Why Westerns

I grew up in the country playing cowboys, cowgirls, Indians, and outlaws. It was a time when westerns were very popular, the heyday of the western movies. I didn't have brothers or sisters, but I had plenty of male cousins, and when there was no one available to play with, I could read books set in the West.

Like other specific genres and time periods, they have special characteristics. A western is produced in literature, film, or television shows. They're often set in the Old West between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, telling the stories of cowboys, settlers, outlaws, and Indians. It's usually a story of exploring the western frontier or taming the Wild West. They often possess ruggedness and trials but also perservence and heart.

The first widely-popular Western novel was The Virginian by Owen Wisler, published in 1902. Other well-known early western writers include Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour. Western books and movies peaked in the 1950s and 60s. In the 1950s, Hollywood produced more westerns than all other genres combined. However, in the 1970s, they began losing popularity because of market-flooding. Yet, the interest in westerns has never completely waned, and the books still have a large fanbase today.

Link to In from the Storms

As an author, I began writing books set the Appalachian Mountains and then gravitated to westerns. They fit my interests and writing style. My first western series, In from the Storms, quickly became bestsellers. Then, I wrote a five-book series, Cactus Creek, NM. In 2022, I'll publish five westerns, and in 2023, I'll have ten. Westerns are here to stay.

Link to Cactus Creek, NM series

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