Muse Station, Next Stop...Biceps?: Guest Post & Giveaway with Jenn LeBlanc

*Supreme Sex God-Overlord Dance of Joy*!!! We've got a verra special lass stopping by the blog today! I call her Jenneral Hotshots, and once you read her guest post below, you'll agree it's the perfect nickname! We all miss the picture books from our childhoods, but theres no need to get maudlin! Jenn's coming to the rescue with her ILLUSTRATED romance novels! That's right, picture books for us adults! No nude pics (unfortunately), this isn't porn (again, unfortunately), Jenn is a professional photographer, and she brings her artistic skills to the table in more than one medium as she writes a captivating time-travel romance AND takes the pictures to depict the scenes! She brought along her muse to smex up my blog and take us on a visual journey of his tattoos (YES!!!):

Author Bio: 

Don't let the dimples fool you,
She is a verra #NaughtyAuthor !

Jenn LeBlanc has several constants in life that define her:

Colorado, Canon, CJ, kids and curls.

Born and raised in a household of other people's children in this beautiful state —very nearly with a camera in hand— she never left. She talked about escaping; but that never happened. She started her own family, got used to the curls, went to college, built a CJ, and started a business, all with a camera in hand.

She always had another passion. Storytelling, born from daydreams and nightmares. Her fingers were not as quick as her mind, and no amount of practice got them there. Then her second daughter was born, and her inherent traits kept Jenn pinned to the spot, her only escape the keyboard. Spending her days in parenting chat rooms, she can still type fast with just one hand. 

Jenn lives and thrives off chaos and the constant flow of the creative process. She is currently working on illustrations for another novel.

Find Jenn online!: Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

About the Book:

Francine Larrabee woke up on the wrong side of the century. She was fairly certain she went to sleep in her own comfy bed, but she certainly isn’t there now. Only adding to her problems is that she has no voice; is constantly being glowered at by a large, stunning man who is obsessed with propriety; and she’s betrothed to another horrid man, determined to ruin her and any other girls that get in his way.
How does a self-sufficient businesswoman survive in a time when women were still considered property for the whole of their lives and what is she going to do with this man who draws her to him so fiercely. 

The Rake and the Recluse is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks and my website: http://illustratedromance.com

*ALL versions of the book are illustrated, though the print version doesn’t have nearly as many images because of cost.

Muse Station, Next  Stop...Biceps?

Guest Post by Jenn LeBlanc

Hello lovelies! I am so excited to be here with my precious muse for your...amusement! Thank you Rita. Tee hee.

Okay down to business, here’s what I love...pictures. I was born to be a photographer; I have a couple degrees, awards in documentary, etc. So when I finished a novel I was in shock. Then when I decided to shoot my own cover I felt better, and when shooting the cover turned into a full-fledged illustration project I was ecstatic. It was probably the proverbial butterfly wings that made it all happen.


While casting for a cover model I happened upon Derek, who was excited to be on the cover of a romance. I had already decided it was going to be a very simple headshot, nice nekked neck and shoulders highlighting some beautiful muscles. Easy enough right? Well, he came to my studio and we spent awhile shooting the cover and worked so well together that we just kept going. My mind was reeling. We really connected through the lens and while I worked with him my brain worked on overdrive as to how I could use these images to promote my novel. It was somewhere in there that it occurred to me the first iPad was set to be released in about a month.


I talked to Derek and my AD, and he was game for shooting more. A LOT more. After a whirlwind planning session, costume hunting and pull quote search we did another solo shoot. After the second hero shoot I started looking for my heroine found her in the most unexpected place and did rewrites to make the story fit the real girl. Five marathon shoots later, the addition of a brother and his girl we had it. EEEP!


Anywhoo, Derek has become a dear friend and my first muse. I love what happens when we get a camera between us. I always scoffed at the traditional role of the muse, but to be honest if there had been nothing there, this whole crazy thing would never have happened. I’ve had other models and hundreds of people in front of my lens, so I know how rare this is. It’s something special.


So today I would like to invite you to meet my muse, and —with his blessing given— a roadmap of sorts, though the map is skin and the markers are muscles and tattoos. I don’t get to share those normally since my hero —His Grace, Gideon Alrick Trumbull, Duke of Roxleigh— has none, (say hello PhotoShop) and welcome Derek Hutchins. He is available for shoots; if you’re interested just let me know. The following images were made last month for his portfolio.

Introducing: Derek Hutchins ... aka Supreme SexGod-Overlord

What a beautiful smile. okokok on to the good stuff:


The tattoos on his trapezii are the symbols for Om (or Aum) the meditative sound. The sound is constructed of three separate sounds, aaaa…oooo…mmmm, and represents the right and left sympathetic nervous systems and the parasympathetic nervous system. The sounds are also symbolic of beginning, middle and end.
This image is more more grr than om.

The serratus anterior is one of the most beautiful muscles, in my opinion, and here we find the enso, the open circle, which represents the imperfection found in all things. It is a symbol that is meditated on and practiced in the art of Zen Buddhism. The quality of the brushstroke is said to reveal the depth of a Zen master’s enlightenment. It is meant to teach that perfection is found in imperfection, to allow everything to be as it is.

The Buddhist saying on his biceps brachii is… (are you even reading this explanation?) On a side note, my other favorite muscle is created by the inguinal ligament at the base of the external obliques just above the iliac crest (hip bone). You know the one, many people refer to it as the Adonis line, and for goodness sakes, if you’re going to Google that please be careful.








You would like a couple extra angles of those? oh, well of course, purely for research purposes.

~*~

Click image and save to your computer to use as screensaver

The final tattoo on muse Derek is the rising sun so let’s have some fun with that since I don’t have a really good picture of it— where do you think it is?


TWO lucky people who leave a comment below get a FREE copy of the eBook. Also if you like that last image of Derek in red and would like it as a screensaver, it is large enough to grab right from the site, you have my permission. Just come thank me on twitter. :)

~*~Giveaway Details~*~

The Jenneral has generously offered to giveaway an e-copy of her illustrated romance, "The Rake and the Recluse" to TWO lucky commenters! To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment admiring the man candy or answering Jenn's question. The giveaway will end June 2nd and the winners will be announced and contacted shortly thereafter.


*Please leave your email address in your comment so that I may contact you if you win.
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Thanks for sharing all those beautiful pictures, Jenn. As if your muse wasn't already delectable enough, now we see the bad boy side with all those meaningful tats! I am sure there's room for "Property of Jenn, on loan to Rita" somewhere on that bod. I am reading (or at least trying to not get distracted by the images long enough to take in a page or two) the book now and really enjoying. It's really a twofer---quality writing AND pictures. You can't go wrong with this read! Hope everyone enjoyed this post-I know I did. #LadyRandyStrikesAgain