Why I love cowboys and no, the western ISN'T dead!
I figured I jump right in here with a bang and jump atop my soap box. :) My name is Beth Williamson and I write both historical and contemporary romances. This post is gonna be about cowboys and westerns and my fervent opinion that they're NOT dead in romance land. The lovely Sybil had Maureen McKade this week as a guest (I have to get her new book!!), who is a western romance writer. It got me thinking about why I do what I do...
My first, and true, love is the western. The very first western romance I read was Elizabeth Lowell's Only His. OMG, OMG, OMG.
I looooooved Caleb Black. *swoon* To this day, he is still my favorite hero.
Anyhoo, when I finally made the decision about 10 years ago to write a romance novel, I had to make a choice. I wanted to write what I love best, which is western romances. So, what is it about a cowboy that appeals to me? Aside from the fact that any man looks hot in chaps, jeans, and a cowboy hat? *snicker*
Okay, cowboys to me epitomized the ultimate gentleman and man rolled into one. Respectful of women, driven, proud, determined, and honorable. Yep, that's it in a nutshell. A cowboy might be hard (I heard you snickering on that one), but inside, he's all good.
I mean, even tv and movie cowboys like John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck (oh yeah!), and Sam Elliott (that voice!) are appealing because of their rough outside, and their core beliefs.
So there you have it. My philosophy on why the cowboy is the perfect hero.
And as far as westerns being dead? Pshaw! I don't believe it. Look at Maureen's new book, A Reason to Live, it's the first in a three book series! Western romances are definitely not dead, even if I have to strap on my six shooters and drive on up to New York to convince the publishing industry... er, maybe not. :)
So, what do y'all think? I know Rebecca loves westerns... who out there loves a cowboy? One lucky poster today gets a set of my fabulous bookmarks!
Ready, set, post!
My first, and true, love is the western. The very first western romance I read was Elizabeth Lowell's Only His. OMG, OMG, OMG.
I looooooved Caleb Black. *swoon* To this day, he is still my favorite hero.
Anyhoo, when I finally made the decision about 10 years ago to write a romance novel, I had to make a choice. I wanted to write what I love best, which is western romances. So, what is it about a cowboy that appeals to me? Aside from the fact that any man looks hot in chaps, jeans, and a cowboy hat? *snicker*
Okay, cowboys to me epitomized the ultimate gentleman and man rolled into one. Respectful of women, driven, proud, determined, and honorable. Yep, that's it in a nutshell. A cowboy might be hard (I heard you snickering on that one), but inside, he's all good.
I mean, even tv and movie cowboys like John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck (oh yeah!), and Sam Elliott (that voice!) are appealing because of their rough outside, and their core beliefs.
So there you have it. My philosophy on why the cowboy is the perfect hero.
And as far as westerns being dead? Pshaw! I don't believe it. Look at Maureen's new book, A Reason to Live, it's the first in a three book series! Western romances are definitely not dead, even if I have to strap on my six shooters and drive on up to New York to convince the publishing industry... er, maybe not. :)
So, what do y'all think? I know Rebecca loves westerns... who out there loves a cowboy? One lucky poster today gets a set of my fabulous bookmarks!
Ready, set, post!
posted by Beth Williamson @ 6:59 AM
11 Comments:
At 9:32 AM,
Leslie Dicken said…
A friend of mine, Stacey Kane (www.StaceyKane.com) has just sold two books to Harlequin Historicals -- both Westerns. I'm starting think the tide is a'turning. We'll probably start seeing more Westerns on the shelf soon!
At 10:29 AM,
Becka said…
ACK!! I LUVVV westerns! And I love the cowboy hero for exactly the reasons you've listed, Beth. You know, I've thought about writing historicals in different genres, maybe trying my hand at a Regency or a Medieval historical, but I've never written one. I think I would be out of my element if I ever tried it. In fact, I've written a little bit of a Medieval historical and posted it -- it was criticized as being unbelievable... LOL Maybe it had a western plot at heart.
Now I'm thinking I'm going to stick with westerns from now on. There's one book I've written in England 1657, but that was a paranormal, a sequel to my book HEARTS ETERNAL coming with Samhain in November. Wouldn't have made a lot of sense to make that a western. LOL
But cowboys are rugged, tough, gentlemen, dangerous, and you gotta love it when they risk their lives on the back of their horse. I love reading about cowboys galloping at full bore to save the woman they love... :D
Le sigh.
~~Becka
At 11:09 AM,
Vicki Gaia said…
Cowboys are sexy and raw! They keep their emotions deeply protected from heartbreak. This is what's so intriguing about a cowboy. He's rough and tumbled on the outside and warm and mushy on the inside! Women will always have a special place in their hearts for cowboys!
At 1:32 PM,
Melissa said…
Everything in publishing goes in cycles. And, let's face it, publishing sometimes has their heads up their ahhh behinds. They missed a great marketing chance with the release of the movie Pearl Harbor. They could have done a HUGE push on WW II romances. On the western, I think with the popularity of Deadwood, you will see another surge. Historicals overall have been behind, but I think because they don't market them. Regencies, the true regency romance not just set in it, was not marketed right these past few years and I think that is why their sales have fallen.
My dream is to write a western. Oh, and some turn of the century romance, oh and a roaring 20's and...lol I just love history and I think we are about to see a big surge in sales:)
At 1:57 PM,
Cindy said…
I looooooooove westerns! I will pick up a western over a contemporary a lot of times.
I caught the blog interview yesterday with Maureen McKade and have added her books to my list to buy (was going today and didn't make it...dang it).
I have a feeling that list is going to grow today as well. LOL
Cindy
At 3:42 PM,
Pamela Tyner said…
Yes, indeed....I LOVE my cowboys :)
At 3:43 PM,
Meg Allison said…
I love westerns! But I prefer the Indian hero over the cowboy. ;)
At 4:01 PM,
Becka said…
Cowboys, Indians, it's ALL GOOD in the Wild West as far as I'm concerned. LOL
~~Becka
At 6:04 PM,
Beth Williamson said…
Yes, yes, and did I say yes? Cowboys are the sexiest men... It's lovely to see how those chaps just cup the package too. ;)
I know, I can't help myself!
At 8:15 PM,
Donna Alward said…
Hi Beth!
My first harlequin romance coming out next may is a cowboy story, and I got the go ahead to write the sequel, so I'd definitely say there's going to be more westerns on the "front" soon. You are so right about the cowboy hero and why he's great.
At 9:06 PM,
blackroze37 -tami said…
i started out reading madeline baker, geogina gentry, and ANY book with indians or cowboys!
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