I have the best friends

I have really great friends. Two of those friends are Chris Winters, aka Mr. Romance 2008 and Laura Hawkins. Chris and Laura were very encouraging to me when I was trying to finish Fallen. Nearly every day I would hear something from them encouraging me to stay on track and get it done so I gave them a thank you in the book. This is a video of them running down copies of Fallen in California.



Thanks guys, you are the best and can't wait to sign those copies at RT in Orlando!

Another interview with Chris Winters!

Chris has another indepth interview with Helen Scott Taylor this years winner of the American Title contest. Put two winners together and that equals one great interview. Go here to read more.

And yes, we will be giving away the prize sometime in August.

An Interview with Mr. Romance 2008 Chris Winters

Chris, congratulations on being chosen Mr. Romance of 2008 and thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview. Please tell us, why did you decide to enter the contest, sponsored by Dorchester Publishing, in the first place?

Thank you very much and glad to do the interview! Well, I first started last year, and made a lot of friends. I also learned that this was a complete different world, and in this world its more than just the romance competition. It was fantasy, it was friendships, it was about the craft of writing! The romance competition was just a small part of it.
This year though, my good friends: Christine Feehan, Dayna Linton, and Anette Batista with BetweenYoursheets.com sponsored me. Christine Feehan last year sponsored me along with Crossing Realms. It was so good to see them again!
Along with the sponsors, I also did the character of Zander of Star Shadows. I enjoyed the book, and got into the character, which is surprisingly similar to me.

During the Romantic Times Conference and as a Mr. Romance contestant your job was to talk to as many attendees as possible. Did you ever find it difficult to be so open and friendly with so many people?

Not at all. With an East Coast shell and a West Coast open mind-set, I am always open to people. I hardly get embarrassed or let me pride get into the way. I don’t mind answering questions at all.

During the pageant you were asked to portray Zander from Colby Hodge’s book Star Shadows. What did you do to prepare for the role?

I bought the book, and read it. After reading the book, I went out and bought some some materials that resembled the character. I even took pics and passed them onto Colby to get her ‘approval’. She said, it looks groovy, and then afterthat, it was all Zander from there!

I know that you are a computer applications developer by day and an actor/model on the side. Tell us a bit about your life in both worlds and do you think being Mr. Romance will help advance your modeling/acting career?

Well, doing application development and web site design takes patience, creativity, and mind processing. I enjoy doing application development more than anything. On the acting side, its what I really enjoy. I like being many, many people or things. Modeling is cool, and I hope to make it a more full time thing. Its becoming increasingly that way now.
Mr. Romance helping my career? Im sure, with all appearances, or productions I am in helps me to a degree. Im hoping once I get my regular productions complete, I will start the Mr. Romance ‘tour’. HA HA! I not have started on that yet! Whew!

Dorchester publishes all types of romance books that include historicals from medieval times to the old west, paranormals with vampires, werewolves and shapeshifters, urban fantasy, contemporary stories and also futuristic action romance. What kind of hero would you like to play on the cover of a Dorchester release?

Well, I’m real excited to see what they have planned for me, which will be a huge challenge because, that is un-explored areas. It would be really nice to configure myself in a way to represent a character. I did it before, and I am excited to have Dorchester reveal that character. It would be awesome to do Zander, for Colby Hodge, because I’ve did that character, and researched him, during RT. I would like to continue the efforts in bringing his character out. I’m not just saying this to promote her book, but Star Shadows was actually a great book to read. I actually got a bit upset when she killed off one of Zander’s hope-to-be. Getting back to the answer, I really would like to be the representation of Zander. THAT would be cool! Not only could I go into book stores and see myself floating on the books, but it would be better to make appearances with Colby and sign books. Now, of course (chuckles) I would not dress up and act him out right there and then because that would be… a bit odd I think? No?

Was there any part of the competition that was difficult for you?

I think just being in it! It’s very taxing on one’s soul and mind, after a week of not getting rest! (chuckles). I do have to mention about the pose down I did. That can be difficult, because you want to portray how everybody views romance. Everyone thinks romance is candlelight dinners, or a way a man takes a woman, wraps himself around her. Its more than that… Its fantasy, little things you do for a gal, and the things that show interest, in her- not how you look with her. For example, I remember doing my rehersals: All the guys laughed at me because I showed each and every one of the models how I would like “us” to be seen. Not how “I” liked to be seen, but “us”. I had a couple of seductive modeling photos I did with a few women and explained how hot it would look if we played it out. The girls loved it. The guys thought I wanted to give out my number and stuff. It took only one time, and explanation, and the gals went right along with it. I said all they had to do is follow my lead. Let me touch them. To touch a woman, is to touch her, not grope her or force her into a romantic position—you “carry” her there!
Anyway, on stage, the guys were still practicing how their pose down should be. I mentioned to a couple and said: “Don’t practice, there’s no need to. When you are with that girl, make it as if you entered her room. Seduce her with your magnetic male properties. Be her alpha male.”
when I went on stage, I touched those girls, and they went right along with it. I could feel the goose bumps. I can feel their lovely smooth skin. Their breathe on my face. They could feel my breathe on their neck. The kissing and nudging was a part of it, because that ‘is’ romance. I heard once from a blog that I purposively broke the rules by kissing the models. I don’t recall those rules, but if it takes showing romance and seduction on another level, then I want to show it. I think the crowd loved it because the third model actually, wanted me to do the same thing to her. That to me, show romance and seduction. It was the moment. I remember the cover models told me that my pose down is what women liked, what everyone like and expected—to take a female to that place where I wasn’t at the competition anymore.. We were in another world: our own.

How did you feel when they announced your name as Mr. Romance 2008?

I didn’t even know I won, I was already so out of it, ready to pass out from not eating and rest, and not to mention, my mind processing about the movies Im supposed to do a week later after the show! When my name was called, I was really shocked. I thought Fred Williams or Fish would have gotton it. Fred Williams and Luke Walsh, I loved. They were the exact same duplication of me, personality wise.

Any advice for future Mr. Romance contestants?

Be real. Don’t practice. Don’t try to be someone or something for a woman. Its not looks, its not the way to try hard, it’s the way you are, a real human being, genuine. Its that man who walks, gracefully, looking at her, smiling. Its that man who brings her a cup of coffee, or even sits and laughs with her. Its that man who listens to her, not talks her ear off. Its that man, who extends his hand to her, accepting hers.
I’ll definitely will be there next year, to help any hopefuls out. Im not perfect, but I am Mr. Romance!

What’s up next for Mr. Romance?

Well, big things are happening! I just completed a music video that will be on MTV soon, the group is a hard core group named WE WERE GENTLEMEN. I am also in production with two indie movies: Window With A View and Mountain Mafia. I also completed a short comedy called Check, Please! I did some print work for a transit company, Hampton Inn, and SunnyDays magazine. Still to this day, on Discovery Channel, the A Haunting: Ghost Soldier is still playing! There’s a lot more in store, but I cannot say right now, but I can say, that I’ll be doing more RT cover model stuff in the coming year!
I’ve got an empty coffee cup that you drank out of. Do you think I can sell it on ebay?

No. Enjoy it first, when I get famous, I’ll give you more to sell!

Anything you want to add?
I enjoyed this interview. If anyone wants to see me work, you can google my name, go to my website (chriswinters.com), and check my out at IMDB.COM. I just want to say in short: I love everybody! Remember: Smile! Its makes you look good!

On a personal note, I got to spend a lot of time with Chris at RT and I can say without hesitation that he is a very genuine person and deserved to win. And yes, I'm saving the empty coffee cup for when he's famous!

If you've got a question or a comment for Chris please post it. And who knows you might be lucky enough to win a set of Chris Winters autographed pictures and a set of Colby Hodge books. A winner will be chosen at random from the comment list.

I need a hero!

A lot of dicussion has gone on recently about some of the actions of the cover guys at the RT conference in Pittsburgh. And I have come to realize that just as there are all different kinds of writers there are all different kinds of cover guys. When talking about the conference with some of my non attending friends I realize that a lot of people have this "Image" of what they think the guys are like and most of it is not good. So let me attempt to divide these guys into three different groups

First up is the EC guys. They work for Ellora's Cave and walk around in tanks that say things like "Got Sex?" They are there to look hot and entertain the crowd. The only problem I have with these guys is the fact that some of them think every woman there wants to sleep with them. WRONG! The following is my perception of an interaction with an EC guy. I was sitting in the hotel lobby with one of my published friends when two guys wearing EC shirts walked by. The dialog is all internal.
ME: What is up with that hair? Does he seriously think that's attractive?
HIM: She wants me. All women want me.
ME: Seriously dude. get a haircut. And wash it. It looks like you've got a potted plant growing out of your head.
HIM: She really wants me. I'm surprised she's not ripping her clothes off.
ME: (at this point I jab my writer friend and give a coy check that out toss of my head.
HIM: They both want me. I'll give them a show. He then proceeds to do a clenchy thing with his muscles that makes his butt cheeks jump.
ME: Ewww gross, does he think that's sexy?"
HIM: hmmm, I can't believe she's not jumping my body.

Seriously a big misunderstanding. So when EC guys hit the stage I just find something better to do with my time. I've got no problem with it or them, I just find that my tastes run to something different. And it is all a matter of personal opinion. I am sure that there are some who would read this post and think I'm crazy and think that above mentioned pothead guy is really attractive and sweet. I'm just saying I don't. But as you will see I can and will admit that I am wrong about something.

The next group is the guys who are cover and calender models and come to RT to meet up with their photographers, see their friends and hopefully make some connections that will lead to more covers and book vids. I will admit that I was wrong about these guys. I had them lumped into the EC catergory. I found out this year that they are a wonderful group, funny, goodlooking of course and just general nice guys. One in particular I had misjudged. I thought he was a jerk when I met him in Kansas City a few years back. Turned out he had just had surgery and was heavily doped up on pain meds while trying to compete in the MR. Romance pageant. MY BAD!

The third group is the Mr. Romance contestants. These guys are great. Models trying to break in, babies most of them, walking around wide eyed and wondering just what the heck did they get into? They get no sleep, have no time to eat and spend the entire week meeting and talking to fans. They are perfect gentlemen. Some of them enjoy it so much that they come back year after year and fall into the above group. I have made some really great friends from this group and can't wait to see them next year and the year after and the year after.

In the coming weeks, on Mondays, I will be introducing everyong to guys from the second and third group. I will have short interviews and some hot pics and those of you who are at RT next year can go up and say, "Hey I hear you are a really great guy!" It will most likely make their day and you find out up close and personal how really great they are. You might even recognize some of them from the covers they've done.

So just as you don't judge a book by its cover, don't judge a cover guy by the actions of a few. I think you will be in for a pleasant surprise. Oh yeah, pictured above is Mr. Romance Chris Winters, The lovely Katherine Taylor, Luke Walsh, Fred Williams and Christopher Howell, all contestants in the Mr. Romance competition 2008.

RT Recap

Wow, so much happened it eight days that it is hard to even remember what the beginning was like. So I’ll just have to do it a day at a time.

I arrived in Pittsburgh on Sunday after driving six hours with the back of my car filled to the ceiling with promo stuff for the Intergalactic Bar and Grille Party. I met Linnea Sinclair and Stacey Klemstein at the airport and we left for the hotel after having a great laugh when we saw an exit for Moon Beaver PA. From that point on Isobo Kelly’s baby was referred to as Moon Beaver. I shortened it to Moon Beam. I like that better. The four of us had a fabulous dinner at a restaurant called the Palomino and had a great time catching up on things.


Monday I was privileged to have the chance to speak at Bobbi Smith’s advanced writers course. I talked about creating internal conflict and research in two different workshops. I loved seeing the excitement of these writers and especially loved catching up with them during the rest of the week. Good luck to all of you that were in those workshops.

Monday night my friend Chris Winters who was participating in the Mr. Romance pageant arrived and we talked for a long time. I really enjoyed having the hotel to a small group because I knew in twenty four hours all hell was going to break loose. I warned my favorite Bellhop Val what he was in for. I’m not sure he really believed me.

Tuesday taught another class and then got to go out on three photo shoots with Annette Batista of Between Your Sheets. I had walked around downtown Pittsburgh a bit that morning and have to say it is the most beautiful city. My room had a view of the two rivers, the Steelers stadium (I love NFL Football) and the ridge opposite with the most beautiful old church and houses. Wish I would have taken pics but kept forgetting too everyday.

Went on totally enjoyable photo shoot with Chris Winters. I told everyone I was his personal assistant since I was keeping track of all his stuff. It was a blast and I learned a lot. Photography has always been a hobby of mine and it was amazing to watch Annette to her magic. Plus Chris just lights up a camera.

Came back and had lunch with the amazing women of Between Your Sheets. Then got invited to do more shoots. Went out with John Fish of the amazing humongous muscles. We even got him to unbutton his shirt out on the street. Have to say women were tripping. Then went out for photos with the adorable Christopher Howell who is beyond sweet. I hope next year he shares some of his dance moves with us. He teased us a bit at the pageant. I want more more more!

The amazing and totally priceless J.C. Wilder arrived and a group of us went to Max and Irma’s for dinner. Have to say we closed the place down. J.C. decided it was her project to make me yeep. And she succeeded. I also spewed. Needless to say there was much laughter. The hotel was filling up fast and Val the bellhop gave me a ride on his amazing cart. He also made an amazing amount of money in tips. I saw Mark Johnson arrive and he gave me the sweetest hug. He truly is a great guy. So sweet. Also saw the totally vivacious Jade Lee whom I adore. A bunch of us went up to Linnea’s room to pack goodie bags for the Intergalactic Bar and Grille party. Came down to my room and ran into fellow Shadow Booty Clan member Liz Maverick where we proceeded to have the best reunion ever not caught on video tape. At some point we will reenact it for the public. Caught up with the last third of our terrible trio, Marianne. The two of them make up the Rebels of Romance. I just kind of hang around and terrorize them.

By Wednesday I was surviving on no sleep. I was practically staggering. That afternoon we had the Intergalactic Bar and Grille which was an absolute blast. We gave out lots of prizes. By the time it was over I was so desperate for sleep and so tired that I fell flat on my face in a packed elevator. (Luke Walsh has his own version of what happened. Don’t listen to him. It’s all lies.) Luckily for me there was a hero on board and I was rescued by a very gallant Mr. Romance contestant who saw me safely back to my room.

Wednesday night was the EC Hollywood Glam party. Since I didn’t pack a ballgown I wore my jeans and sneakers and had a blast dancing and making new friends. Finally got some sleep that night. Thursday morning I participated in a writing sci-fi panel and then my RT responsibilities were done. From then on I could just hang out and catch up and talk to people. Thursday night was the fairy ball which I love dressing up for and Lifetime TV interviewed me in my fairy costume. After that we went to Christine Feehan’s speakeasy. I adore Christine, she is truly amazing. Her entire family is wonderful.

Friday I went to club RT and talked to lots of fans of my Colby Hodge books. Caught up with my old friend Bill Freda and John DeSalvo who graced the cover of Stargazer. Then went to a workshop with my new friend Natalie Stenzel. Friday night was more dancing and talking with my wonderful editor Chris Keeslar and the rest of the Dorchester gang, Diane Stacey, Erin Galloway and Renee Yewdaev. Saturday was the wonderful book fair where I signed in between Cheryl Holt and Sandra Hill. Wow was I in good company. I also got to meet Roberta Gellis, who wrote the first romance novel I ever read, Alinor.


Then the Mr. Romance pageant where Jade Lee and I made a spectacle or ourselves on stage and my friend Chris Winters, who played the part of Zander from Star Shadows in the pageant won. Then there was an awesome bookseller mixer put on by the amazing Dorchester Staff and I met Christina Tanuadji and Veronika Kahrmadji from Australia and Sara Loftus from Huntington WV, which is where a lot of my Wind books take place. Then there was nothing left but the totally awesome Dorchester party where the Impalers, who were sponsored by my good friend Kathy Love and Erin McCarthy totally rocked the house.

I made so many new friends this week. Jennifer St. Giles and the gang at Between The Sheets. There there was Rose, Anthony and Lisa from Crossing Realms. The incredibly sweet and gallant cover guys, Brian, Steve, my boy Luke Walsh, Ryan, Jimi, and of course Fred and Christopher along with my dear friend Mr. Romance Chris Winters. It was great getting to know J.C. Wilder, and Isobo Kelly better and chowing down in J.C.’s room when the restaurants couldn’t serve us and laughing at stories. I adore my new friends, Leanna, Morgan and Stacey, the most amazing bookseller from Grand Central in NYC and I am coming up to NYC for a visit soon. Also have to mention Sue from Troy and yes Sue I am coming for a visit and bringing Luke with me. So many people it’s impossible to remember them all.

All in all it was the most awesome, busy and mind blowing week of my life. I can’t wait until next year.

RT 2007

Just got back from a fun and exhausting RT aka the Romantic times convention in Houston. Below is Serena Robar, Marianne Mancusi and Liz Maverick at the Fairy Ball
Clowing around with cover guys Chris Winters and Travis Greiman. I can't help it. It just happens.

Me and fellow signing buddy Alyssa Day

Here's me and Susan Grant, who made Futuristic Action Romance Cool


It was the best RT ever, I had a blast, met lots of booksellers and made new friends. Can't wait until next year!