It was just another "normal" day in the life of Lewis Marcus, full time travel manager, part time actor & model when the call came in from my agent to do the book cover for The Playboy Takes a Wife. Talent agents normally submit an actor's or model's pictures to the casting agency or director, and in this case to the photographer on the project. From that point you are either called in for an audition or cast straight from your headshot or composite card, which was the case for me on this project.

I was actually on my way to New York City to appear on CBS' As The World Turns. I was booked for a steamy scene in a hotel room filled with upscale call-girls. I thought to myself, how hard a role could that be? A man in a hotel room with beautiful women. Wow!!  It would certainly make for good conversation with friends and family. Anyway, the four hour commute I would often make from my home in Maryland to New York for auditions and bookings was just getting interesting. When my cell phone rang, my agent asked me if I was going to be in New York that week and available to shoot a romance book cover. The details were sketchy, as they normally are in the entertainment and modeling world, until you get to the set. Of course I said yes, in fact I am on my way to NY at this very moment..talk about great timing!! I had no idea it was a Crystal Green book, let alone The Playboy Takes A Wife....all I knew was to bring a suit. Fortunately the wardrobe for As The World Turns called for a business suit and experience has taught me, as an actor, to always bring an extra selection of clothes for the wardrobe lady. Always!  As I got closer to New York , I thought to myself, "this was to be some fantastic week, a hot scene on a soap opera and a Silhouette romance book cover. All in one week...how lucky could one guy be? Wow!

I was spending the night at my brother Eric's place; a writer in Manhattan . I was always thankful for their guest room since a hotel night in NYC would often run $300; which was more then what I was being paid for the book cover. Now if my brother's guest room was occupied there was always the fancy guest room at my Aunt and Uncle's place on Park Avenue . Thank God for family!! All I had to do was find a parking spot..a "minor" miracle in a big city like New York .

As a "starving actor" you have to be resourceful.

From the city it would take me a little over an hour on the Long Island Railroad to reach the photographer's house for the shoot. I loved the ride since I knew the train would pass through my old childhood stomping grounds of Kew Gardens . That was always exciting!!   I was the first to arrive for the shoot and would soon meet Brenda, a gorgeous woman who would play "Alicia Sanchez" and her handsome 5 year old son Julian who would be "Gabriel" For the next hour and a half this would be my new "wife and son."  Once we changed into our wardrobe the photographer explained the scene and what we wanted to accomplish. We were told to pretend we were coming off the Chandler Family private jet and to act like one happy family. Julian was a little ham and his mother Brenda well, as you can tell by the cover, is one beautiful woman. Looking at her for the next 500 pictures, yes the next 500 pictures... was not a problem. Holding Julian in my arms for 500 pictures was a challenge!. Ah the price for stardom! The shoot was filled with lots of smiles, a handful of giggles from Julian and of course long passionate gazing!

It took us all but an hour and a half to wrap the shoot and by the end we were definitely feeling like one "happy family."

When we were done, Brenda was kind enough to drop me off at the train station; while Julian fell asleep in the back seat.he had a hard day on the set. And for me it was back to Manhattan to regroup for tomorrow's appearance on As The World Turns. And you can rest assure, it was a typical steamy, soap opera scene!!!

You can catch me appearing on a Dixie Cup commercial airing now on Nickelodeon, or re- runs of The Discovery Channel's Cash Cab, a popular game show that takes place in a NYC taxi cab. If you are shopping at Lowe's, check out the box of Black & Decker's battery powered lawn mower, you might just see (me) Lucas Chandler pushing the mower. Billionaire "playboys" have to work too you know? Some of you might even recognize me from The History Channel's Count Down to Ground Zero..I played one of the firefighters from Ladder Co. 6 that survived the collapse of the North Tower . What can I say, I'm versatile..from Playboy Lucas Chandler to Dixie Cup Dad.

Thank you Crystal for the opportunity to join your blog & it is an honor to appear on the cover of your new book, The Playboy Takes A Wife, a great romantic love story!! I wish you continued success with your future books.

Warmest wishes..

Lewis Marcus, "Lucas Chandler"