My readers often ask me about this dedication in my books:

DEDICATED TO JOHN

My inspiration for Shadow Runner

They usually want to know if John is an actual living person and if he really is like Shadow – a handsome Native American, the son of a sachem, kind-hearted, chivalrous, brave and a great lover.

The truth is, I have no clue.

Back in the 1990s when I knew I wanted to write a romance novel, I was searching for an image that would inspire me to create the male hero. I wanted him to be fit, but not overly muscular. I wanted him to have a dazzling smile that when he flashed it at a woman, she basically would melt into a puddle. And although I envisioned him as being drop-dead gorgeous, I still wanted him to have an approachable look about him.

At the time, I was receiving a lot of mail-order catalogs every day. Many of them were pretty crazy and I wondered how my name ever had ended up on their mailing lists. I mean, I even received catalogs featuring cremation urns and nurses’ uniforms.

Believe me, I’m the least likely person on earth to ever become a nurse. When my dog vomits, it takes me three hours just to gather the courage to clean it up.

However, two catalogs in particular, “Under Gear” and “International Male,” intrigued me, mainly because they featured well-built, scantily clad men modeling everything from fishnet shirts to bikini briefs, thongs and swimwear. Although most of the models in the catalogs were “hunks,” one in particular caught my eye. His physique, his smile, his eyes – everything about him looked perfect to me. So it dawned on me one day that if he had long black hair, he could be my book’s main character, Shadow Runner.

I wrote the book while looking at these photos of the mystery model. Seeing that Shadow wears “leather breeches” through most of my book, the body shot was perfect inspiration. And the smile in the other photo also was perfect. I was pretty sure it could melt even the coldest of hearts.

It wasn’t until years later, when I got my first computer and discovered the wonders of Google, that I learned the identity of the catalogs’ model…John Coulter. His bio was very impressive – a degree in fine arts, an artist for Disney, a costume designer and a handcrafts instructor, among other things. I was very impressed. I mean, this guy had been blessed with not only great looks, but also brains and talent.

When it came time to create the cover for my book, I had to make do with a budget of about $25, so my choices were very limited. As much as I’d have loved to, I certainly couldn’t afford to hire John to pose for it. So I had to settle for a stock-photo image. The Native American who ended up on my cover is a nice-looking guy, but (heavy sigh) he’s not John.

And for the cover of my second book, I looked at a photo of John in a catalog and painted the picture for the cover based on it. Trouble is, I can’t paint faces – they usually end up looking as if the person had suffered some horrible, disfiguring accident – so I painted only his body and the back of his head.

Ironically, I did get to see a photo of John in a long dark wig when he played a live version of Tarzan for Disney. My first thought was, “They should have splurged on a better-looking wig for him.” My second thought was John finally had that “Shadow” vibe.

Just the other day when I was in Walgreen’s, I was surprised to see a photo of John on a package of Depends adult diapers.

Times definitely have changed.

Even though he has short gray hair in the photo, I’d recognize that smile of his anywhere.

So let me officially say here that I sincerely want to thank John Coulter for being my inspiration for Shadow Runner. I don’t think Shadow would have turned out quite as swoon-worthy without him.

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