Jenn LeBlanc's Blog, page 9

August 16, 2011

Then it continues…

Part two. Wherein I must call my husband a second time- read part one here) Friday morning I woke up around 7am, WIDE AWAKE. Not even a little bit sleepy. My eyeballs popped open and didn't even want to blink.


It sucked.


So I got up and got ready, Derek was still sleepy and tired, and he was kinda hot (as in temperature…sheesh) so I told him to sleep for awhile and not worry about the thing I had at 10a.m. I would let him know when Kim wanted to shoot him. I walked downstairs to attend my Build a Hero workshop and bumped into her. She wanted him. RIght then. So I ran back upstairs and told him. He got up, I walked him down and ran to the build a hero workshop.


That was fun. Heather of Book Reading Gals took the helm of our table and ee built a medieval highlander named Ewan MacGregor who was cursed by a witch and slept until today when the woman who could could break the spell, his one true love, walked onto his clans' property. (she was also the witches descendant and looked just like her – awkward) He was tall dark and handsome, so I said…hey! I have a guy and a kilt should I see if he can come in here and play? They said yes (duh) so I ran, RAN across the hotel to the makeshift studio (heretofore known as simply studio) I walked in the room and there was Derek standing there in a kilt. GET OUT. So I asked Kim if I could borrow him, she of course said yes and I left.


A few minutes later she walked him in and the room went nuts.


Derek Hutchins by Hot Damn Designs

Photo by Hot Damn Designs


He stood there looking pretty while my table-mate, fellow time travel historical author Ann Lethbridge read our example. (photo by Hot Damn Designs)


We won. It was actually done by drawing, but the bag knew we had it.


So D returned to shooting with Kim and I…uh…I don't know what I did for awhile. Talked to people I suppose. Did I chat with you?


Then I went and grabbed D, took a few pics in the kilt in the studio:


Derek Hutchins as highlander by Jenn LeBlanc


And THEN!! OH then we did the shoot for the winner of Operation Auction!! That was FUN!! I am going to do a whole post about that and the winner, so I'll just leave it at that for now. (plus I haven't made the cover yet.)


By this time my poor Derek was running a fever. We thought it was dehydration from his cutting regime combined with the altitude, since he is now a California boy, that caused it. But he did not feel well. I decided to start feeding him and get lots of fluids into him. So we went to Ted's Montana Grill for some rare unseasoned buffalo, and a salad. By this time Cora had joined us, so she and Jamie and Katie came with. I had no idea where Rita had disappeared to. She managed to finagle tickets to everything though so I wasn't surprised.


I had the historical tea to get to so I abandoned Derek and Cora at Ted's and went back to the con. Poor Derek. I felt awful. Derek went back to bed, and felt good enough to come down to Melissa Schroeder's luau and meet fans, sign cards and take pictures. That was fun too.


Derek Hutchins as samoan by Jenn LeBlanc


Derek Hutchins as samoan by Jenn LeBlanc


These are studio shots we did with his sarong (provided by author wrangler and awesome lady Brandy)


About halfway through he got hardcore chills, so I sent him to bed.


I hung out in the bar with Kim, Brooks, and her gang of awesome from Hot Damn. We had also gone to dinner the Thursday night before the conference which was fun. We got to watch the newscast on the conference, in which Kati had a starring role.


After that was the western dinner, which I skipped to do something, I don't remember what (were you there? Fill me in!!) and then the Chocolate Mangasm.


I called my husband to tell him coming up to see the hotel and hang out in our room was probably a bad idea because I didn't want them sick, and at that point we decided that Derek had probably bought something on the plane. Hopefully a 24 hour something.


I went to check on Derek and he had a fever of 103, so he was in for the night. I went down, saw the toys, and stuff, the extra man flesh and decided I was going to bed as well. I got some ice for his neck, removed the comforter from his core and sat down in bed to start editing.


I do have to say that for as sick as he was, and he was sick as a DOG, Derek really worked hard and held it together. He was amaze balls. There was so much running around on Friday, I have completely forgotten most of it!


Derek woke up at midnight, his fever broke, he was sweating like a maniac, and starving. So I made a midnight run for turkey burgers. Exciting. Kinda mad at Bar Louis (who I normally LOVE) because they screwed them up. How hard is a plain turkey burger to fix?


Whatever.


Anyway.


Turkey burger fail, I got to sleep around 2:30, and my eyes popped open at 7a.m. again. GAH!!!


That was Saturday, and would require the third call to my husband…



Filed under: News Tagged: #RomCOn11, Derek Hutchins, illustrate, illustrated, illustration, images, Jenn LeBlanc, lights, love story, male, man, men, model, photography, portraits, romance, RomCon, sexy, The Rake and the Recluse, torso, Victorian, vintage
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Published on August 16, 2011 09:45

August 9, 2011

Derek

Really what else is there to say. He now has a following and is such a sweetie.


I flew him out here for promo work for RomCon and to make some connections, meet some other authors, and do some work with one of the biggest cover agencies in the U.S. as well as to meet with my producer Annette so she could check him out.


We spent three crazy days shooting, parading, changing, schmoozing, laughing, and entertaining the crowd. It was a blast and in the end I think it was incredibly successful. The main thread in a romance novel is the hero, so if you want to sell the book you bring the hero along, and Derek is a great sales tool. He isn’t just pretty  he is personable. Everyone loves him.


We had him up on the waterfall for some highlander fun, got the hotel management out of their box for awhile to warn us they weren’t interested in a lawsuit and all the attendees out in the lobby to ogle and take pics. I had three of the best bloggers in the romance community come out and assist me on the shoots as well, so that’s who has my bounce, I know everyone is shocked it isn’t Cora.


 


Derek Hutchins by Jenn LeBlanc


There are a lot of images that need editing, but my favorites were from our Gonzo shoot around Denver on Sunday so here are a few:


 


Derek Hutchins by Jenn LeBlanc


 


Derek Hutchins by Jenn LeBlanc


 


Derek Hutchins by Jenn LeBlanc


 


Derek Hutchins by Jenn LeBlanc


 


 


 


 





Tagged: beauty, Canon, color, Derek Hutchins, illustrate, images, Jenn LeBlanc, model, photography, portrait, portraits, romance, sexy, strobe, studio
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Published on August 09, 2011 19:47

And so it begins…

RomCon 2011 was this past weekend and it was maniacally crazy and fun.


So here is the rundown:


I kinda bribed the Pervy Trinity Jamie (@JamieLynn831 of For the Love Of Romance), Kati (@RomancingRakes of Romancing Rakes) and Rita (@NotAnotherRBlog of Not Another Romance Blog) to come to RomCon with this:


Derek Hutchins by Jenn LeBlanc


First stop 10 a.m. DIA to pick up Jamie and Kati then to our hotel where they checked in as close to the suites as they could get because I had booked a King suite at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Then I checked in but was given a room with a king bed with no way to upgrade because the suites were already booked for the attending authors ("RUDE" -Kati). Not a big deal, I mean, I'm no diva, I could handle the king bed. Problem was Derek was flying out and staying with me (hence the suite).


So.


Call number one to my husband.


Then we went to the room. The tiny, stinky, kinda hot, room with no circulation and I had a minor freakout about the fact I was sharing a room with a 24 year old male model and the sofa bed was 6 inches from the king sized bed. Then I looked at the bathroom and realized I was sharing a bathroom with a 24 year old male model.


FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!!


I love Derek but… *sigh* I am an old married lady. I don't want my underwear in the same room as him unless they are ON me!


So we dumped my gear, 300 pounds of equipment, swag and clothing. It took up the ENTIRE king bed. Then I escorted Rita and Jamie to their room on the 4th floor. It was just like mine but with a double instead of a king. And it didn't smell funny. And it was nice and cool.


We wandered the hotel looking for people, found the awesome Brandy (@Beandy_W) and cruised with her for a bit then finally found Laura (@mysmicker) and Heather and Melanie of The Book Reading Gals (@HeatherLire and @Melanie_Sands = @BookReadingGals) then we got checked in for the con, picked up our bag o' swag including some cute little butt plug looking thingys we had to google to find out what to do with (turns out they were electronic cleaning devices – who knew?)


We headed back tot he airport for Rita and back to the hotel. We had dinner with Heather and Melianie and a group of authors, readers and bloggers at the hotel and I was sammiched between Delilah Marvelle (@DelilahMarvelle) the AMAZING and Gabi Stevens the brilliant (@GabiStevens). But the talent at the table didn't end there with Fancy Miss Carly Phillips (@CarlyPhillips) across from me, Shayla Black and Isobel Carr down the way and so many more!! Best dinner ever. Did I mention how cute Delilah Marvelle is? She is, so very.


After dinner we…um…I have no idea what we did. I could check twitter, but so could you. At 11:30 D texted me that he had landed and I rushed out the door with the Trinity in tow to get him from the airport. As we pulled up to the passenger pickup We Are The Champions from Queen started playing, so we cranked it up, rolled down the windows and and the Trinty held up their Derek posters in the window as we pulled up to get him. It was EPIC. (and ridiculous, but that's how we roll.)


We headed to Walmart for model friendly food, and back to the hotel, wherein I explained the mixup in the room. D didn't even blink. Only I was freaked out. That made me feel better.


That was the first day.


Got to bed around 2:30 a.m. with a 9 a.m. call time.



Filed under: News Tagged: #RomCOn11, Authors, Book Reading Gals, Carly Phillips, Convention, Delilah Marvelle, Derek Hutchins, Jenn LeBlanc, Pervy Trinity, romance, RomCon
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Published on August 09, 2011 12:37

July 26, 2011

July 24, 2011

Daniel

Daniel is a character in a book by Tiffany Reisz. These are illustrations made for her because her books made me want to shoot him.


I took a few liberties with Daniel. (heh) So they don't necessarily follow the storyline exactly, but…for the most part. They do.


 






Filed under: BDSM, Contemporary, erotica, Illustration, Images Tagged: beauty, color, Daniel, illustrate, illustration, images, Jenn LeBlanc, Levi Goedl, male model, model, photography, portrait, portraits, romance, sexy, studio, wet
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Published on July 24, 2011 23:30

Daniel

Daniel is a character in a book. These are illustrations made for the author:






Tagged: beauty, color, illustrate, images, Jenn LeBlanc, Levi Goedl, male model, model, photography, portrait, portraits, romance, sexy, studio, wet
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Published on July 24, 2011 23:19

July 23, 2011

RomCon Special

Hello my lovelies!


I have a special for you. If you are interested in the TRADE print edition of my book, and would like to purchase a signed copy, we can make it happen at RomCon.


This book measures 6″x9″ and is illustrated, the design of the book is reflective of the amount of time and consideration that has gone into this project. It is not just a book to be read, but an experience to be enjoyed.





 


 


 


 


The book will be signed by myself as well as Derek and Cora, who portray Gideon and Francine in the illustrations!


As a special for RomCon and because all books will be hand delivered by myself and Derek, and possibly Cora AT the convention I am also including a little swag.


A set of Romance Trading Cards, and an original print of an image from the studio shoots. These prints are not readily available to the public.


ORDERS MUST BE PLACED BY THURSDAY JULY 28, 2011 3 p.m. MST


If you would like to order this special but can't make it to RomCon, I will fill these orders with the shipping charge of $5 to cover priority shipping.


These books will ship after the convention and are only available for delivery within the United States.


To purchase simply send your payment via PAYPAL to: IrisPhotoJenn [AT] gmail [DOT] com


($18 for delivery at RomCon, $23 for delivery vi USPS)



Filed under: News, The Novel Tagged: #RomCOn11, autographed, RomCon, sale, signed, special, The Rake and the Recluse
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Published on July 23, 2011 10:59

July 18, 2011

Man Candy Monday

Once again it's that time of the week for ogling the men who need the ogling.


This week's theme is men on horseback. Now miss Kati over at Romancing Rakes has already used my very favorite saddle image. The image was the cause fo the squee heard round the world a couple weeks ago when I first discovered it. I mean…the saddle is ON him. So step on over and check that out. In the mean…here are my OTHER favorite men on horseback images for you today.


Of COURSE Derek has to be my number one fav man on horse back. Just because.


 


So meet us on twitter at 7pm MST using the hastag #mancandymonday and bring your best mounted men. (yes I did)


An illustrations from The Rake and the Recluse by Jenn LeBlanc


Steve Boyd... since I can't use THE saddle image, how about the man in riding boots? Close right?


OK can't help it. It isn't THE saddle image but...well...



Filed under: News Tagged: #mancandymonday, horseback, Man Candy Monday, men
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Published on July 18, 2011 10:10

July 5, 2011

The Secret To Seduction – Julie Anne Long

The Secret To SeductionThe Secret To Seduction by Julie Anne Long


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


But let me tell you why. I think it's because this is the third book in the series and I had not read the first two. It isn't that the love story doesn't stand alone, it does, in fact the back story that threads through the books also stands alone in this book. I understood everything that was happening I just didn't care because I wasn't invested in it, I think. Because the love story is beautiful. It is exactly what I expect from Julie Anne Long and I loved every minute of it.


I did skim over quite a bit of the back story story only because, again, I just wasn't invested in it, and I didn't really care about the sisters and their husbands and whatnot. My guess is, that when I read the other two books, I will go back and read this one again and it will get five stars from me. Because quite honestly the only reason it didn't is because I was skimming sections.


The hero was fantastic, she uses so few words to describe this man and yet, and yet they are precisely the right few words for you to be able to call him to life in your head. To see the errant swagger, the carefree lean to his shoulder. The heroine was wonderful, completely unaware of her true self, who she is, something most of us discover much younger even if we don't act upon our inherent instincts. The way he awakens her and brings her to know herself is so incredibly magical, just powerfully done.


The cover is beautiful.


I never once wanted to throw my iPad across the room, i never rolled my eyes, there was no WTFckry, it was lovely, passionate, wonderful. Ryhs is exactly the man every woman wants to fall in love with, at least once.


View all my reviews



Filed under: historical romance, Regency, review Tagged: historical, historical romance, Julie Anne Long, Regency, review, rhys, romance, The Secret To Seduction
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Published on July 05, 2011 22:48

June 30, 2011

Remiss

I very much need more time in the day. Does everyone say that?

I suppose so. My house has been turned nearly upside down over the past couple weeks and adjusting to the new reality has been a bit difficult.

As well as working with publishers and editors and waiting for calls from agents, speaking with them and trying to survive while sounding like a reasonable and educated person.

I'm a touch frazzled.


Then there's RWA. I wanted so very much to go this year, but with another huge studio shoot looming and all the planning for RomCon to get done, these books to rewrite and edit and an anthology to write I just could don't make it happen. I am a bit happier about it since I scheduled a studio shoot for Friday with a new model, Levi, to make some fan art for another author. More about that later.


It seems I am complaining a bit where I should also be talking about all the good stuff. Like working with the publisher and editor, speaking with one of the preeminent agents in the business, guest hosting on Romance Lately with the Pervs, reading from Perry's book, planning fantastic shoots, casting for my next book. (follow my casting hunt with the hashtag #castingPerry on twitter-be warned very NSFW at times)


I have discovered that I am in love with the photographic styles of Rick Day and Mark Jenkins and have found a great deal of inspiration in their shoots. Here is where the Pervy Trinity snickers because they love to ogle their models—not that I don't—but when I speak of research there is a level of professionalism to it, and then a level of, oh my twitter ladies would LOVE to see this guyism.


While I love casting because I find the images incredibly beautiful, for the most part, I also have a hard time since my project is still completely unfunded. Most of the models who end up in those houses for shoots are upwards of $2500/day for shoots. This is beyond my meager project. So I continue casting, reaching out across the U.S. looking for a fresh face in need of a break out role. Like Derek. That guy is headed places now, and I like to think I gave him a good push and a head start. He likes to think so as well. I'm hoping to find the next Derek, but it is such a crazy business, especially with new models. You just never know what you'll get, you never know what will happen.


So follow along as I look, because that, my dears, is the fun part. They are models after all it is their job to look pretty and make you want them, hopefully they are successful and the rest of us are left with dreams.


Some of my favorites from this week, well, ok my big favorite from this week has been Steve Boyd.


Go ahead and click…you know you want to.


Brody Steve Boyd male model by Rick Day



Filed under: Illustration, Images, News, The Novel Tagged: brody boyd, casting, Derek Hutchins, male, mark jenkins, model, rick day, steve boyd, studio
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Published on June 30, 2011 15:13