I always look for real life locations to help me flesh out the setting of my books. For HOT HERO FOR HIRE I had to look for a few things. One was a gym that Jamey might have gone to when he was a foster kid in Chino, California, where he would have learned to fight. I found one, All World Boxing in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. I renamed it and that became Walt’s gym where Jamey goes to try to feel normal between films and to escape his surreal life in Hollywood. The second location I needed was for the horse farm, and this is where I really found something interesting. I needed the town to be close enough to LA/Hollywood that they could supply horses to the movie lots, but far enough away it was removed from the glitz and glamour and be a real working ranch atmosphere. And I found it all and more in the town that calls itself “Horsetown, USA”, Norco in Riverside County, CA. Wikipedia says this, “According to city ordinances, the architecture of Norco ‘shall reflect a desired Western theme,’ including qualities “described as rural, informal, traditional, rustic, low-profile and equestrian oriented.” About an […]