My interest in Cherif began when I read the profile that Romantic Times had on him in the cover model section. I laughed when I read about his experiences (getting bitten by bugs while wearing a loincloth) as a model and was touched at how down to earth he sounded. Not only was he a wonderful looking guy with his long black hair and piercing green eyes, but he did not seem to let his looks go to his head.
I then decided to start researching him and trying to find the books that he was featured on. My first book in my collection was Teresa Medieros "Charming the Prince". I loved the soft, adoring look Cherif had on his face as he gazed into the eyes of the princess. Like a lot of romance novel readers, I longed for the day that a man would look at me like that.
The ladies of the Cherif Fortin mailing list were also a big help in my research by giving me a list of books to add to my collection that had Cherif on them. I thank them from the bottom of my heart, as the books are a treasured part of my bookcase to this day. I know that there has to be more out there but I have every one now that I could get my hands on. One of my prize possessions is the beautiful cover Cherif did for Virginia Henley’s "The Marriage Prize". I was sent the cover flat by Ms. Henley and it is now in a frame on my wall.
I think the best way to describe my enchantment with Cherif is this.. "Cherif is the embodiment of the prince that every little girl dreams about as she reads fairy tales before she drifts off to sleep at night. The knight in shining armor that swoops in and rescues the damsel in distress." He is one of my main reasons that I enjoy romance books so much as he is able to give me a true to life picture of the heroes within the pages. I made my tribute to him and Stacy E. Walker as a way to thank him for that.
I have not met him in person but I hope to one day to be able to shake his hand and thank him for giving me and the rest of his fans the beautiful images in his book Passions Blood and on the Fortin and Sanders web site as well as all the rest of the covers he has graced. With a talent like his, not only in modeling but in writing as well, he will be one that will always be welcome on my book case and in my life.
