My next job!!! Monday, March 26, 2007

Harlequin books seeks “real men” for covers
Sat Mar 24, 2007 5:04PM EDT

By Jonathan Spicer

TORONTO (Reuters) – Real men don’t pose for the cover of a Harlequin
romance. And that’s something the publisher wants to change.

Representatives of Harlequin Enterprises, the world’s biggest
publisher of romance novel series, inspected the assets of about 200
men who lined up at a Toronto casting house on Saturday to prove they
could flutter readers’ hearts better than professional models.

“We’re looking for some guys that are not your usual models, but
have that iconic look that women go for — sexy, sensitive, beautiful
and fit,” said Harlequin spokeswoman Marleah Stout, who attended the
open casting.

“We want real men … exactly what you think in your mind when you’re fantasizing or imagining that ideal man.”

Toronto-based Harlequin, a division of newspaper group Torstar
Corp., sold 131 million books in 94 countries last year. It estimates
that a third of American women have read at least one of its titles.

Until now, the publisher relied on modeling agencies to supply
bodies for its concupiscent covers. But the readership — predominantly
female and averaging 42 years of age — was upset when slight, young
cover models clashed with the brawny, mature heroes described within.

“Some of the heroes are captains of industry, billionaires,” said
Deborah Peterson, a Harlequin creative designer and a judge at the
audition. “A lot of the models were too young, men in their twenties
… and our audience likes men a little bit older, a bit bigger, than
the runway models.”

At the Toronto casting, chiseled hopefuls shed their shirts and
donned a cowboy hat for the panel while a handful of other judges
watched on closed-circuit camera in an adjacent room.

Several were asked to return for a book cover shot, where they may
earn up to C$250 ($215) an hour, according to male modeling agencies.

Others indulged their own fantasies.

“From what I understand, (Harlequin) readers are women who want to
escape from the relationship that they’re in,” said auditioner Carlos
Troccoli, 30, who was tall, sturdy and muscular. “I can bring that to
them.”

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