It’s always interesting when fictional characters turn up in real life.

Maybe it’s creativity, or maybe it’s mental illness, but I’m convinced that all my characters exist somewhere out there in the world. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to run into Nate and Charlie in a bar, or to find Doris helping out at a branding.

But the idea of Courtney turning up is a little scary. If you read Cowboy Fever, you’ll remember her as the slightly obsessive Cowgirl Barbie who wanted Teague at any cost. When Courtney doesn’t get what she wants, she goes a little haywire, so I really appreciate my friend Karen’s “Courtney alert” on facebook this morning.

“Joanne…not sure if you’re aware of this or not…but I am VERY sure I spotted Courtney on the Bachelorette last night. If characters could come to life….she sure did.”

I checked out some videos and she is so right! Here’s a video of Bachelorette Emily Maynard totally channeling Courtney. The breathy little voice, the perfect rodeo queen hair, everything–it’s uncanny. And if you replace the kitten in the photo above with a Pomeranian, well, that’s Courtney!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/vloPXXZJdQA

I don’t watch this show, so I don’t know much about the man in question. But if he owns a bucking bull, he’d better watch out! Of course, it’s more than possible that Brad Womack deserves a little rodeo mayhem in his life. What do you think?

I’m giving away a copy of Cowboy Fever once I get ten or more commenters on this post! So drop me a comment and tell your friends. You can let me know what you think of Brad and Emily, issue your own Courtney Alert, or let me know if you’ve ever had a character from a book invade your real life!