Anyone that lives in or has spent time in New York has to marvel at a basic way of life there that is markedly different than in Hollywood. You can walk around some very normal looking streets and find performers of all levels of celebrity casually passing by. What's so remarkable is that no one usually bats an eye. But the reality isn't always so idyllic when you add in the paparazzi just waiting in the shadows.

Thalia Thorne wasn't looking for a real man when she flew to Montana from California. She wasn't looking for a real cowboy either, but that's what she found. Her target was a movie star who she idolized for as long as she could remember. As a teenager she had his posters on her bedroom wall. That's who she planned to meet having found where he had sequestered himself for several years. She went to the Bar B Ranch to find James Roberts Bradley but she found a cowboy who went by R.J.

California is full of self important people with ego the size of a large continent. It's really hard to fit it and even harder to carve out a place for yourself in this plastic world. False smiles, unfulfilled promises and cheating abound. As a young woman set on an acting career and looking for her first break you have to be real careful about whom to trust. That's pretty much stating the obvious.

Well Thalia makes mistakes, lapses in judgment should we say but not surprising given her young age. However these errors in judgment turned out to be rather costly. Her acting career is brought to an abrupt halt and she practically has to beg for a job that is at least still in the industry. Her boss is a sleazy producer whose winning record gave him enormous power in the industry, power he doesn't hesitate to use.

In order to once again try to save a flailing career she came up with an idea that her boss grabbed at. The challenge was all hers and if she failed, well failure was just not an option.

The moment she arrives at R.J.s ranch there is a sense of eminent doom to her plan. To say he is reluctant is to be laughingly naive. If not for his ranch family he wouldn't have even let her in from the cold. There is no room in his life for anybody even remotely connected to his acting life. Here on his doorstep is this gorgeous creature totally unprepared for winter in Montana. Thalia is quickly realizing that she should have done more homework on this assignment.

But the frost outside doesn't even compare with the chill of the reception she gets from R.J. He is immediately suspicious of this young woman as well as unfortunately attracted. She stirs up things in him that have been left ormant for quite some time. Somehow this crazy girl makes his life harder and warmer. He has quite an inner battle to convince himself he isn't interested.

No matter that he keeps basically showing her the door, she comes right back. She is unrelenting in her pursuit. But pretty soon it becomes obvious that her pursuit is turning personal rather than professional and he can't trust that it was the man rather than the actor she is after.

A REAL COWBOY is a pretty interesting look at celebrities lives from a very personal angle. Sure we all know how stars say they want privacy, but then we watch as they do crazy things that keep them very much in the public eye. Anderson does a really fine job working with just this concept. She shows what a very fine line there is between a normal and celebrity life. Hiding in plain sight seems like a strange option but she writes honestly about doing just that. Anderson did a great job bridging two different worlds in a totally enjoyable and engrossing tale.

Book Summary

James Roberts Bradley burned out early. Ten years ago, he walked away from multi-million dollar film roles and disappeared into the Montana back country. As an assistant producer for a blockbuster Western that already has Oscar written all over it, it's Thalia Thorne's job to track Bradley down and sign him to the project. She's used to dealing with Hollywood egos and hardball negotiation tactics. She never expected to find a real-life cowboy who tips his hat and says 'no' with a smile. Can she convince Bradley to take the comeback role of a lifetime?

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