My Date with Cover Model Jimmy Thomas

Okay, it wasn't exactly a date, it was more a photo op, but hey, can you blame me? I mean the guy is as handsome as fictional romance hero.

I attended the first annual Arizona Dreamin' Romance Readers Event in Phoenix AZ which brought romance readers and authors together in a fun, informal atmosphere. I worked as a volunteer in the hospitality suite, a place where authors and readers could rest, eat, drink and socialize between classes and events. It was fun. I met a ton of super nice people. We also had the opportunity to watch a live photo shoot with romance book cover model Jimmy Thomas who is as nice as he is gorgeous! And wow, what a hunk! To say he's not only ripped, but really, really broad through the chest and shoulders! He looks like a football player...only better looking than any football player I ever saw.

The professional photo shoot they let us watch was interesting. I enjoyed seeing them working live and how much they moved and choreographed everything. Be warned, if you go to his website, the photos are NOT G-rated! Anyway, for a small donation to a charity we were championing, attendees also got to pose with Jimmy. He was gracious and charming but I was so tongue-tied, I barely said two words to him. The lady posing in front of me really hammed it up. They were standing and she asked him to take off his shirt and totally draped her leg over him, then (half-jokingly) threatened to fight his girlfriend for him. I was so intimidated and embarrassed by him and the situation that I almost changed my mind and walked away. I think I said out loud that I wasn't sure I could do this. He might have heard me because he put on his shirt, sat down on the couch and said, "Here, this would be sweeter" and rested his arm on the back of the couch. He gestured to me to come to him and I thought, yeah, I can do this so I sat next to him. To my great surprise, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close. I was so startled that I let out a squeak and just went with it. You can tell I didn't enjoy that super hard chest and shoulders against me at all ;-)

Oddly, enough, my husband was totally okay with this :-)

Now for the poll, which photo do you like the best? The first, second or third or fourth? I’ll put the winning photo on my website.

Oh, and not to forget the Summer Treasure Hunt,here's the winner and answer for our June 4th prizes: "Josette" (sweet Regency romance, e-book) and "Southern Girl, Yankee Roots" (poetry) both by Danielle Thorne:

Winner: Rachel Rossano of Connecticut
Answer to today's question: The Sea Turtle Conservancy

Here's the winner and answer for our June 5th prize, a Mary Kay Microdermabrasion Set, sponsored by Bonnie Harris
Answer to today's question: Encoded Secrets and Black Orchids