I recently had the privilege of interviewing Leah Lassen, the cover model for This Passing Hour, the second story in my Amish Memories series. (It releases in November 2023!) Read to the end of this post and leave a comment to enter-to-win a copy of A Brighter Dawn, the first story in the series!
Leah, thank you so much for joining me and sharing your story! Please tell us a little about yourself:
My name is Leah, I am 23 years old and I live in Saint Paul, Minnesota with my husband and golden retriever, Teddy.
How and when did you get into modeling?
I got into modeling when I was about 16 years old. I went to a casting with Caryn Models and jumped right in to taking a few classes to help me learn more about the industry. When I was 18 years old, I attended the European Model Showcase with my agency (Caryn Models) in Paris, France. This was such a great opportunity in my modeling career and I will be forever grateful for this experience!
How did you become the cover model for This Passing Hour?
One of my agents let me know that I was being requested to shoot a book cover. It was the photographer of the cover page who reached out to my agent to see if I was available to shoot a book cover for This Passing Hour.
Tell us about the cover shoot. When and where was it? Who all was there? How long did it take? And anything else you’d like to share!
After meshing schedules, we found a date that worked for both of us (the photographer and myself) to shoot. The photographer shoots out of a studio in his home in the Twin Cities, which was very welcoming! It was just me and the photographer on set for this shoot, and it only lasted about an hour and a half! The wardrobe was already set for me so all we had to do was shoot a few different options from his mood board for the cover.
What do you think of the finished cover? (I love it!)
I love the cover!! I think the color of the dress goes really well with the scenery of the cover. It is so fun to see the final piece!
What are your hopes for your future? Is there anything that my readers and I can be praying about for you?
Modeling is just a side job for me; my husband and I own a photography & videography business as our main job. We mostly do weddings, but love to shoot other portraits, small businesses, personal branding, and more as well! My hopes and what your readers can be praying about is just that we can continue doing what we love as our main source of income. It is such a blessing that we get to work together doing what we love as our jobs. It can be a tricky business to stay in long-term, so my hopes are that we are able to continue doing it for as long as we can 🙂
Thank you, Leah! This has been so fun to hear about your modeling and the shoot for This Passing Hour and your business! (I’m praying!) Thank you so much for sharing your story and photos of you, your hubby, and Teddy!
Readers, look for This Passing Hour‘s release next fall or pre-order now-through Baker Book House, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook, and other retailers!
Leave a comment below for me or Leah to enter-to-win a copy of A Brighter Dawn. I’ll randomly choose a winner June 1st.
I’m in the Twin Cities as well and I am going to try to hunt her down. In a nice way. I volunteer at Children’s Hospital and they are in need of a very special person for photography right now. The cover is beautiful and I can’t wait to read the book!
Thank You for this interesting interview. The book sounds like a great read.
Marilyn
Love the beautiful book cover. I would be thrilled to win a copy . Thank you.
The cover is beautiful and Leah was a beautiful model.
What a lovely young lady who has her feet firmly on the ground. Sending thoughts and prayers to Leah and her husband. I love the cover.
What a lovely model!
The cover is lovely as is Leah. . Success with this book.
Joan
This book sounds like my kind of book. Continued success Leah.
Marion
Hi Leah, you’re a great cover model but I hope you get to continue working with your husband in the job that you both love. My husband and I farmed when we were younger and some of our best memories are from that time. Hard work, yes, but we were doing it together!!
Love you, Leah! Love the cover picture, would love to read these books! Teddy is getting so big!
Leah makes a beautiful cover model. She has a fresh, lovely look and the picture is very realistic. Congratulations
You are lovely. My twin girls modeled for Caryn’s in Paris several years ago.You’re right, the dress color and the background are perfect. If you haven’t read any of Leslie Gould’s books, treat yourself to a journey outside of your culture and enjoy the beauty of the Amish,
Love this back story on the cover model! Looking forward to reading this book. I know it will be great because all of Leslie’s books are.
Best of luck to Leah and her husband
She was a very beautiful model on your book. I would love to win your book.from a romance book reader Peggy.
So nice to learn more about this lovely model. I must say opened my eyes to another aspect of getting a book ready for publishing.
Great cover with the pretty young Amish woman front and center and the peaceful setting in the background. I look forward to reading the book.
I enjoyed the interview. Sounds like a wonderful read.
Thank you, Leah, for telling us about your journey into modeling and about your family business. I wish you much success in both.
Enjoyed learning the background of this cover. What a lovely young woman! Best wishes in their desire to cont in the photography business!
I so much liked the cover. It drawerd my attention. The only books I read are amish books they make me think of a time when Gods earth and living was so pure and peaceful.
Leah,
You sound a lot like my daughter – she’s 22, has a Golden Retriever, and also loves photography and videography!
It was interesting to read about the process of the cover shoot. It was neat to learn that she and her husband have their own business at a very young age. It must be interesting to her to know what its like to be on both sides of the camera. It sounds like a great book and I hope to read it.
Very nice cover and beautiful model. Makes you want to read the book.
Love the cover and Leah is a Beautiful model would love to read the book Thank you for the chance!