The other day, I received the coolest and most unexpected e-mail. It was from a woman named Lesley who happens to be the mother of the baby who graces the cover of my July 2010 Special Edition, “Accidental Father.”  Even though this my thirteenth book, I’d never thought about the cover process (beyond completing the “Art Fact Sheet,” which gives the art department character descriptions, a synopsis of key scenes and a general idea of the book’s “feel”).  By the time I see my covers, in my mind, the beautiful people smiling back at me are my characters. I’ve never thought about the cover process or the fact that real live models pose for the covers.  After exchanging e-mails with Lesley, I will never look at a book cover the same way.

That little cutie on my cover is Owen. He’s 18 months old today, but he’s been modeling since he was just a few months old. In fact, he’s done over 100 modeling jobs. His mom says he models weekly (sometimes even more than once a week), and is in the city for auditions and castings sometimes five days a week. She adds that Harlequin is one of his favorite clients, especially since his two brothers, who are three and four years old, have also been cover Harlequin cover models.

Lesley shared this about the cover shoot process: “When we receive a call from the agency to say that we are booked, we go to the studio for the shoot (usually the next day) 99% of all shoots take place in NYC in a studio. Everything is done on a plain background and they superimpose the set in. Since the cover for “Accidental Father” is set on a beach, they had the mom, dad, and Owen in bathing suits.”

<– This is a photo she shot on the set of the “Accidental Father” cover shoot.

Lesley says the cover shoot usually takes about an hour. “They take many different poses to ensure they get the right shot. It can be tedious but most of the time it is fun.

“He has an agency that represents him, and they get us the castings and jobs. Some of our favorite jobs that Owen has done have been for The Children’s Place, Newsweek (cover), Time Out New York (cover), Macy’s, Levi, Target…. Interestingly, Owen’s very first job at three months was for a romance novel cover.”