First…you have to realize that I'd never been to an RT convention before. Barely a year ago was the first time I’d ever even heard of such a thing. "You mean people travel from all over the world to a convention just because they enjoy reading/writing romance?" I asked. That's pretty cool.

We really did have a diverse group of guys. Rafael Memoli was already a cover model featured and highly promoted by a new publishing house. Then there was Nick Sindorf, who didn't know he was even going to be in the event until a day or two before the conference started, because one of the other Renfest guys dropped out. There were body builders and fitness buffs, surfers, actors, soccer players, engineers, and a medical research scientist.

It all started Tuesday at 1PM when we first met with Cindy Walker, our contestant liaison. Cindy, along with her daughter Bethany, and their friend Brook, became our lifelines, guardians, and advisors. And they did a terrific job. The contestants had long grueling days but nothing compared to these ladies – theirs were much longer. They made sure we were fed, had all the trimmings needed for our costumes, and provided much needed privacy.

From then, on to the competition, it was non-stop. All of the contestants had full schedules. Meetings, rehearsals -- sometimes twice a day, luncheons, attendance at events, photo shoots, etc. Often, the schedule was so full it didn't leave much time for sleeping and down time, not to mention, meals.

We were required to be at every party until the scheduled end time, which by itself, is great, but knowing you had to be up and “on” first thing in the morning soon became an issue. We couldn't exactly "party til you drop". So our days often started with a meeting at 8AM and ended at midnight or later. The toughest one for me was the Friday night Vampire Ball which ended at 1AM, and the next morning was Breakfast with the Cover Models at 8AM. For the Vampire ball, I dressed up as a gargoyle, which included wings, horns, gray hair spray, and some heavy makeup that gave an appearance of stone. It looked good enough for me to win the Most Original Costume award but the one thing I didn't plan for was the hour or so to get all the makeup and hair paint cleaned away. The glue for the horns worked so well that I had a hard time getting them off. I had visions of showing up for the breakfast still brandishing those horns. I probably didn't get to sleep until 3AM.

Considering some of us are athletes we have to consume extra calories or even have special diets in order to maintain our physical shape and endurance, and there were times this became an issue. I lost almost over 5 pounds in less than a few days from the lack of caloric intake. I know the Westin is considered a higher quality hotel but some of the meals at the lunches left a lot to be desired. The worst one started with a "salad" that consisted of a medium sized plate with one leaf of lettuce, a wedge of blue cheese and, a couple of olives. The "main course" was an ice cream scoop of some mystery mash on a couple more pieces of lettuce (probably stolen from our so called salad). After the "lunch" all the guys rushed to get some real food. :-) But I will say, the desserts were positively wicked.

I had heard -- and almost expected -- some behind the scenes tension among the Mr. Romance cover model contestants. Since this is a competitive event and considering it involved guys who are in varying degrees of athleticism, I imagined there would be some testosterone fed chest-thumping going on. Amazingly enough I didn't see any of that. None. Yes, some of us were very focused on winning. But it was directed on giving a good show. If anything, we all knew we could relax and be ourselves in front of each other, and joke around. It wasn't unusual for one guy to ask another "how do you think this outfit looks on me?" And, you actually got a constructive answer. I can tell you, you don't ask that in a local gym locker room unless you really know the guy. When it came to show time that attitude didn't change. While behind the curtains waiting for our cues to take the stage for the first time, a hearty handshake, hug, and a wish of good luck went all around.

I think my favorite event was the Pajama Party on Sunday for two reasons. One…because I'd spent a week in KC and I'd gotten to know a lot of wonderful people at the various events: Early bird tours, luncheons and dinners, parties, book fairs, etc. Second…the competition was over and the pressure was off; I could just have fun. And I sure did. The funniest part was that I left my room key upstairs (yes, in my room), and had to go to the front desk in a red silk robe, black silk boxers, and bare feet. The clientele (and employees) in the lobby area didn't necessarily know there was a PJ party going on the next level up. I walked to the counter and informed them of my situation (as best I could given that I had a few beers in me :-). The girl behind the counter asked, "I don't suppose you have some form of identification on you?". Looking down at what little I was wearing, I responded, "Where would I put it?" She took it in good stride and gave me the 20 question routine: What is the billing address of the credit card, what are the last 4 digits of my social, what is my mom's shoe size. I think she pretty much planned on giving me the key in the first place but she had to get a kick out of the situation first.

I have to say I had a great time. I've made many new friends; writers, readers, fans, and cover models, so I'm looking forward to the next convention in New York during March. I’m setting up photo shoots and all kinds of fun stuff and hey…this time I can actually mingle and get to know everybody better. Hope to see you there!

Congratulations to Lennell Dunbar for winning Mr. Romance 2003. You are now among a very select group of guys!

At Your Service,