While I was working at a cable TV convention in Chicago, I met a very beautiful girl by the name of Rachel Veltry. She was a veteran of over 50 romance novel covers herself. Her beauty was only matched by a sparkling personality, which had the men at the convention lining up for her attention. "How many covers have you been on?" she asked. "None," I replied. I confessed I had been trying unsuccessfully for quite a while to break into the romance cover business. "You belong on romance covers! Don't worry I know people in New York. I'll give them a call and tell them all about you!" she promised. This 23-year-old blonde stunner had just become my guardian angel.

She called 3 photo studios in NYC in my behalf and gave me the names and phone numbers of who to contact there. This was something nobody had ever done before. When I got home from the convention, I made the calls. Thanks to Rachel's kindness the photographers already knew who I was. I told you she was an angel! 

All the years of enduring endless Fabio look-a-like comments, pounding the pavement with my portfolio, knocking on doors, empty promises and countless rejections were about to pay off.

The phone call came a week later on a Friday morning. "Can you be in New York on Tuesday for a cover shoot?" the voice asked. Without hesitation I said, "Of course, I'll be there!" "You can? He replied. "You know you live in Ohio..." I was very aware of where I lived and wasn't about to let being geographically undesirable stand in the way of my first big break in years. The fact that I live in Ohio hasn't helped my cover modeling career, but I've NEVER been late to a New York shoot to the amazement of the photographers there. They always complain that the in-city models never seem to make it on time and I do coming from out-of-state.

My plane landed in New York on a Monday night. The shoot was to be the next day at 12:30. After a sleepless night, I hopped a cab to the photo studio. It was a sweltering July day and the city was just as crazy as I remembered it. I arrived at the studio 45 minutes early. I've learned in the modeling business, if you're not a half an hour early, you're late! I was buzzed into the building through massive 2-inch thick glass doors. The elevator took me to the second floor where I was about to meet my destiny. I took a deep breath and entered the studio. Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous at all. I had worked too hard to get here for that.

The studio was a converted loft with hardwood floors. I could see a 20 foot seamless blue backdrop waiting for me. Several huge spotlights and fans were there standing ready. I put down my luggage and met Michel LeGrou, the photographer. Pronounced "Michelle Le Grew". He was a slightly built Frenchman with a graying ponytail. His glasses hung on a chain around his neck. In a thick Parisian accent, he welcomed me into his studio. He told me he'd been shooting covers for over 20 years. Michel amazed himself when he calculated that shooting over 3 covers per day/20 per week on an average, he'd shot over 20,000 over his impressive career. I knew I was in competent hands.

LeGrou said he is usually given a brief synopsis of the novel on which he can base his photography. They can range from a few sentences to a full page. He explained that there are several ways the covers can be created. After photographing live models, the backgrounds can be computer generated or painted in by an artist. A full illustration can be done from photographs. Michel referred to this as "the art of cutting corners". At the risk of cutting my own throat I asked why they use live models instead of an illustrator rendering them. "That way they would look like cartoons" he explained. My job was safe. I was told my shoot was considered what is called a 'single' in the business. Meaning I would be alone on the cover. If I was photographed with a female model it's called a 'double'.

A striking woman in a red blazer slipped quietly into the studio. Her name was Lee Fishback, someone who I am eternally grateful. She was a representative for the artist, Nancy Cheadle who would be illustrating my cover. Cheadle had painted over 120 novel covers. The novel on which I would appear was called "The Stone Maiden" written by Susan King. Susan and I would later become good friends.  

Lee told me in an accent that made her sound exactly like Penny Marshall that she took a chance on hiring this unknown model from Ohio. "There's just something about you..." she said. She handed me my costume, which was designed by Sharon Spiak. I met her when we both did "The Joan Rivers Show" a few years earlier and again at the Romantic Times convention. Small world.

My costume consisted of a blue plaid kilt, a metal studded belt and leather strap leggings. After putting on a kilt for the first time in my life, I felt a little like a parochial school girl in my navy skirt. That notion quickly faded when I was handed a 5-foot sword. For the record, this pseudo-Scotsman wore black bikini underwear under the kilt. Baby oil was smoothed all over my chest so my muscles would glisten under the studio lights. I was now ready for my shoot.Lee looked at me in the outfit and her eyes light up. She smiled and said she was glad she trusted her instincts on hiring this unknown blonde. "You were the perfect choice!" she said.

Michel led me to the set and studied me with photographer's eye. He was searching for inspiration and my best angles. 3 lights were used, a face light, a hair light and a body spotlight. There were an equal amount of fans that blew my hair with the force of a hurricane. The shutter clicked away, frame after frame. I was flexing my pecs for all they were worth. "Muscles CJ! I want to see the muscles!" Michel exclaimed over the sounds of the whirling fans." You are a hero!  We want to see the muscles!" With my chest puffed and biceps clenched, I posed until I cramped.   5 rolls of film later ,  almost an hour and a half had gone by. My mouth and eyes were dry from the fans but it seemed like only seconds had past.

I wandered over to Michel's light table and caught a glimpse of a B/W Polaroid used for a lighting test. It was a great shot. I thought, "I hope mine turns out half this good!" I picked up the photo for a closer inspection. To my amazement, the bare-chested blonde man in the photo was me! I gasped. "You did it! You pulled it off!" I thought. Michel was a great photographer!

Thanking Michel and Lee for their patience and understanding, not to mention the experience of a lifetime, I left the studio with my luggage in tow. Once I reached the sidewalk, I breathed a sigh of relief. The sense of accomplishment I felt was overwhelming. 

As luck would have it, a female cab driver was parked right outside the studio. "Are you waiting for someone?" I asked. "Yes, I'm sorry..." she replied. I walked a little farther down the block in search of another cab.

The woman followed me and suddenly tapped me on the shoulder. "Boy, am I sorry! I would have driven YOU anywhere!" she said. I laughed. Her next comment caught me off guard.  "You know, you look like one of those guys on the cover of a romance novel!" Now, after so many long years, I looked her straight in the eye and could say without conviction I AM ONE OF THOSE GUYS!" Like I said before dreams do come true. Sometimes it just takes a little longer than we'd like...