The magazine's senior photo editor, Kevin Kuster, discovered me at a local nightclub called Circus. A friend of mine introduced us, and right then and there Kevin gave me his card. I had been modeling off and on since I was 12, but I'd never posed nude, so I thought it would be great to try something new. The next day I came in to Playboy's Chicago headquarters for some test shots, and it wasn't long before I started modeling for Special Editions' Book of Lingerie and appeared in the magazine's March 2000 Girls of Mardi Gras pictorial.

After that I didn't talk to Playboy for almost two years. I had just assumed that my time working with them had expired, but in August 2001 a friend of mine invited me to go to another Playboy party at a local Chicago club. Kevin was there, and so was the magazine's photography director, Gary Cole. They asked me why I hadn't been calling them anymore, and I was like, I thought you guys weren't calling me! Apparently they didn't have my phone number anymore and it was all just a big miscommunication. Two days later they asked me to come in to take some more test shots. It all happened so fast, and it was even more of a surprise when Kevin called me a few weeks later and told me that they wanted to make me the January Playmate. Needless to say, I'm really glad I went to that party that night.

We were always laughing and having a good time on the set of my Playmate shoot because I'd known everyone at Playboy for almost five years. George Georgiou, Playboy's staff photographer who took my photos, is a big Three Stooges fan, so we'd always joke with him about that. I loved all the sets on my Playmate pictorial, but my favorite was probably the Centerfold, because I love silver, and I loved the theme. Aside from that, I really liked my shots on the beach. There are some pictures of me where I'm covered in nothing but shells, but I haven't seen them yet, so I'm really looking forward to seeing them published.

Since I've become a Playmate I've gotten recognized on the street quite often. I recently moved from Chicago to LA, and going out here is really cool because people associate me with Playboy and recognize me as Miss January. To be honest, though, I like spending most of my time at home or going out for low-key evenings. I love to read, and I'm a huge fan of Dean R. Koontz. I also watch a lot of TV. I'm a Seinfeld freak (I love watching their reruns every day), and I'm a big fan of The Real World, too.

So far, one of the coolest parts about being a Playmate has been the chance to appear on NBC's Fear Factor. I agreed to do it right away, but believe me, I was sweating bullets walking that tightrope. The only thing attached to me was a harness on my back, so even though I knew it was safe, it still didn't register that if I fell it would catch me. I only made it through the first day, but when it aired and I saw what the girls had to do for the next two days, I'm pretty glad I left when I did!

Being an LA resident also gives me a chance to spend more time at the Mansion. I love going to Sunday movie nights and feeding the spider monkeys at the zoo. I've become friends with a few other Playmates here in town, including Jennifer Walcott, Daphnee Duplaix and Priscilla Taylor, and I've met a lot of cool celebrities such as Pauly Shore, Baywatch's Traci Bingham, Puddle of Mudd and Blink 182, just to name a few. Jerry Springer is also a good friend of mine, but the coolest person I've met so far has to be Nicolas Cage. Once, at a Playboy party, I sat up all night just talking to him, and he's an incredibly interesting person.

Since I moved to Hollywood I've been focusing on acting as well as modeling. I just did a music video with RL called Model Chick that's currently playing on BET, and I've also appeared on The Best Damn Sports Show Period with Tom Arnold -- I played a nurse with Playmate Victoria Fuller on his "Dr. Tom" segment, which was a lot of fun. I've also been doing some voice-over work for a Disney cartoon, and I'd love to do more of that, because it's really a great way to hone my acting skills.

My family is very proud of the fact that I'm a Playmate and all the things I've achieved in my life so far. Nowadays, whenever I go back home to Aurora, my mother is always bragging about me and showing me off to all her friends and co-workers. For all the women out there who are interested in becoming a Playmate, the best advice I can give is to be true to yourself, because it's the guaranteed way to achieve greatness. I'm very happy with the way things have worked out, and I feel honored that Playboy has included me among their elite. There's only a few hundred Playmates in the world, and I'm lucky to be one of them. It's been a great honor and a great pleasure, and it's something I can take with me for the rest of my life. Thank you Playboy! [ source from her site ]