sit back and wince over what a marketing department has selected for their book’s cover. When I met Terry Goodkind several years ago, he told me how disappointed he’d been in the first/original cover for WIZARD’S FIRST RULE. It had a red dragon on the cover with his main characters looking all dramatic and windblown. When I first saw the cover in the bookstore, I was intrigued enough to pick it up, but it didn’t “impress” me. What impressed me to buy Terry’s book (and I told him this) was his thank-you to Richard and Kahlin (his main characters) in the acknowledgments. THAT turned this writer to mush. I bought the book. It turns out, the dragon in Terry’s story is introduced late and plays a minor role.
Anyway, Terry shared that once his books became amazingly popular, he got to have some say in the cover design and the first novel was being reissued with a more artistic, dreamy look to match the rest of the series. (My description, not his.)
I’ve heard horror stories of images with lighthouses when the storyline takes place inland, images with a three-armed woman, back cover copy that mis-spells the hero’s name, back cover copy that reflects events that don’t take place in the story, etc. I was thrilled, as a new author, that my publisher said, “Send me some copy for the back cover” and “Here’s a cover idea; what do you think?”
The first image he sent me for CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS had a picture of my heroine’s head big and huge in the foreground with her hair very dark red and some kind of actual photograph of a modern dagger in the background. I feared making any comment. I turned off the computer and went to bed. The next morning, he had already sent a new concept. Thank God. He had a couple sword images for me to choose from. And he was reflecting part of Chariss’s image out of the sword. EXCELLENT! It’s quite cool because the amethyst that she’s got on her cheek and her lavender eyes are included on the cover without giving the reader a false idea of what she looks like…It’s perfect.
I didn’t want him to put the hero, Nigel, and the heroine, Chariss, on the cover together. While their relationship draws a lot of attention (and e-mails) from readers, we didn’t want to make it the focal point. There are several plotlines and their romance is just one in the fantasy novel. I think what my publisher came up with contains important elements to attract fantasy enthusiasts, and the back cover copy that we worked up draws all sorts of readers in.
Don’t forget to comment on today’s post for a chance to win an autographed, hard cover, first edition of Choices Meant for Gods! One lucky winner will be drawn at the end of each week during the tour. If you don’t win this week follow along for next week! Details here:
The romance novel industry has been designing covers for a very long time. We’ve seen swooning couples, floating heads, headless bodies, photoshop overlays of couples and scenery, women in fancy dresses, and plain fancy font covers with inserts. The current trends of floating heads and headless bodies are an interesting oxymoronic mix.
On the last, I asked on Twitter about the headless body phenomenon known as mantitty.
The tweet read:
Why do romance novel covers crop mid-head or at the neck? Seriously, my art professors would kill me for those design decisions.
I was taught when drawing the human body you never cut off at a joint. Ever. It makes the body look truncated, misshapen, and distorted. If you’re going to crop a body you crop mid bone section - mid thighs, mid arms, etc.
@amhartnett: easier than finding models who match the entire look of char.? Let’s the reader fill in blank face with their imagination?
Both responses point to the model as being a bad representative for the male lead. With all the models out there, there should be one that can represent the hero accurately enough.
The first response begs the question of what is handsome. Considering all the notions of beauty out there, one face might very well attract and repel the same amount of readers.
My guess is publishers are catering to the mass of readers instead of creating a cover that accurately represents the novel. I mean how offensive can a hot, finely honed male body be? Forget that 99.98% are hairless for those that love chest hair.
William Dunford inherits a barony out in Cornwall. He also inherits an unexpected ward, not that he knows this when he arrives. Henry, his ward, is a spunky hoydenish tomboy with a plan. She’s going to convince London bred Dunford, the new Lord Stannage, that country living is not for him. While putting into place a series of cockamamie schemes to get rid of Dunford, Henry finds herself falling for his sweetness and kindness. Midway through the first act, they call a truce and form a friendship.
We learn as the novel progresses that Henry is embarrassed by her boyish behavior and dress off the farm. She frequently refers to herself as a freak. This rightly so, displeases Dunford immensely. In fact he’s so enraged by her self-deprecating nonsense that he forbids her to call herself that again. The midpoint of the book is where Dunford finds out that Henry is his ward and that all his lusty thoughts and behavior are completely out of the question.
The story takes a turn for the worst when he brings Henry to London for an Eliza Doolittle makeover. He plans to turn her into a lady, give her a dowry, and help her find a husband. The process makes him cranky, makes her feel even more insecure. Coupled with the unnecessary plot twist at the end with Dunford’s former mistress, the book fairly tanks. It held such promise too. The former mistress twist drags the book out beyond bearing and proves that Henry is the biggest obstacle to her happiness and that of Dunford’s. The poor man has had to put up with a lot.
Best thing about this book hands down is the pet name, Minx, given by the hero to the heroine. Minx is by far one of the most original pet names I’ve seen in literature or heard in real life. Very cute and fits the story perfectly.
The worst thing about the book was this phrase and its variations: “I’m Henrietta Barrett, but call me Henry; everybody else does.” Completely overused. Yuck. On top of that Henry is so boyish it’s hard to get behind. I much preferred Dunford’s further shortening of her name to Hen, sadly he only uses it a few times.
Rating: 4 Stars before the midpoint and 3 Stars by the end.
Originally posted 2009-01-03 11:49:49. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Busy, busy, busy! No rest for Mr. Romance. Charles Paz is already off working on photo shoots and got a wicked sunburn for his efforts. Don’t worry Charles, I know right were the aloe is and I can help rub it in… I mean… uh… ahem… right. Where was I? Oh yes, between some crazy antics at the shoot and aloe rubbing Charles and I sat down to go into detail on his win at Romantic Times 2009.
How does it feel to not only win Mr. Romance, but to also be Readers’ Choice?
I was shocked and surprised. Winning Mr. Romance is truly an honor and a privilege. I’m very excited to be a part of all of this. A year ago I wouldn’t have thought I could be anything; now I have this. Winning this competition is cool because I get a cover contract, and getting to come back next year to be a part of the ceremony is an extra cherry on top.
Winning the Readers’ Choice, in my opinion, is just as sweet as the cover model win. I’m glad that I made a great impression with the people who attended the convention because, let’s face it, this week was all about them. It’s about them having a great time and enjoying themselves. For me to be a part of their experience and getting to contribute to them having an awesome time is something I can’t explain. I’m just very honored to have met such wonderful people at this event and want to let them know that this means a lot to me.
What was your favorite part about the competition and the convention?
My favorite part of the competition was winning, duh! HAHAHAHA! Seriously though, I enjoyed giving the crowd a show and making sure they enjoyed themselves. Hearing the crowd react to things I did during the competition was very cool and reassured me that they were being entertained, which was the main point of the competition.
As far as the convention goes, I’d have to say that seeing a group of people so passionate about something all gathered in an area is always an awesome thing. I’m very new to this world of Book Lovers. Seeing and experiencing what they love was something I will not forget. Probably one of the coolest things was seeing the readers meet the authors that they love and getting their books signed. The smiles on these ladies faces were priceless.
What were some of the things you did behind the scenes at RT?
Most of the time behind the scenes was spent rehearsing for our show. If we weren’t at an event, we rehearsed. I didn’t get much downtime, but I did manage a few gym sessions while I was there. It was almost like a trip in Vegas, where the only time you are in your room is to take a shower and a power nap. LOL. I spent a lot of time as well chatting with people by the pool and around the convention. I didn’t stay in my room, I made sure I was out and about.
Funniest thing a person said to you while in Orlando:
Funniest thing someone said to me? Well, if it was said, I guarantee it was said by fellow contestant Franco D’Angelo. The entire time he had all of us guys cracking up. We were like two sides of the same coin. My stomach hurt from laughing so much.
One of the things that was kinda funny, that actually made me blush a lot, were the women there that would tell me, “I’m too old for you, but my daughter is not. You should meet her.” It was said more than just a few times and it was very flattering.
How do you think winning this competition will affect your image?
I hope that this will boost my image and help me get seen. I’m on Model Mayhem. That was what I have been doing before this event. You can actually see my work by going to that site and searching my number #591117. It’s just a sample of what I have done. I’m looking forward to doing the book cover for Dorchester Publishing and hope that the this can help me land other covers and possibly acting as well. I’d love to take this win as far as I can and hope that you all will see me again.
One piece of advice you’d give future Mr. Romance candidates:
The best advice I can give to the other guys is this… The competition is cool and fun, but remember the real reason why you are there: the people. Somebody told me this is their Christmas, their one chance to get away and have a vacation to have a good time and relax. Make sure you remember that when you are speaking to them. You will get noticed by publishers and authors, and you will get business cards for future projects, but make sure everyone there is having a great time. I can safely say that me and the other guys did a great job doing that. Every time I looked around, I saw them engaged in conversation with people and they all looked like they were happy. That’s what matters most!
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I would love to thank everyone I met this week. You all helped make it one of the best times of my life. The contestants, the readers, the organizers, all of you guys are very much appreciated and words can not express how thankful I am for all of this. I hope everyone got home safely and that I am looking forward to seeing you all next year! =-)
C’mon, sit down, relax and grab a cuppa Joe. Well no, a cuppa Eric actually. Eric Truglia sat down with me recently to discuss what went down at the Romantic Times Convention in Orlando where he was a contestant in the Mr. Romance contest. Giving us a unique look on the experience Eric shares why he competed along with exclusive behind-the-scenes gossip!
One thing you think the ladies should know about you:
Eric: I love to make people smile and laugh. I enjoy bringing happiness to others.
Why did you decide to compete in Mr. Romance?
Eric: I was always self conscience about myself. I lost a lot of weight and my confidence in myself started to rise, and that’s why I started up modeling plus the reassurance given to me by my loving girlfriend. I really enjoyed it and wanted to see how far I could go. I’ve noticed that if I start toeing at something I end up getting too nervous and let fear take control of my actions. So instead of toeing at the edge of the river I dove head first into it.
What was your favorite part about the competition and the convention?
Eric: My favorite part about the competition was that it reminded me of my high school theatre days. Rehearsing everyday and being behind the stage brought back great memories. The fact that all of the competitors, to me at least, bonded together like the way the crew and the actors did at my school made the feeling more surreal.
My favorite part of the convention would honestly have to be that I finally met and get my picture taken with the author who first got me into reading: Pears Anthony. I honestly had to force myself to stop from babbling to him. He is one of my biggest heroes. I never thought in my entire life I would meet him let alone shake his hand.
What were some of the things you did behind the scenes at RT?
Eric: Behind the scenes I helped out whenever I could as to take some of the load off of the hands of the staff, who by the way are some of the greatest group of people to be around and I was honored to work with them and my fellow competitors.
Funniest thing a person said to you while in Orlando:
Eric: Scuba! Inside joke with the guys.
One piece of advice you’d give future Mr. Romance candidates:
Eric: To future candidates I just say be yourself. Don’t try and be something you’re not. People can see through that.
PS… When I saw this picture of Eric, my mind did a little fizzle…
Why? Because he totally looked like the new members of the New Moon crew, you know the ones, those in that sexy werewolf pack running around in La Push these days.
Now if Eric were cast as Jacob Black, I would be over the moon, pun intended, because Eric is hot! What say you?
Ladies (& Gents), I would like to introduce you to Mr. Stefan Pinto, the first-runner up at the Romance Times’ Mr. Romance contest. Scoring a romance novel contract and some extra publicity, Pinto says he’s a “full-time geek, sometimes model.” Who doesn’t love a sexy brain? Heck, brawn and brains, I know he has, as Mr. Pinto is so kindly helping a friend of mine code and slice her website up in Adobe-land. I tell you, the more I know about him, the more delectable he becomes. From sheiks to doctors, rogues to bosses, billionaires to bronco-riding cowboys, he’s sure to make us swoon. Pinto took some time away from his busy schedule to give me some exclusive, first-hand information going behind the scenes of the competition, as well as, a unique perspective on the world of romance novels.
Why did you decide to compete in Mr. Romance?
Stefan: A friend who runs a PR firm in NY, receives RT magazine and suggested I enter. It never occurred to me that I will be a contestant let alone even place in the top five!
How do you feel about winning 2nd place at Mr. Romance?
Stefan: Ecstatic! It is a dream come true for me. I know that sounds cliche, but you must understand; I was once overweight. Growing up, I suppose you could say I was a “nerd” (I still am, actually). Yea, I had zits, wore glasses and had buck teeth.
What happens now?
Stefan: Ha ha. I don’t know. I’ve been in touch with Circle of Seven productions and they have been very forthcoming with their responses. I am looking forward to working with them.
What was your favorite part about the competition and the convention?
Stefan: Bonds. I connected with some of the contestants as well as with some of the authors. Everyone was open to meeting and this was what is most important to me. I really enjoyed the people I met and know that we will remain in touch.
What were some of the things you did behind the scenes at RT?
Stefan: As we spent most of our time with each other, we developed some strong bonds. There is always that initial sense of trepidation when meeting new people that you will be competing with, but ultimately, if you are willing, you can develop some wonderful relationships. We spent a lot of time making fun of one another, in jest of course, sharing our experiences and giving advice.
Funniest thing a person said to you while in Orlando:
Stefan: What is your intellectual capacity? I answered, and we ended up having a nice chat. I wonder if she voted for me?
One piece of advice you’d give future Mr. Romance candidates:
Stefan: Bring snacks! It is a grueling competition mostly because of the back-to-back events and you do not want to run low on fuel. I go crazy when I am hungry.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Stefan: This event changed my life. It was truly an opportunity and I am blessed to have shared it with such enthusiastic and considerate people. Everyone was just amazingly wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Aww… isn’t he terrific? You can find Stefan on Twitter, Pinto Factory, Facebook, and Model Mayhem. Be sure to drop in and say hi, he’s very friendly and amiable.
I just got off the phone with Jeremy Rivenburg, one of the gorgeous models going for Mr. Romance on Saturday. He sounds as wonderful on the phone as he looks; soft-spoken, polite. His voice is sinful and I got to talk to him for just over thirty minutes. On top of that he’s a genuinely nice guy who’s a little bashful and very modest. Below is the transcript of the interview:
1. Why do you think you’re the best candidate for Mr. Romance?
Jeremy: You know I don’t know if I’m the best. The reason why I am here is because someone chose me. I didn’t sign up for this on my own. I was asked to do this. I was sponsored [Between Your Sheets]. Annette Batista, who I shot a romance novel trailer with said that I would be good as a cover model and that I would do well at it. I would give it my best.
2. What type of romance cover do you see yourself doing?
Jeremy: I can pull off different looks. As I said before I did a book trailer. My character was named Sam; I was a vampire in the process of turning. Supernatural stuff, which is interesting. Several of my model shots, I’ve been told, would be great on a book cover. I hear I could pull off really well being as a vampire.
(I can see him as one of those devilishly handsome but withdrawn and brooding heroes, not necessarily a vampire, but one of those scarred and wounded heroes from historicals.)
3. One thing you think the ladies should know about you:
Jeremy: Hmm…. I guess that I’m shy. I’m a pretty shy guy. I’m not the kind of guy who… I guess that’s not good here [Romantic Times Convention]. I’m forcing myself to be confident, more outgoing, and talkative. Some of the ladies here know that and they come over and say hi to me, ask me how things are going. It’s helped to open me up a little bit… One lady last night told me that that’s what she liked about me.
4. In 3-5 adjectives, how would you describe yourself?
Jeremy: Shy, sarcastic-I joke around a lot or whatever you want to call that, hmm… this is more difficult than I would have thought. Nice guy, I’m not a bad boy.
He is certainly nice and down to earth! It was such a pleasure to chat with him.
Ladies, I’d like to introduce you to Charles Paz, one of the candidates for Mr. Romance this year at the Romantic Times Convention. If you’re at the convention don’t be shy, say hello. I wrote Charles yesterday afternoon and he was such a sweetie to text me his responses right away. Isn’t he wonderful? You can find him on Facebook and ModelMayhem!
1. Why do you think you’re the best candidate for Mr. Romance?
Charles: I feel I’m the best candidate because I portray a character that readers can relate themselves to. Someone who looks like they are a hero. Someone that takes care of a woman and treats them right. Basically, it’s what I am in real life. Respectable, humble and protective.
2. What type of romance cover do you see yourself doing?
Charles: I see myself doing anything. From cowboys to knights in shiny armor. I’d love to do covers that would have me being the hero and saving the woman, but with my versatility, I’d be honored to be on the cover of any style.
3. One thing you think the ladies should know about you:
Charles: The ladies should know that I’m a very caring and sincere guy. I put others first and always make sure that people are ok. Some of my friends say that I care too much, but I blame my mom because she raised this boy right :~)
4. In 3-5 adjectives, how would you describe yourself?
Charles: And a couple words to describe me are loyal, caring, strong, passionate and determined.
So what do you think? Is Charles Paz the next Mr. Romance?
This third addition to Camp’s Matchmaker Series is a winner. Even the cover is great. The covers on most romance novels show insipid, overly romantic scenes of manor houses or cheap, torrid love scenes. The love scenes are the worst, inaccurately depicting the characters in the book with men that are too young and too short, women who are pretty but whose faces lack any kind of character and clothes that look like cheap poorly fitted costumes complete with nylon zippers. The well-designed cover of The Wedding Challenge shows a bold and beguiling woman dressed in a lovely, well made, accurate looking gown. And Candace Camp’s heroine is defiantly bold and beguiling.
Lady Calandra meets the Earl of Bromwell at a costume ball and is instantly intrigued, the feeling appearing to be mutual. Although Callie knows just about everyone in the haute ton, she does not know who this man is. On the other hand, her brother, the Duke of Rochford, does appear to know and dislike him. Although her brother does not give an explanation, he forbids her to see Bromwell. Callie is confused by her brother’s behavior and is determined to allow the Earl to court her.
She goes to stay with a family friend, the independent and widowed Francesca Haughston, who has a reputation for being a successful matchmaker. Francesca does not know the Earl either, but does know and dislike his sister, the twice widowed and notorious Lady Swithington. Lady Daphne Swithington and the Earl of Bromwell both want revenge on the Duke of Rochford for seducing Daphne and leaving her with child and they each intend to use Lady Calandra for that end. With this beginning, a lasting relationship between Callie and Brom seems unlikely, but their passion for each other carries them through the morass of lies and deceptions.
The Wedding Challenge beautifully showcases Camp’s storytelling talent with fully developed characters and a tightly written plot. This is a wonderfully entertaining book.
3 ½ Stars
Get involved at Love Romance Passion. You can learn about our review submission guidelines and join in the fun. Contribute when you can - we would love to have you!
Originally posted 2008-10-27 05:12:27. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Last night was the last chance to enter the DIY Highlander Cover Contest and this morning and all day is set aside for voting. You vote by leaving a comment on the entry you like the best for both cover and background. We have two great entries by two great artists.
Sasha presents Laird of the Manor, a contemporary romance with a historical background centered around mock battles.
Zarabeth presents The Highlander’s Heir, a historical romance featuring a feisty plump heroine and a hero with a mission.
Also take a moment to think about the next DIY cover. What would you be interested in see next? We’ve had Pirates and Highlanders, perhaps we need Vikings or werewolves? Maybe corporate bosses and their secretary mistresses? Leave a suggestion!
Today’s hottie is the Brazil actor with Italian ancestry, Rodrigo Santoro. If you’re a fan of Love Actually then you’ll know who he is… Rodrigo plays Karl, the loveable architect with the most adorable nerdy chic glasses.
Gives you a whole new appreciation for that blood and guts movie doesn’t it?
Looking at the IMDB profile of Santoro, all of us are going to be super lucky this year. He’s coming out in 5 films in 2009 if they are released on schedule.
In 2004, Santoro was slotted as #9 on People’s Most Beautiful List. The way to this man’s heart is ice cream with chocolate.
“I love both the sun and the moon, day and night. But I enjoy the day the most because I live in Rio and I can play sports.” - Rodrigo Santoro
Santoro can grace the cover of my romance novel any time!
Within the Cranium posted these beauties back in 2005, but spoofing never goes out of style. More to the point I personally find them hilarious and relevant to today’s technology driven society. My computer software engineer friend is going to split his gut laughing and you will too…
Today we’d see insert Zip Drive into USB Port; he plugged her good… or if it didn’t fit, flip it over and try again.
Also a flash drive and USB port are significantly smaller apparatuses compared to Floppies and Disk Drives… does this make them equal or will the Zip Drive have size issues?
Clever title - scary cover. Enough said… no wait I have something to ask:
Aren’t they both Native Americans??? Why would they be anywhere near an European ship?
This one beats all… the title is priceless… who needs beta testing anyhow?
Submit your own savvy cover redo to Keira @ reviewromancenovel[at]yahoo[dot]com
I’ve been over at Jessica’s blog Racy Romance Reviews and I stumbled upon her post for google search terms. Some of the searches are truly hilarious, but there was a mysterious question that cropped up time and again in the search terms.
I saw him on the inside cover and immediately I wanted to know the answer too. The man is scrumptious! So I started the search and surprise, surprise - Jessica’s blog posts come up as one and two on the search engine, which wasn’t very helpful because as I already knew the name to the gorgeous hunk was not going to be there. So who is he?
The Answer:
Ben Whitaker!
Go Amazon forums for providing me with that tidbit. Once I figured that out I looked for him on other romance covers. Ben is also the model for A Reputable Rake by Diane Gaston and Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn.
This is his model page, which has a few pictures and information on him. If only there were more information on the internet for me to glean…
Hey Ben! If you see this post contact me! I want to interview you! Grin.
Looks:
Height: 1.88
Chest: 98
Waist: 82
Hips: 94
Shoes: 44/45
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
I hereby dubbed Ben Whitaker as Mr. Eight for the Search for Fabio. Consider this his nomination! I know I want to see him on more covers and I know you do too!
KarLynP says:
He is going to give Nathan Kamp a run for his money. Yum!
L. Magee says:
Oh, yeah, that Ben Whitaker has one killer smile!
lovetherain says:
I just got Seduce me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas & the cover model on the inside flap is sooo good-looking. I usually don’t like who they pick to portray the characters, but this guy was dead on.
Excellent, Love Romance Passion has it’s second entry for the Highlander Romance Novel Cover Contest. This entry was submitted by Sasha, who also participated in the Pirate Novel Cover Contest. Leave a comment to vote for this entry as the winner is chosen based on the amount of comments they receive. Feel free to vote more than once as new entries come in that strike your fancy.
Model: Florent (the fantastic Sir Flowee!) Designer:Sasha
Romance Novel Title: Laird of the Manor
The Tale:
Enchanting and alluring, Highland Laird Iain Buchanan was born to a clan of warriors. Living in the 21st century, he embraces his Caledonian heritage by reenacting the acts of his ancestors pasts each year in the Scottish Highland Games! He still lives in his family’s ancient manor housed in Northern Scotland aka the Scottish Highlands.
Artist Comments:
Image took about 20-25 hours over 3 weeks to manipulate.
I looked at the covers of Karen Marie Moning’s books for inspiration ([link]) and I spent way too much time listening to Blake ([link]) and Celtic Thunder to get *inspired* ([link])
**NOTE: yes, ALL parts of the graphic are manipulated together: Florent, Florent’s Shadow, the sky, the cuffs, the kilt, the manor, the Highland beach, the tattoo, the lights etc. etc. etc. Nothing came together, I composed the entire thing! **
The first image he sent me for CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS had a picture of my heroine’s head big and huge in the foreground with her hair very dark red and some kind of actual photograph of a modern dagger in the background. I feared making any comment. I turned off the computer and went to bed. The next morning, he had already sent a new concept. Thank God. He had a couple sword images for me to choose from. And he was reflecting part of Chariss’s image out of the sword. EXCELLENT! It’s quite cool because the amethyst that she’s got on her cheek and her lavender eyes are included on the cover without giving the reader a false idea of what she looks like…It’s perfect.
and 
.
makeover. He plans to turn her into a lady, give her a dowry, and help her find a husband. The process makes him cranky, makes her feel even more insecure. Coupled with the unnecessary plot twist at the end with Dunford’s former mistress, the book fairly tanks. It held such promise too. The former mistress twist drags the book out beyond bearing and proves that Henry is the biggest obstacle to her happiness and that of Dunford’s. The poor man has had to put up with a lot.
C’mon, sit down, relax and grab a cuppa Joe. Well no, a cuppa Eric actually. Eric Truglia sat down with me recently to discuss what went down at the Romantic Times Convention in Orlando where he was a contestant in the Mr. Romance contest. Giving us a unique look on the experience Eric shares why he competed along with exclusive behind-the-scenes gossip!
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4. In 3-5 adjectives, how would you describe yourself?
Ladies, I’d like to introduce you to Charles Paz, one of the candidates for Mr. Romance this year at the Romantic Times Convention. If you’re at the convention don’t be shy, say hello. I wrote Charles yesterday afternoon and he was such a sweetie to text me his responses right away. Isn’t he wonderful? You can find him on 
Today’s hottie is the Brazil actor with Italian ancestry, Rodrigo Santoro. If you’re a fan of 
then you’ll know who he is… Rodrigo plays Karl, the loveable architect with the most adorable nerdy chic glasses. 
and 
where he played Xerxes. 
Looking at the IMDB profile of Santoro, all of us are going to be super lucky this year. He’s coming out in 5 films in 2009 if they are released on schedule. 
?
Go Amazon forums for providing me with that tidbit. Once I figured that out I looked for him on other romance covers. Ben is also the model for 
by Diane Gaston and 
by Julia Quinn.
