Oklahoma Voices: Taming the Alpha Male (Jul 27, 2008)
It’s a billion-dollar publishing business, representing more than six thousand books and half of all paperbacks sold in the US each year. In fact, some say romance novels are the lifeblood of the industry. And central to it all are the models that grace the book jackets, appealing to readers’ senses of fantasy.

We speak with Norman filmmakers Cindi Finneran and Charley Reeves, whose forthcoming documentary Reading, Riting, Romance – Taming the Alpha Male focuses on the annual Romantic Times convention and the competitors for the Mr. Romance competition. We also hear about what it’s like on the inside from cover model CJ Hollenbach (pictured above) and New York Times bestselling romance novel author (and Oklahoma native) Sharon Sala. Finally, for those guys out there who might be inspired to try to break into the modeling industry after hearing this program, we present a cautionary tale from radio producer Joe Frank.

WEB EXTRAS: See the film’s trailer

Watch Reeves and Finneran discuss the making of their film

Read some statistics about the size of the romance fiction industry

Listen to a 2003 episode of the public radio program “This American Life” about the annual convention of the Romance Writers of America



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