Are There Taboos in
Writing the Western Historical Romance?
I had a new writer tell
me she didn’t think you could tackle a controversial subject in a western
romance like you could in other genres. She said all you have to do to write a
western romance is dream up a handsome cowboy and a pretty maiden, thrown in a
few gunfights, a fistfight or two and a gang of outlaws or rustlers. Then you
have the couple argue and make up and all will end well.
Of course, those of us
who write western historical romance know there is more to the story than
gunfights, outlaws, rustlers, (though they may be there) and a romance that
ends well.
When I started writing
western romance it never occurred to me the number of topics some people might
consider taboo that I’d end up including in my novels.
My first book, Fiona’s Journey came out in 2012. It
touched on the horrible subject of child molestation and rape. Though I never
graphically described either of these in my writing, it left no doubt in the reader’s
mind what was being referred to.
In Valissa’s Home I discussed gambling. Not the regular kind of gambling that takes place in a saloon as
happens in most westerns, but one of my characters suffer a gambling addiction
so bad that he not only lost all his fortune, but also that of his sister.
Prejudice was one of the
topics in the book Amelia’s Marriage.
A lot of people, including her father, were appalled when Amelia fell in love
with, not only a bounty-hunter, but a bounty-hunter who happened to be half
Lakota Indian.
Drina’s
Choice was a mail-order-bride story. Though many men in the west wanted a
wife to ease their loneliness and to give them children as heirs, there were
other reasons for using this service. In my book, the mail-order-bride was
arranged to keep a rancher from losing the ranch he’d worked so hard to build
into a profitable enterprise.
Dealing with a heroine
who was born with a withered foot and could never walk, but who had dreams and
hopes of one day having a man to love and to love her back was the premise of Hannah’s Wishes. Also I touched on how
an unscrupulous relative could take advantage of someone with a disability.
Rena’s Cowboy was the one time-travel I’ve written. It explores how
an accomplished, savvy policewoman of today’s world copes when thrown back into
the primitive way people had to live in the 1800’s. It also shows how men of
that place and time could learn that women were strong and could hold their own
in most any situation.
Edwina’s Husband deals with a woman who has been raised by her
not-so-religious preacher uncle who has a bible verse for everything that
happens, though he sees everything in the world as evil, including his wife and
his niece. Of course, he sees no wrong in himself.
Child abandonment is the
first problem that crops up in Camilla’s
Daughters. There is also the problem of child slavery and how a woman who
never wanted children contends with having two girls thrust upon her – one an
infant and the other an eight-year-old.
Family loyalty and
revenge is in Opal’s Faith.
Hate and acceptance is
forefront in Belinda’s Battle, my
newest romance from Prairie Rose Publications released May 19.
In some of the books I
have sketched out I will tackle such things as: Remorse and loneliness in Zenia’s Guilt; Unwanted pregnancy and
responsibility in Isabel’s Baby; and
infidelity and forgiveness in Nelda’s
Return.
After these books are
finished, I’m not sure what, but I will come up with something else for my main
characters to face. I hope it will be something I won’t be afraid to tackle or
something that I’ll shy away from. I have learned that no subject is taboo when
you write a western romance as long as it is written with tact and in a
non-offensive way.
Amazon.com:AgnesAlexander:books
Great post. I enjoy reading about the "taboos". Thinking outside the box is fun.
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