Romantic Times Rewind: May 1994 Ads & Features

In this week’s podcast episode, we’re looking at the incredible ads and features for the May 1994 issue of RT Magazine.

Thank you to Amy M. for this issue!

You can also find all the RTRW content at our category page for Romantic Times Rewind. 

And, most importantly, if you want to listen and follow along with this entry, we have more detail in the audio, but you can click play and listen and read and absorb all the visual goodness:

Ok, let’s get started!

This. Cover.

i learned from Steve Ammidown that these were both titles from Zebra’s To Love Again line, which featured characters who were 40+. Per Steve, the hallmark of many of the To Love Again covers was mustaches. MAJESTIC levels of ‘stache.

The cover for Heaven was painted by Sharon Spiak, featuring David Alan Johnson, whom we have been calling Hot Oates.

Hot, smoldering Oates. You see the resemblance between Actual Oates and two-belt Heaven Oates, right?

The other model on the cover of A Bid for Love is James Fox, and both were part of the Mr. Romance pageant – one was Mr Romance Over 40, and the other was Mr. Romance Under 40.

And we learned a lot about Heaven and A Bid for Love.

The RT review for A Bid for Love: 

Yuppie love doesn’t have anything on this exceptionally well-written romance that not only steams up the glasses with its passionate love scenes but warms the heart with the depth of love, caring and commitment that the characters show for each other.

YUPPIE. LOVE.

And the cover copy for Heaven sent Amanda shopping for her own copy!

For archeologist’s daughter Alexandra Parker, the Crown of Desire isn’t just a priceless and mysterious artifactit [sic] could mean the difference between life and death. And to find it, she must embark on a dangerous journey in the company of a man she hardly trusts. Wealthy Englishman Winn Bradford is seductive, charismatic, and the last person she should fall in love with. But Alex, too, has a secretone that puts Winn’s safety at risk, and will force her to choose between loyalty and an extraordinary love. . .

Amanda has a print copy with the original cover art, and we should be hearing soon as to what she thinks.

The inside cover is very (Retcon) Romantasy:

Is that belt the Fantasy belt? There’s the Urban Fantasy Belt, and that’s the Fantasy belt? Check that hair. All of the hair.

We learn in this issue that Mr. Romance had REGIONAL PAGEANTS all over the US, including a weekend event in New York, and another event in Illinois, which crowned Guy de Boo as the winner.

Mr. de Boo is on Instagram, and was in the finals that year for Mr. Romance, according to this issue.

We talked a bit about how Romantic Times articles and features were teaching its readership how to use computers for cataloging books and for book shopping, and especially how to access and read ebooks.

Letters like this one illustrate that period of history:

What a compliment to Steven Zacharius, though: “…he makes it seem possible for a ten-thumbed person to successfully navigate the hazards of a modem.”

REMEMBER THE HAZARDS OF A MODEM. I surely do. Here, enjoy This Other Sound Clip:

 

Then there was this absolutely wild part. Like I can’t get over this. This is a clip from Kathryn Falk’s BIZ BUZZ column. The Harlequin Romance Report published the 10 most “desirable dates” from 1994, and we highlighted a couple things.

Thing the First: MANY of these “desirable dates” are very much Not Desirable now, especially on the “men” list.

Thing the Second: WHAT is Kathryn Falk doing, casually outing celebrities in the middle of this column?!

(Rumor has it that three of these women above are married to gay husbands, and vice versa!!)

What in the crispy fried fuck.

“As usual, the Harlequin Report is filled with fascinating facts.” Wowser.

Then we get to the article about David Allen Johnson and James Fox, both of whom were Mr. Romance.

Look, I have so much to add we’re going to deploy bullet points.

• The article talks about how in addition to modeling, Johnson was a poultry inspector for the USDA.
• From the article: “Zebra editor, Ann LaFarge, editor of Carol Finch’s book, is featured on the back cover in a romantic pose with James! How’s that for an industry perk!” Does that give you the jibblies? That gives me the jibblies.
• Johnson is on Instagram, if you’d like to follow him.
• He was the first Mr. Romance in 1993, and as I mentioned, there were two crowned – under 40 and over 40.
• You can read all about him in this Austin Chronicle article.
• You can buy a 35mm slide (SLIDE) of an image from a photoshoot:

It’s not a great picture (his eyes are half closed it looks like) but wow. A 35mm slide! There are several on eBay from this event, it looks like. 

The middle of the magazine is just author after author introducing their new books to the readers. It’s a weird mix of yearbook entries and direct sales pitches and reader thank yous – it’s interesting.

Here is Robin Lee Hatcher’s, as an example:

Then there’s this full page ad for Topaz:

I went to find that image in color because I had a feeling it would be great and I WAS RIGHT. This is the stepback for Wild Desire.

I mean, how is he staying on that horse?

Amanda is often sad that the entire magazine isn’t in color at this time, and I can see why. That’s a classic Pino illustration right there.

Adding to the “yearbook” feel of the magazine, there were a lot of ads from publishers and writer’s groups congratulating authors for their RT awards:

And then there was this profile of a book club that met in a B. Dalton’s: L.O.R.E. – Literary Organization of Romance Enthusiasts, from Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Look at this cute group photo!

And this bit from the article about L.O.R.E. made me snort:

Do NOT name your hero Shoz and expect L.O.R.E. to like it!

Amanda spotted this ad, and, well, yeah.

You want to see that cover in color, right? OF COURSE YOU DO.

First, the title looks like it reads The of Fourth Forever but it’s really The Fourth of Forever.

I felt pretty confident that this cover had won a “worst cover” award but I couldn’t find any mention of it. Maybe it was just an award inside my mind, and that is okay because I’m not wrong.

Amanda also noticed this ad for reference books:

I know that text is small, so here it is:

Twilight publishing offers three of the most sought after reference books for romance!

Romance by the Numbers lists over 10,000 titles by series as well as by number
$19.95 + s/h

The Story Continues II
The updated version of this popular reference book lists 1200 authors, over 6100 titles and groups books by series, spinoffs, and sagas with related characters. An asterisk is included next to series that should be read in order. 200pp double-columns!
$15.95 + $3.00 s/h

The Essence of Romance
Includes 5000 authors listed alphabetically with their titles listed below their names according to categories, numbered series, continuing series, sequels, spin-offs, and other titles. Over 25,000 titles, 2500 authors and their pseudonyms cross-referenced – plus much more 400pp

$24.95 + $3 s/h

In a time…before GoodReads…before the internet… we had books for $25 plus shipping and handling.

In the middle, there’s a big section of reader correspondence – but readers were sending sketches, poetry, fan messages, keeper lists with their home addresses?! This has emphatic fanzine energy.

There’s this very sweet letter and poem from the late Rose Berlin of Silver Spring:

And this adorable illustrated envelope sent in with a larger illustration of a romance heroine. Noelle wrote, “I realize my lady is not well endowed enough for the usual cover, but I hope you like it in any case.”

Alas, the illustration itself was too well endowed big to be reprinted in the magazine:

In the response, RT mentions calling “Katherine,” by which they mean Katharine Kincaid, author of Beloved Bondage.

I’m kind of bummed that the artwork Noelle sent in wasn’t reproduced if that’s what the covers looked like! It also emphasizes the fandom focus if letters to the editor might be answered by the news that the magazine called the author on a reader’s behalf.

Amanda was VERY excited to see a crossword puzzle!

If you’re thinking, I want to do the crossword puzzle! I have a PDF for you! Right-click and Save-As!

I’ll put the answer key behind a spoiler tag:

The “Keeper Shelf” recs were really cute, though I clipped the image so I didn’t include the full mailing list of the people who sent in their lists:

I imagine it was to encourage penpals but I didn’t want to put someone’s address on the site, even from back in 1994!

Here’s a triple blast from the past: Kathryn Falk was on Joan Rivers’ show “Can We Shop?” telling Lorena Bobbitt jokes.

It was a DIFFERENT TIME.

A time of Glamour Shots™. SO many author photos are Glamour shots:

So many authors photos in this issue are Glamour Shots like this one, which makes sense given that they were in so many malls, therefore easily accessible, and produced headshots that could certainly be used on a book cover.  Some authors had feather boas, some had jackets where they were holding the collar in a very jaunty fashion, but Glamour Shots for sure.

I was not immune! I had Glamour Shots done in college. I wonder if I have mine somewhere. Glamour Shots back then are like Instagram and Snapchat filters now.

Most of the magazine is newsprint (got ink all over my hands when I scanned it) but there’s a full color centerfold section with three ads, one stretching two pages for Bertrice Small’s Love Remember Me:

And then there were pages and pages about the conference.

Fabio gets to use his man but poor Steve Sandalis was “Topaz Man.”

Friends and Fans of Fabio and Steve “Topaz Man” Sandalis are encouraged to seek out the fan club information tables at Nashville. Both these heroes are planning to be at the Booklovers Convention, and their fan clubs will have all the up-to-the minute details on where to find them! Fabio fan club buttons went fast in San Diego, and Topaz Man souvenirs were just as sought after–so be sure to get to the fan club tables at registration as quickly as you can so you don’t miss anything! Fabio Fan Club President Bonnie Kuhlman and Topaz Man Fan Club President Sharon Frye promise lots of news and excitement focusing on their respective Romantic Heroes!

If you’d like to learn more about Topaz Man, Steve Ammidown wrote a brief history of him!

And the price for the convention in 1994 was not that far from what it was at the end, unless I’m mis-remembering (it’s a number, so likely).

$395! with Two Fantasy Evenings!

I want to know what led to Diana Palmer taking out this ad:

Diana had people posing as her family? What?!

ANOTHER CRUISE!!

Seriously, cruises were the THING. I’ve seen more influencers booking travel with fans lately, especially on Instagram, so nothing is truly new, but author cruises really seemed to be a frequent event.

And, hello, Brenda Jackson has arranged a new reader cruise for readers in 2025! Author Cruises are coming back! (I love this so much.)

Look at these abridged audiobooks. I should put a content warning on this section because my hair is standing on end.

Something Wonderful, by Judith McNaught.  The Pirate and the Pagan by Virginia Henley. ABRIDGED to NINETY MINUTES. How?!?!

And then, this ad brought us so much joy, and WE get to share it with YOU.

The MUSIC Fabio After Dark Music Cassette

A selection of Fabio’s favorite romance tunes make for a perfect romantic evening. Between songs, Fabio whispers, croons, and lulls you into romantic oblivion. Don’t miss his signature song, “When Somebody Loves Somebody.”

FABIO Whispers, croons, and lulls you into romantic oblivion!

Since this was an audio CD, Elijah M, bless every bit of his heart, uploaded a mix of Fabio visuals, but they’re on repeat so you can just…listen. Or be lulled into romantic oblivion.

I wonder if I put this on in the kitchen while I’m cooking, which of the humans of my household will wander in and ask me what the hell I’m listening to.

Then there’s the workout video, FABIO: Fitness.

Prepare for some aerobic steps, neon, and some very high cut leotards on everyone involved.

But then there’s THE VIDEO NOVEL.

FABIO: A TIME FOR ROMANCE
Fantasy Video-$19.95
The first Video Novel™ ever created stars Fabio as the hero of a romance novelist’s fantasies. He appears as a Pirate, a Viking, and an Italian Count.

Here’s the whole video:

 

I have this clip below set to play at a specific point, and there’s a lot of squealing and shrieking, because FABIO is…about to put his sword down the front of her dress?

Just…puts the sword down her cleave.

There’s also some chess set to Pachelbel’s Canon in D, some pirates, a LOT of wind machine, and I kinda want to know what bathrobe the romance novelist in the movie is wearing because it’s very comfy looking.

So! Those were our favorites from the Ads and Features from RT’s May 1994 issue! What a time was had by all.

Our next episode will be one of five issues I’ve put up for a vote on our Patreon.

And remember, if you join the Patreon, you’ll get access to the entire issue as a PDF.

What do you think? Are you lulled into romantic oblivion? (I hope not.) Which of these books do you remember?