Romance Fiction Has a History

Media reports to the contrary, the 1990s featured romance cover models other than a certain long-haired Italian. One of the most interesting ones to me is Steve Sandalis, aka Topaz Man.

In May 1993, Penguin USA (as it was known at the time) announced the upcoming launch of Topaz, an historical romance line that would feature well-known authors like Mary Jo Putney and Patricia Gaffney, who were already regulars in Penguin’s Signet line. The unique marketing twist was that each book in the line would feature the same man on the cover- Steve Sandalis, the Topaz Man- and that promotion would focus as much on him as the authors. A photo of Sandalis was also integrated into Topaz’s spine logo.

Sandalis, a Long Island native, was a bodybuilder on the beach in Florida who sometimes competed in men’s bikini contests when he was discovered by Penguin in 1992. Within a year, the entire Topaz marketing campaign was built around him- in addition to posing for renowned artist Pino for book covers, there were cardboard cutouts, calendars, and national media appearances.

In February 1994, Sandalis appeared in Playgirl, both on the cover and in a photo layout inside (you’ll have to search for the layout yourself, sorry!).

This issue of the magazine represented an interesting moment for romance novels in general. One of the first issues helmed by managing editor Charlene Keel, a former Romantic Times employee, the Sandalis phot spread was accompanied by an excerpt (with Pino’s stepback illustration of course!) from Mary Balogh’s Tangled and the magazine’s first foray into reviewing romance novels. This was at a time when Romantic Times was the dominant force in writing about romance, and a time when a faction of authors and readers wanted to get away from the genre’s sexy image. On the other hand, that long-haired Italian was still insanely popular at the time, so perhaps Penguin and Playgirl were onto something!

All told, Steve Sandalis is rumored to have featured on 700 or more romance covers for Topaz and more. Eventually he turned to acting, and then to a new passion- water features. Sandalis is the owner of Mystic Water Gardens in Los Angeles, which has been featured on TV and in magazines for their work. This video features both Sandalis and his work, with a cheeky bit about his past modeling life as well.

I really enjoy the fact that Steve Sandalis seems to have found success and his happy place after his Topaz Man career. There’s something we all (including certain long-haired Italian former models) can learn from that.