Heating things up with Jason Aaron Baca's Interview

                           

Naughty Author Chicks has a special treat today! Welcome the delicious male cover model

Jason Aaron Baca.

Thanks for letting me interview you, Jason! ~ Casey Crow

1. How did you get into modeling in general and more specifically, book covers?

 

Jason - Well, Casey, a long time ago I was on location for the movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer" where I was a double for one of the main actors. The photographer that was on the location had asked me if he could take a few sample photos of me while there. I agreed. He, of course, was hired on my the production company of the movie so he was a very high end photographer. It turned out to be my first photo shoot and big deal to me.   

 

Fast forward 10 years later, I'm walking into a book store where I happened to glance over at a romance novel featuring a guy that looked similar to me. It dawned on me that this was an avenue that I'd never pursued before. One that I became completely fascinated by. I'd never really known much about romance books other than Fabio was on a lot of them. After contacting many publishers of these romance books I was able to get my first book cover job within a month. From there, things really fell into place.

2. I understand you have stock photos available for self-published authors. Can you give us more information about using your photos?

 

Jason - Yes I do... From these shoots I do, I get a number of them to make available to cover artists, indie authors or small publishers. The photos can be found at http://jasonaaronbaca.deviantart.com  The directions to purchasing the photos is on the journal section of the page. I also have a large number of photos that I keep off of the internet. So if an author or artist has a particular type of shot they want, I may have it put aside just waiting for them.

3. Readers always seem to be interest in the person behind the book or in your case, the hot guy ON the book. So tell us a little about yourself. Do you have any wishes?

 

Jason - Well I'm a person that likes to dream big. Just like I have big wishes which I have learned much about. There are those that wish for something and then sit back. They possibly expect that wish to come to them which I consider "wishful thinking." 

Making wishes and then going after them is not about perfection or victory. It's about absolute vulnerability! 

 

 There are those that make a wish, they dream about it, they go after it.... Let's say something doesn't quite go their way... Do they give up, say forget it? Or do they try a different approach?  

 

This business of being on book covers is not easy. You've got everyone and their brother wanting to get on a cover but I know if you believe strongly enough that your wish will come true... you gotta make a big impression.. gotta like what you do..

 

On the inside, I am very down to earth also extremely passive, keep to myself. I am not one to be the life of the party. I consider myself a private person. I've been told I'm shy with a confident attitude. I'm a person that takes good proper care of himself. I go to great lengths to moisturize, exfoliate, rejuvenate and condition my sometimes thirsty skin. I'm constantly applying a vitamin packed masque so that my skin stays youthful & radiant. 

 

For exercise, I take my workouts to a new level sometimes.. I want that definition to come out, those muscles to pop out so when a potential reader is walking by the romance section they can't help but reach for the book with my photo. I know how hard our authors work on these books. This takes some serious dedication to go and sit down and concentrate on writing a novel. The creativity they have blows my mind!  Therefore, it is only fair to them that their cover model put their best foot forward too..

4. What's the best and worst part of a photo shoot?

 

Jason - The best and worst part is when the shoot comes to an end. It's the best because you can take a break from all the dieting for a couple days. You can eat a cheeseburger & fries with lots of ketchup.  The worst part of it is that all the hard work I did in the gym is temporarily over. I enjoy what I do and can't wait for the next shoot often times. The other worst part is when they cut my head off on the book covers. I don't know why, but yea... 

5. Obviously cover models must be in shape. Any good tips to help others?

 

Jason - Well, one secret I learned from all this is you can workout like a wildman in the gym and be an animal with your workouts but it won't do any good unless you have proper diet too. I look at photos they took 10 years ago and I wasn't in as good a shape as today. I worked out harder too back then! It's because I had no clue about diet. Once I educated myself about how sticking to lean clean foods like skinless chicken, salmon, tuna, and cottage cheese, things improved with the body.

 

I learned that McDonalds is not good for you and gives you pimples. That eating a tub of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia will not make you look more handsome and no... Reese's peanut butter cups don't rid your face of signs of aging.

6. Readers get swept away in a story, often visualizing the gorgeous cover model in their heads. What is it like being one of those guys?

 

Jason - Well it's an honor I must say! Being the hero on these books is a very big ego boost for a lot of models.

7. How can fans and authors contact you?

Very simple, through my website http://jasonaaronbaca.deviantart.com

 

8. What do you like best about your current work?

 

Jason- Well, I enjoy the exercising part of it. I have a goal to reach with all of this that I have not yet achieved. When I get there great! But I believe its the journey that brings us happiness... not the destination. 

 

9. Is your family supportive about you being on all these book covers?

 

Jason - Well, I will say this in regards to this question, in this world there are people that will tell you what to do or what they feel is good for you. They don't want you to find the answers out on your own, they just want you to believe in theirs.

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Thanks again, Jason, for stopping by Naughty Author Chicks! Check out Jason some more at http://www.pinterest.com/mfrworg/cover-model-jason-baca/