Technically, is not based on a single novel. It is “inspired” by the Western-themed “Montana Mavericks” line. Of course, it is very much like a typical Hallmark original movie, in which a city slicker finds true love with a paragon of country virtue. In this case, the city slicker is Heather, a Candace Bushnell-like author, who had a bestseller writing amusing anecdotes about her big city life.
Unfortunately, she is blocked on her second book, with her deadline looming. At this point, she would do anything to avoid the blank page, so she and her two negroni-chugging pals head off to the Montana ranch she just inherited from her estranged mother.
Considering these films carry the Harlequin imprimatur, you would expect them to be smarter about the publishing industry. The truth is authors miss deadlines all the time. It is annoying for editors, but it is just a fact of life. It is much rarer (but not unheard of) for publishers to take legal steps to reclaim advances on undelivered manuscripts, so Heather need not feel such stress. On the other hand, she would have sold her book with a detailed proposal, rather than figuring out what it would be about after her editor bought it.
Not that the target market cares. Presumably, they just want to see Heather fall into the arms of her new next-door neighbor, Cliff Beatty, which she does, often. There is also a lot more humor in Montana Mavericks than the average Harlequin novel, much of it involving Beatty’s patient, a renegade pig. The pig is fine, but Jess’s bantering attempts to hit on bartender Olivia are painful to hear.
