Featured Interview with Andrei Claude
I
attended the Romantic Times convention in
St.
Louis
where Andrei Claude won the 2005 Mr. Romance contest. I was very happy that
Andrei took home the title! While making plans to
attend the upcoming 2006 RT conference, I wondered what last
year's Mr. Romance was up to now, so I checked out Andrei's
website. I was so
impressed with his website's professional look. www.andreiclaude.com is just like
Andrei-very professional and showcases his dedication to his
career. Not only
are Andrei's looks romance book cover worthy, but he's also a
very gracious person.he even agreed to answer my questions.
:o)
Photo by Impact
Photography
Patrice:
Andrei, thank you so
much for taking the time to answer my questions. For those
who don't know that much about you I thought I'd give a little
background info. Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these
stats.
Andrei is from
Malta which is located in Southern Europe in the islands in
the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy). He came all the
way to the US to attend RT's 2005 Mr. Romance
contest.
According to an interview
Andrei did with my best bud
Janice Lynn right after he won Mr. Romance
2005 he said in answer to her question as to how
Malta differs from the US,
"Oh . . . I absolutely love the
US ! The people are great and the country is beautiful. Malta
is nothing like the US. The size of the entire island is 122
square miles, and there's almost 380,000 people living there,
so as you can imagine it's densely populated. The people there
are somewhat conservative and not very open to new ideas,
unlike American folks who always crave for something
new."
If you'd like to read
more stats on Andrei, you can check them out here.
*~*~*~*
|
"...each day this title reminds me
that in life you need to believe in yourself and reach
out for your
dreams."
Andrei
Claude |
*~*~*~*
Now
that I've given everyone a glimpse into where you hail from,
Andrei, I'd like to tell them what you're up to now.
I'm sure you were very
excited to win the Mr. Romance contest last year. What has winning the Mr. Romance title done for you so
far in 2005?
Andrei: Well let me start by saying that
attending the RT convention alone has been a very positive
experience for me. I met a lot of great people who I now
consider friends. Winning the Mr. Romance pageant has
generated a lot of attention and interest from readers,
writers and publishers in the romance novel industry. Although
it shouldn't really be a measure of success, I guess winning a
pageant always helps you believe more in yourself, and each
day this title reminds me that in life you need to believe in
yourself and reach out for your dreams.
Patrice: As much as you enjoyed
the 2005 RT conference, I imagine attending the 2006 RT will
be a bit more relaxed for you. I saw on the Romantic
Times 2006 conference site that you're planning on
attending. Are
you looking forward to coming back the
US for the conference? Will you be involved
in the 2006 Mr. Romance contest?
Andrei:
It's always a pleasure to visit the
United
States.
Yes, I will be attending the 2006 Romantic Times conference,
and I guess I would somehow be involved in the 2006 Mr.
Romance contest as well, not competing of course
!
Patrice: My
understanding is that you won a book cover contract with
Harlequin as well as a spot on the televised Mr. Romance as
part of your 2005 Mr. Romance title. Have you had a chance to
work with Harlequin or the Oxygen channel
yet?
Andrei: Actually I still haven't heard from
either of them.
Patrice: Well, I know NY publishing as well
as the television industry can move at a much slower pace at
times. I did notice
your website has quite a few book covers featuring you with
Venus Press, Silk Vault and Chippewa Publishing. So you have been busy on the book
cover front. Tell us a little about
your experience working with these publishers. Did you do
photo shoots with each of them? If so, how does a book
cover shoot differ from a traditional modeling job?
Andrei:
Until now I've had covers with Chippewa Publishing, Silk's
Vault, and Venus Press.
Due to the geographical distance I normally schedule
the shoots myself after discussing with the authors and
publishers what the cover/s should look like. It's always
great fun to shoot for a cover. The shoot would differ
according to the theme, but otherwise it's just like any other
shoot really.
Photo by Impact
Photography
Patrice: I read on your website
that you're going to be attending the European Booklover
Convention.
And I believe I saw one book cover from a European
publisher. Do you also have contracts for European book
covers? If so,
how has working with the European publishers differed (if at
all) from working with American publishers?
Andrei:
That's correct. I will be attending the 2006 Booklovers
Convention in Germany. I
also did a cover for a German publisher Plaisir d'Amor. I
wouldn't say it differs much. I have done many more covers
with American publishers, however Plaisir d'Amor have been
very professional, and it was really great to work with
them.
Patrice: Now that you've been exposed to at least
one romance conference as well as book cover modeling, is
there anything you've learned about the romance industry that
you weren't aware of before?
Andrei:
Well before I got into all
this, I really didn't know much about the romance novel
industry. So I believe I have learnt a lot !
Patrice: Other than the 2006 RT
conference, what other plans do you have for 2006? What are your
professional goals in the next few years? What would be your ultimate
professional achievement?
Andrei:
I will be
attending the Booklovers Convention in
Germany, and I'll probably spend some time in
NYC doing modeling assignments. Right now I'm aiming to get
myself more established as a model. I like to take things as
they come, however 2005 has been a very positive year for me,
and the response I got was very encouraging. So hopefully some
new things will develop along the way.
Patrice:
Andrei, I'm sure everyone who reads this interview
will appreciate learning a bit more about you. I know I did. :o) Thanks so much for
sharing. I'm looking forward to
seeing you at RT 2006!
Andrei:
It's
been an absolute pleasure doing this interview with you,
Patrice. I look forward to seeing you and everybody else at RT
2006.
Photo by
Marvin Grech
