Cherif: Well, let's see ... I was born in Montreal, Canada twenty-nine years ago. My family and I immigrated to the United States in 1979 and took up residence in Chicago, where I have lived ever since. As odd as it sounds, my professional background is in stunt performing and art. Since 1991, I've worked for a company called Medieval Times doing a variety of stunts and equestrian acts. Six years ago, I started an art studio with my partner Lynn Sanders, where we do everything from book cover illustration to murals to fine art. Though I still do the knight thing on a part-time basis, I'm happy to say it's been eclipsed by the success of our studio. I have a four-year-old daughter who occupies most of my free time, but when we're not together, I enjoy bare-knuckle kickboxing, snowboarding, and my latest love, scuba diving. When I'm not writing, I'd have to say I'm painting - I really enjoy anything that allows me to be creative.

Donna: Is your family supportive of your career?

Cherif: Sure. They've seen all the hard work and dedication it's taken just to get this far, so I like to think they're proud of me!

Donna: How did you get started as a cover model?

Cherif: Well, to be absolutely honest, modeling was never something I set out to get into. It was more or less something that developed pleasantly enough out of our business of doing cover illustrations for the various publishers in New York. After all, I had the long hair from my working at Medieval Times- why not save a little money by having me in front of the camera as well? I've really learned to enjoy it, however, and now I see it as a great way to practice acting and drama. As far as getting started with illustrating romance novels, I would say the credit has to go to Marsha Canham for supplying us with our first break. She saw some of our art and threatened everyone she could at Dell to put our illustrations on her books. When Virginia Henley did the same, that pretty well established us. We lucked out big time by having those two ladies in our corner. Thanks again, guys!

Donna: Which one is your favorite cover?

Cherif: Hmmm. Tough question. I don't believe I could pick one over another because they all mean something different to me. My favorites would have to include Marsha's BLOOD OF ROSES, Virginia's A YEAR AND A DAY, and Theresa Medieros' CHARMING THE PRINCE.

Cherif: Yes, and I plan to continue (God willing) as long as we can drum up the work!

Donna: Do you believe other publishers will follow Lionhearted, and include the name of the cover model inside with the author and artist credits?

Cherif: No. Where would they draw the line? There are probably twenty individuals or more working on any given book, if you count all the editors and proof readers, type-setters, lay-out artists, graphic designers, print-setters, etc. Though it's nice that Lionhearted has included my name in that way in the past, I really don't think it's necessary. As a writer and a reader, my personal opinion is that only one name matters to a book: the author's!

Donna: How do you handle all the adoration from your fans?

Cherif: You know, I get this question a lot. I don't want to disappoint anyone, but I couldn't be less of a big a deal! I rarely get recognized outside of the romance community, and everyone at the conventions is always very respectful and kind. I think people sometimes think I lead this glamorous existence where I have to walk around with shades on all day to hide from the mobs of crazed fans! The truth is far more sedate, I'm afraid.

Donna: When did you decide to become an author?

Cherif: I've always had a passion for writing. In fact, my friends and I used to blow off class together to write sci-fi and pulp fantasy. For as long as I could remember, writing was something I did just for the pleasure of it; deciding to try it professionally was quite a scary step.

Donna: Where did you get the idea for PASSION'S BLOOD?

Cherif: When we started the project, we had no idea what we were doing. Lynn and I just started working on these images, one after another in a very disjointed fashion, but always exploring the theme of romance. After many months, we had a great body of work and it occurred to Lynn that we could tie it all together with a story line and more illustrations. That was pretty much the genesis of the whole thing. We went into overdrive and wrote the book ourselves, and rounded it out with about another twenty or so paintings.

Donna: How long did it take to create a book like PASSION'S BLOOD?

Cherif: Believe it or not, but PASSION'S BLOOD took four years to produce. Our next books will come out much quicker (let's hope).

Donna: The illustrations in PASSION'S BLOOD are absolutely beautiful. Is this what is referred to as photographic oils? Can you tell us more about your art?

Cherif: Our style is at once both photographic and fine art. We begin with a photograph and glaze it using oil paints, thus the term photographic oils. The technique is actually quite old, originating with certain Flemish painters of the Renaissance, who used glazing on religious iconography to give their art an added sense of warmth and light. Without getting technical, what we strive to do is establish a balance between the photograph and the oil painting, enhancing highlights and shadows, so the viewer asks, "Is this a photo or a painting?"

Cherif: Heh, what part wasn't hard? I'd never attempted to write romance before PASSION'S BLOOD at all. What I had was an idea of the feeling I wanted to convey in order to leave the reader with an experience that was totally romantic. I think that must have been the most difficult part: writing in a voice that accompanied the paintings' lyrical style without being too heavy or contrived.

Donna: What inspiration did you use for your characters?

Cherif: The characters in PASSION'S BLOOD were definitely archetypes. I did not intend for them to have any basis in real life people I may have known or read about. In fact, I deliberately neglected some aspects of characterization because the story was meant to be almost fairytale-like in its simplicity. Bran is the ultimate villain; we don't doubt he's hopelessly evil and willing to do anything to achieve his goals (which are, of course, twisted). Emric is likewise the ultimate hero; dauntless, courageous, and hopelessly in love with the heroine, fair Leanna. I suppose it's very two dimensional in some ways, but it was worth it if we succeeded in creating a written experience that matched the flavor and mood of the paintings in PASSION'S BLOOD.

Donna: What type of research did you do for your books?

Cherif: Though PASSION'S BLOOD was a fantasy in all respects, it's still strongly rooted in historical fact. I have more than a passing familiarity with the medieval period, having worked on developing special shows and educational programs for Medieval Times, but it's an ongoing process. I read up on the period constantly and do research on the internet. Nothing too special, I guess.

Donna: I read that PASSION'S BLOOD is the first of a series. Can you tell us about the next book and when it will be released?

Cherif: I'm actually working on two books right now. One is much in the same vein as PASSION'S BLOOD, in that it's a fully illustrated novella, but it is set just before the time of the third crusade and much more historically based. It's entitled SARACEN. The other project is kind of a surprise, but I promise it's really going to stretch our artistic and creative vision. Though our website isn't completed, I plan on releasing any pertinent information on release dates there if anyone's interested.

Donna: How did you choose the female model for your books? Will the same model be featured in the coming books or will you change the heroine in each story?

Cherif: A very talented model named Bethany Orbison played Leanna. She's wonderful and has the gift of great beauty, while at the same time looking very accessible. We picked her as the model because we wanted the heroine to possess that sort of girl-next-door charm. SARACEN features the modeling talents of Stacy Walker, who's been making quite a splash in the romance modeling scene lately. The twenty or so paintings we've already done for the book are incredible, especially because Stacy has that smoldering Raquel Welsh thing going on. If you want to see some great romance art we've done with/for Stacy, you can check out her site at www.stacyewalker.com. To answer your question, yes, we plan on changing models for each story.

Donna: Would you describe yourself as romantic at heart?

Cherif: Yes, absolutely. For me, love is the highest theme of life.

Donna: If you could be any character in any book of your choosing, who would you be?

Cherif: Wow. That's tough. I've always really liked Huck Finn as a character. Or any of Robert E. Howard's tough guys. But I guess I'm partial to Lancelot. How can you not want to be Lancelot?

Donna: Is there a current "love" in your life?

Cherif: Yes, and I'm happy to say we're doing very well.

Donna: What has been your favorite question or comment from readers and fans?

Cherif: I like them all, but if I have to hear just one more fan rave about how gorgeous John D'Salvo is, I'm gonna snap! (Jus' foolin', John!)

Donna: What is the funniest thing that has happened related to your modeling or writing?

Cherif: I'd have to say getting my friend Ray to act like a complete stranger so she could say great things about me on Extra was pretty funny. She could have won an Oscar.

Donna: What kind of books do you read for pleasure?

Cherif: Anything by Robert E. Howard. I have a very extensive collection of his rare and out-of-print books. I also enjoy Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.P. Lovecraft, Micheal Moorcock; anything from the masters of pulp fantasy, horror, and sci-fi. More recent favorites include David Drake and George R.R. Martin, who are both fantastic writers.

Donna: Do you read romance? Do you read the books that you have done the covers for?

Cherif: Yes, I have read romance, but so far it's only been stuff by Marsha Canham and Virginia Henley. I originally read their books because I'd been on their covers, but later out of a desire to try and get some sense of what readers wanted in a good romance. I wasn't disappointed.

Cherif: We've got so many irons in the fire right now ... We're still doing cover art, though our studio is expanding rapidly into the interior design field, the photo industry, and lately there's talk of getting into the print business. We've just gotten a fantastic new agent whom I absolutely love, and she has tremendous talent for taking business in directions that stay close to the heart, so I'm very excited. I can honestly say that right now I feel like the sky's the limit.

Donna: What are your long range plans? Describe your perfect future for us.

Cherif: I see a great future, where Lynn and I are coming out with more and more illustrated novellas and possibly even some children's books. I like the idea of putting our art into more visible areas, so maybe we can start doing print runs, or maybe even open our own gallery, I don't know. What's important to me is that we stay creative and stay true to our self-expression. If we can marry that with a successful business, it would be more than I dared expect.

Donna: How does the internet affect your career?

Cherif: So far, it's been a developing situation. Most of my experience with the internet on a professional level has been with fans and with interviews such as this one. Our website should be up and completed by March, and I expect it will really help in keeping fans and associates current with what we're up to. I recently did a search of the net under my name, and the number of fans who had devoted their time to include me on their sites shocked me. It's very touching and I can't express my gratitude enough.

Donna: What are some of your favorite websites and discussion boards?

Cherif: So far, my involvement with discussion boards has been with The Literary Times and Marsha Canham's board, Ceasar's Through the Fence. Both have been tons of fun. I couldn't really say I had any favorite websites, however.

Donna: Do you have any advice for the aspiring authors here at RBL?

Cherif: The only truly worthwhile advice I can give is - don't give up. Sounds simple minded, but I really believe this notion is at the key of every notable achievement. Publishers were flat out opposed to the idea of PASSION'S BLOOD when we first took it to them, because nothing had ever been done that way before. You can bet there was some flak about a cover model actually writing a novel, too. A new author may find that, as in my case, their manuscript gets rejected at first. From my experience, a little dogged determination is often more than a match for someone else's closed mind.

Donna: Anything else you would like to say?

Cherif: Thanks for including me in your group. Just a quick word to my fans: You make it a real pleasure to be a part of the romance community. I appreciate all the support and loyalty shown me over the years and I look forward to meeting you all. Thanks again!

Donna: RBL Romantica has a certain reputation for being "somewhat rowdy" at times, so I have to ask this last question. Would you share one of your most romantic fantasies with us?

Cherif: Haha! Sorry girls, that's for that special lady!