Creating Cowboys

by

Confession? I don’t know any real cowboys. I’ve read about them in the novels that my fellow western romance authors write; I’ve watched myriad TV westerns both new and old and rodeo videos galore. We had horses for fifteen years, so I’ve met lots of horsemen, some may even have thought of themselves as cowboys, some sure acted as if they thought they were. But a cattle drive in Montana is very different from riding the horse trails in a state park in the Midwest.

So when it came time for me to write cowboys as characters in my new series for Tule Publishing, Juniper Falls Ranch, I admit I was daunted. Mostly because my heroes have all been pretty much beta guys—kind, sensitive, nerdy men who have no idea how truly desirable they are until my heroines show them. Oh, don’t get me wrong, they’re all pretty confident in their own abilities, they’re just not the swaggering type I always pictured cowboys to be. I’ve never really written alpha heroes because the men in my life, Husband, Son, the friends we are drawn to, are quietly strong, thoughtful men who are always there for me without fanfare or machismo.

But as I learned more and more about cowboys, I discovered that “alpha” didn’t really define the cowboy heroes I was reading about and watching. The swaggering stereotypical cowboy I’d always imagined was so far off the mark that I was actually shocked … and delighted. That quiet strength, that determination that I’d written into my beta winemakers, veterinarians, carpenters, college professors, and chefs were also hallmarks of the cowboy persona. When I created bronc rider Del Foster and rodeo cutting champion Bo Kennedy, those qualities—gentleness, intelligence, supportiveness, loyalty, steadiness, awareness of their own emotions as well as others—were all things my cowboys could be … and are.

And okay, I admit I had to learn to curb my heroes’ proclivity to be too chatty, something my critique partner and my editor ding me on even when I’m not writing cowboys, it’s been so very rewarding to create the cowboy heroes at Juniper Falls Ranch in Marietta, Montana—strong, brave, gentle men who make readers’ hearts (and mine!) beat just a little faster.

So tell me, what’s your favorite thing about cowboy heroes?

The Cowboy’s Comeback, book 2 in the Juniper Falls Ranch series, releases, January 29, but free ARC e-book copies are available here if you’re interested in reading and reviewing. I’d sure appreciate it if you did!

Thanks for stopping by today. I do hope the New Year treats you well and that you’ll find lots of cowboys (including my Montana guys) to fall in love with in 2026!

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Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today bestselling author of sweet, small-town romantic fiction for Tule Publishing. Her day job is working as a freelance copyeditor and proofreader, however, writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten and is still writing, but now from the viewpoint of a wiser, slightly rumpled, woman in her prime. Nan lives in the Midwest with her husband of 52 years, where they split their time between a house in the city and a cottage on a lake.

24 thoughts on “Creating Cowboys”

  1. Love cowboys who are strong, loyal, hardworking, faithful, and treat others with kindness. I hope that’s all in the cowboy code.

  3. I like your cowboys. Sometimes I think TV westerns didn’t do us any favors by creating the cowboy stereotype, although there are a few of the swaggering ones I still lust after a bit.

    • Thank you, Liz, and I agree, the stereotype isn’t fair to most, but yes, there are still a few swaggering ones that are pretty irresistible.

  4. Happy New Year, Nan. I love their quiet, steadfast and caring of people and animals. God bless you.

  6. A true cowboy hero is proud of the lifestyle he’s chosen. A life that holds ups and downs, elation and too often despair. He’s unassuming, confident in himself and what he’s doing. He chooses to leave the limelight to others though he has earned it. I’ve known many true cowboys having been around them my entire life. Cowboys, cowgirls too, get the job done. The “swagger” is left to the cowboy wanna be who has no idea what it takes to be a true cowboy hero.

  7. I like what Carol M. said, unassuming is a good word. One of the young men who worked for us several summers once said of my husband, “He doesn’t say much but if he does you better listen.” He definitely was a cowboy but maybe “stockman” would be a better word for him since we also raised horses, pigs and sheep at times as do a lot of the real cowboys I know.

    • I love that! I have a real tendency to make my men too chatty–writing cowboys is teaching me to shut them! My 4th book in the Juniper Falls Ranch series is about a stockman… I may need to call you, Alice!

  8. I like Cowboys that are respectful, gentle, loyal , faithful , has alot of Faith and is kind. A Cowboy who loves his Family and of course his horse. Your books sound like Great reads. Have a great rest of the week.

  9. Nan,
    Love cowboys? that have an independent spirit, ruggedness, honorable, protect the weak, and can live off of the land?? Also, at least in the books? anyway, they are good looking and tall???

  10. I think of kindness,strength, and a good sense of right and wrong when I hear the word cowboy. Your book sounds like a book I could really get into.

  11. I think the main characteristic I like is their respect. Their respect for the land, their families, friends, and the animals they work with and rely upon. That quiet certainty that this is the life they want and they will do their best to take care of all in their keeping to pass sown to family.

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