Welcome Special Guest, Jimmy Thomas — Cover Model and Entrepreneur Extraordinaire

Today, I am thrilled to welcome our special guest, Jimmy Thomas.  Many of us are romance readers, which means we also have those meaty, sexy and wonderful covers to stare at whenever we feel like it.  But what about the people ON the cover? Ever wondered if they are real?  Jimmy Thomas is one such cover model, and he’s not only very real, but he’s a lot more than a pretty face.   A man of many talents, Jimmy has been a model, a training fitness instructor, an architect, and more, not to mention a very nice man.

From your bio, I see that you have modeled for a variety of formats and venues from commercial print to magazines. How did you get into modeling for romance covers?

I was invited to the 2002 Romantic Times Romance Novel Convention to be a contestant in the Mr. Romance 2002 contest, and I just continued pursuing it from there. I’ve always been a self-promoter and entrepreneur 😉

Do you remember the very first cover you were on?

Yes, ‘Solar Heat’ by Susan Kearney. She flew me to Florida to shoot me for it.

Have you had a favorite cover you’ve posed for?

Well most of my covers have been from images bought from my stock image website www.RomanceNovelCovers.com so I’ve only been shot for a specific cover a handful of times; those booked shoots typically only happen in New York where the big publisher are that can afford those shoots. As for my favorite cover I have been on so far, I get new covers each week I’m on that I love, but a few of my favorites right now are ‘Seducing The Sheriff’ by Marie-Nicole Ryan, ‘Lucas’ by Eliza Gayle, ‘Tomorrow’ by Amanda M. Holt, ‘Jodi’s Journey’ by Rita Hestand, ‘Silent Vows’ by Catherine Bybee, Jade Dreams, by Barbara Clark… I could name covers all day, lol. I’m on 178 now (that I know of ;)). I love all of them! 🙂

When you pose for a cover, are you given any details and direction about the character? How is the photo shoot directed with character focus in mind?

I actually give a workshop and live photo shoot about this at the Romance Novel Convention, so come there and watch and find out! Lol 😉 I direct and produce my own shoots, and from being in the modeling business for 12 years, shooting with 52 different photographers, with 94 different female models, for 137 stock and portfolio shoots, I’ve learned from tons of research, and from trial and error, what is needed to make great cover images 🙂

What is a typical day in the life of Jimmy Thomas?

OMG, you don’t want to go there! Lol, those who know me who are reading this, started laughing while ready your question, lol. My everyday in a nutshell? Images, image, images, images, image, images… need I say more? 😉

You’ve attend RT’s Booklovers Convention almost (if not) every year, correct? What is your favorite part of the convention?

Yes, except when I was living in Europe for a few years. My favorite part? All of it really. It’s like a family or high school reunion. It’s great to see everyone year after year, as well as meet all the newbees 🙂 The entire convention is so much fun as it’s not just daytime stuff like most conventions, it’s all day and night with many nights that go to the next morning… Ca-chem… so I’ve heard 😉

You started a fabulous website called Romance Novel Covers. Those pictures are amazing. How did that idea come about?

Thanks! 🙂 Well I wanted to work on branding myself as the next big cover model, so being on as many covers as possible was what I needed to do to achieve that. I contacted numerous publishers to pitch myself as a cover model and every one of them said they only go through agencies to get their models. Well since I’ve been doing Sensual & Erotica Couple shoots since I started modeling in 1998, and I have done a ton of stock shoots already, and found out that most covers are created from images bought from stock sites, I knew what I had to do. I quickly found out that other stock sites are very limited on images good enough for romance novel covers, so the same great images are used on cover after cover, and authors hate that! So since romance novel type images were mostly what I’ve always shot, I put 2 and 2 together and took control of the process and created my own stock image website specifically for romance novel covers… I was shocked to find out that the domain name RomanceNovelCovers.com was available! 🙂

For each of the photo shoots that produce the stock photos, how much of the behind-the-scenes work do you do?

Are you kidding me? I do it all Jeannie! 😉 I cast the models, photographer and make-up and hair artists, find and set the locations, get / buy the props, buy / rent the outfits, make s/confirm the schedule, and direct and produce the entire shoot. Then I get all the raw images immediately from the photographer and sit everyday narrowing-down / selecting the best images, clean, crop and size each one, upload / post them all to my stock site and detail the stats of each image for the buyers. Kind of completes your question above of “What is a typical day in the life of Jimmy Thomas?” huh? 😉

You have traveled extensively. What’s your favorite place to visit? How about the most romantic place you’ve ever been?

Same answer for both questions… BY FAR Venice, Italy!!! Hands down! I’d go back there any day! It’s gorgeous!

You have quite a list of talents and experience—architectural designer, personal trainer, self defense instructor, cover model and more…What would you say is your ultimate passion? What gives you the most joy?

It’s ALWAYS been ‘the industry’ (modeling and movie writing and making – my future work ;)) and martial arts.

You have some amazing things coming up at this year’s RT Convention. Care to share the details?

Actually, you can read them on my RNC stock image site under ‘RT 2010’ (click here and sign in or log in) on how to be involved in my events, but here they are:

Saturday, May 1, 2010

8:30 AM – 9:30 AM – BREAKFAST IN BED WITH JIMMY THOMAS

The winner from the Breakfast In Bed raffle will have Jimmy Thomas bring your breakfast of choice, prepared by the Hyatt Regency Columbus Hotel, to your Hyatt Regency hotel room Saturday morning, where he will sit in bed with you in his pajamas (or less ;)), while you both enjoy your breakfast and conversation together. This ‘Breakfast in Bed’ will be photographed for a great keepsake. Raffle tickets are just $5 with portion of proceeds to go to: ‘PuRRfect Solutions Feline Rescue’. Winner will be selected and announced Friday night at ‘The Vampire Ball’.

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM – GIANT BOOK FAIR

I will display / advertise / promote, autograph and even sell your book(s) at my ‘Giant Book Fair’ table for www.RomanceNovelCovers.com (RNC) May 1st, where myself and a female model will take photos with anyone who wants one, and change into various character costumes throughtout the day. The fee for this is a mere $10 for bookmarks, $15 for e-books and $25 for print books. You would ship your printed books to my hotel at the convention in Columbus, Ohio.

2:15 PM – 3:15 PM – READER: LIVE ROMANCE NOVEL COVER PHOTO SHOOT, HOSTED BY JIMMY THOMAS

A returning workshop from last year, come watch how cover model Jimmy Thomas teaches, details and displays how a romance novel cover shoot takes place. From poses, body language and expressions, to settings, wardrobe and props. Whether you’re a professional or aspiring photographer wanting to break into this field, an author curious of what goes into the creation of your covers, or an admiring reader/fan who just wants to see a half naked man in sexy poses. This is an actual, live cover shoot with you as the audience. Ask questions throughout the shoot while Jimmy and his female model partner(s) walk you through, step by step, the process of making a great and successful cover image. Hosted by: Jimmy Thomas and Female Cover Model

7:30 PM – 9:30 PM – BE ON YOUR OWN NOVEL COVER WITH JIMMY THOMAS

The winner of the Be On Your Own Novel Cover With Jimmy Thomas, will be pampered by a professional hair & make-up artist, before changing into one of their convention costumes, or one that he brings (or less ;)), and spend 2 hours taking romantic, sensual, or even erotica images with him, by a professional photographer following the ‘Mr. Romance Competition’. The best image will be selected and edited, and sent to his cover artist to be turned into a full resolution romance novel cover for you. Raffle tickets are just $25. Winner will be selected and announced Friday night at ‘The Vampire Ball’.

I have to say I’m tired just reading about all the things you’ve done in your life! So what’s next for you?

YOU’RE tired? Hello! Lol… I have something really big to announce to the romance novel industry next month, so you’ll have to wait on that one 😉 Authors are going to LOVE IT! 🙂

If you want to get the information firsthand on Jimmy’s big announcement next month, be sure to log in to RomanceNovelCovers.com and sign up for his email list — or send him an email at jimmy@jimmythomas.com.

Thanks Jimmy, for being here with us today — and can’t wait to see what you’ve got up your sleeve next!