Where can you set your Western Historical Romance? The quick
and most logical answer is that it can be set in any state west of the
Mississippi River. But…and that is a big but, you book may or may not start in
the west, but it does end up there. Since I am familiar with my own, I will
show examples of this from my published books.
The mail-order-bride book is an example of the life of the
heroine beginning in the east and her accepting the hand of a man located in
the west. In DRINA’S CHOICE, Drina Hamilton lives with an abusive father and
knows she needs to get away from him. She accepts the proposal of a rancher in
Arizona and moves there. After her trek west, the rest of the story takes place
in Arizona.
Another type book is when the entire family moves west for
another reason such as wanting to start a new life, hoping to strike gold or
any other reason you can come up with. In OPAL’S FAITH, Opal Barnett’s father
lost his job because he tried to report his unsavory banking boss. It is long
until the family has lost everything they have in Memphis, Tennessee. The
father inherits his brother’s ranch in Arizona, and moves his wife and four
daughters there, though none have any experience in ranching.
The third is when an easterner goes west for some other
reason. In XENIA’S RENEGADE, Xenia Poindexter and he sister are lured from
their home in Virginia by a vicious lie that their uncle is in trouble. They go
to Arizona to help. On the way, Xenia’s sister rescues an orphaned baby who
happens to be a half-breed. Faced with prejudice they are forced to accept help
from two cousins who also happen to be half Indian. They are accepted in the
area because they happen to be the richest ranchers in the area.
Some books begin in the west and stay in the west. AMELIA’S
MARRIAGE, the first in the Settler’s Ridge series, is an example of this.
Amelia Donahue was born and raised on the huge Double D ranch in Wyoming. She
is kind of a rebel and her father thinks the only way he can settle her down is
to force her to marry his foreman, a horrible man who has the elder Donahue
fooled. Amelia goes into town and hires a bounty hunter to marry her for six
months so she won’t have to marry her father’s foreman.
Occasionally you will come across a book that takes place in
different places. BELINDA’S YANKEE, is one of these. Shortly after Belinda
Babcock sees her father murdered and their home in Alabama burned by Yankee
troops, she finds a wounded Union Yankee officer and nurses him back to health.
In turn he helps her get to her relatives in Louisiana. He goes home to New
York to resume his life and finds his life there is not what he expects it to
be. He decides to find Belinda again, but she and her relatives have moved to
Colorado.
Occasionally you’ll find a western book set in the east.
HANNAH’S WISHES is an example. Most of the book takes place in Savannah, GA.
Hannah Hamilton, confined to a wheelchair because of a birth defect, has been
raised by an aunt that has her own sinister reasons for letting the girl live
with her. Because her sister in Arizona is concerned she sends a detective to
Savannah to check up on Hannah. In the last chapter, Hannah does move to
Arizona to be near her sister.
Then there is the different western such as RENA’S COWBOY.
Rena Dumont is a present day, widowed, Atlanta, GA police officer. Caught in a
cave-in in the west, when she comes to she finds herself on a ranch in the year
1876.
As you can see, you can use the setting of your novel to
your advantage. You are the author and you have the power to set it anywhere
you want to. But there are a couple of things you must remember. First be sure
to know the state you’re using in your novel. If you don’t live there or have
traveled there in person, make sure to look it up on the internet. Most states
and cities have great websites. They also have lots of information in
historical writings and photos. There is no excuse to set you novel in North
Dakota when you have it located near the Grand Canyon. Set your story in Arizona.
And if you mention the Rio Grande River, be sure you’re using Texas as a
setting, not Kansas.
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