Sexiest Man Alive … Retires. His Top 5 Romance Novel Covers
OMG!
Jason Baca is retiring.
I mean, what?!?
Mr. Yum Yum. Retired? Say it ain’t so.
It’s true, everybody. It’s official. Jason Baca has left the building.
Who exactly is Jason Baca? I’m totally glad you asked because we shouldn’t let this moment pass without acknowledging this gorgeous guy. And such a humble, down-to-earth guy at that. The way I like to describe it, he’s Fabio hotter, less famous little brother.
Fabio is the dominant alpha male model of kissing books of probably all time. Well, Jeff is the sexy hottie cover model of our day. If you read romance books, and especially if like me you devour them, you’ve come across his perfectly sculpted pecs.
More Than Fabio
For a long time, Fabio seemed to be on every cover in the genre. He famously made the cover of People magazine, which thrust him into stardom. We all know who he is. (I believe he just turned 60. Wow.)
I mean there are some comedians who still use him as the punchline of their jokes. That guy entered the culture in a way no one had before or has since.
Jason Baca is a totally different story.
So this post is as much an appreciation of one of romance’s all-time hunks, as it is a guide to his body … urr … his best covers.
The Accidental Sex Symbol
If Fabio was a cultural phenomenon, Jeff was the accidental hunk.
He told People magazine recently
“I’d seen a cover of a guy that looked and appeared to be my age. I was instantly enthralled. I originally pursued it on my own without the help of my agency. I contacted a ton of authors and asked how to go about it. One got back saying she had a book she wanted me to be on the cover of. It turned out to be my very first big break in the romance novel cover model world.”
The rest is history. Fabio appeared in 466 covers in his hunky career. He was basically the Michael Jordan of his day. But every record is made to be broken. And, man, did Jason Baca break it. He’s graced the covers of some 635 books. What’s amazing is that he did it in fewer than 10 years.
It all started in 2011. His first cover was The Legend of Michael by Lisa Renee Jones.
Yeah, that Photoshopped blue eye is funky, and the dagger is little too phallic for me. Just sayin. But the body is there. The look is there. Yes, sir.
Would I have had a sense then that he’d break Fabio’s record? Based on just that one cover? No.
But, hey, he probably didn’t think so, either.
Tale of the Tape
Before we get into some of his best covers, let’s take a look at the tale of the tape. I think Jason’s charm and popularity among publishing houses and romance writers was his blend of masculinity and steaminess without the overpowering muscularity that is so common these days.
He has muscles. He has pecs. (Oh, does he ever.) But he’s not about being a bodybuilding champion. Know what I’m saying?
Here are Jason’s numbers.
Height 5’11”
Brown Hair
Brown Eyes
Waist 32
Inseam 32
Suit Size 40R
He’s clearly different than Fabio. Jason is 5’11” with a 40-inch chest. Fabio clocked in at 6’3” with a 56-inch chest. Fabio gave rise to the massive body type, the bodybuilder romance cover guy. Jason is more of a throwback to the fit cover guy. He could have been on a romance novel cover in the 1950s. Both guys are all-time greats, though. No doubt.
So thank you Jason. As a romance writer, I know better than most how important a cover is to the success of a book. Models like Jason make our stories come alive in a way that that both complement and enhance the words. And not to mention fire-up sales. Uh, yeah!
Happy retirement, Mr. Yum Yum. He told People that he’s got an 8-5 job with a municipal housing authority and has had it throughout his modelling career. He says the regular job keeps him grounded. This man is so freakin’ humble. Cray-cray. Can you imagine going to work and sitting in the cubicle next to that god?
Let’s examine the oeuvre of one of kissing books’ most prolific and accomplished hotties. He’s got more than 600 covers, so we could be here a while. No need for that. I’ll start with my top five and I’ll do more in a future post.
The Top 5 Covers
No. 5
Had to throw in a cover outside of straight romance. Jason’s two best assets as a cover boy is his profile and his back. He probably has the most photographed back of all time.
No. 4
What can I say? The whole point of a cover is to communicate to you, the reader, what you can expect from a story. I think so many of us authors chose Jason is because he communicated that smoldering desire and hotness in just the right way. In other words, no pornographic but in a way any woman would love to see her man express his desire for her.
No. 3
What’s great about this cover is it shows how much of a blank slate Jason could be. I mean that as a total compliment. The cover designer wants as much flexibility and a model that allows for enough attitude and emotion without limiting the design is height of professionalism.
No. 2
This is just me. She looks terrible but what is about a man half undressing that is so freakin’ sexy?
Numero Uno
OMG! A dripping wet Jason. And his knickers appear about ready to give way.
What do you think?
There you have it. My top 5. Jason Aaron Baca was the rock star of the romance book cover world. By the way, he’s happily married, as I understand it, and lives in a suburb of San Jose in California.
Once again, thank you Jason. What a ride. You’re the Michael Jordan of hunky covers. And like Michael, you could kinda, maybe, come out of retirement.
Hey, a girl can hope.
So how do my covers stack up with Mr. Yum Yum? (Pun intended.) I don’t know? You tell me. You can find all my books and covers here. I think the closest I come to the whole Jason Baca vibe is Hard Bargain but what do you think?
[Wanna hottie cover of your own? And I even throw in 25,000 words with it 😊. Seriously. Download my contemporary romance Good Girl, Bad Boy totally,completely free. Get it now.]
